International
1st ODI: Dussen, Bavuma tons propel South Africa to 296 against India
Fighting centuries by Temba Bavuma (110 off 143) and Rassie van der Dussen (129 not out off 96) helped South Africa post a challenging 296/4 against India in the first ODI of the three-match series at Boland Park, here on Wednesday.
The hosts were in a spot of bother at 68-3, but Bavuma and Dussen stitched a huge 204-run stand for the 4th wicket to bail out Proteas from a tricky situation and propelled them to a competitive total at the sluggish Paarl pitch.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, South Africa didn’t have a great start as they lost the wicket of Janneman Malan (6) in the 5th over of the innings. Malan, whose feet stayed glued to the crease, played a loose shot, with the ball taking a faint edge and Rishabh Pant made no mistake behind the wickets.
Skipper Temba Bavuma then joined Quinton de Kock at the crease and they negotiated India’s new-ball bowlers, who were spot on with the line and length and also managed to get some movement in the air. The duo batted cautiously and took South Africa to 39-1 at the end of the first 10 overs.
With a partnership building, Rahul introduced R Ashwin into the attack. The spinner, playing his first ODI since June 2017, nearly struck in his first over but Shreyas Iyer dropped the catch. The ball was tossed up outside off from Ashwin and de Kock sliced it towards wide of point, where Iyer moved to his right and dropped the catch after getting both hands to it.
However, it was eventually Aswhin, who ended De Kock’s (27) struggle and gave India the second wicket of the day. The left hander went for the cut on a flatter delivery by Ashwin but he missed it and was bowled and his 39-run stand with Bavuma came to an end.
Thereafter, Aiden Markram, who came to bat next, played many dot deliveries and a desperate attempt to get off the strike cost him his wicket. He played a drive to mid-off, called for the run but he couldn’t make it as debutant Venkatesh Iyer smashed a direct hit on the stumps, leaving South Africa to 68-3 after 17.4 overs.
From there on, Rassie van der Dussen and Bavuma mixed caution with aggression and got their partnership going, taking Proteas to 118/3 at the half-way stage.
Bavuma, who came out with a positive approach and stayed patient during a tough phase, got off to his third ODI fifty off 76 balls and continued the rebuilding job with his partner.
KL Rahul made several bowling changes to break the stand but Proteas batters — Dussen and Bavuma played with great determination and brought up a wonderful 100-run stand in the 34th over of the innings. Soon, Dussen also completed his half-century to peg the visitors back and keep the scoreboard ticking.
An overthrow by an Indian fielder took South Africa past 200 in the 39th over as Proteas batters looked to put their foot on the accelerator. The momentum was completely in South Africa favour and carrying his brilliant form from the Test series, Bavuma reached his second century of his career off 133 balls in the 45th over.
With five overs to go, the pair of Dussen and Bavuma looked to put India under a lot of pressure as Dussen got to his century in just 83 balls. But the likes of Bhuvi and Bumrah pulled things back by using yorkers and slower deliveries perfectly and didn’t allow hosts to score freely.
The accuracy by Indian bowlers in the death overs brought them success as Bavuma finally got out to Bumrah in the 49th over of the innings. After playing a captain’s knock of 110 runs, Bavuma holed out to India skipper KL Rahul at long on and his mammoth 204-run stand for the 4th wicket with Dussen came to an end.
However, Dussen along with David Miller (2) hit a boundary and a six off Shardul Thakur in the last over and took hosts to 296/4 in 50 overs.
Brief scores: South Africa 296/4 in 50 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 129* off 96, Temba Bavuma 110 off 143; Jasprit Bumrah 2/48, Ravichandran Ashwin 1/53) vs India
International
CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources
New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”
“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”
The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.
Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.
Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.
International
It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027
India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.
The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.
This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).
It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.
International
‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global
New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.
Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.
Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.
Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.
He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”
He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.
“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.
He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”
Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.
“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”
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