International
Elgar, Bavuma score half-centuries as South Africa make strong start
South Africa skipper Dean Elgar (67) and Temba Bavuma (53 not out) scored patient half-centuries as the home side reached 233/4 on a curtailed Day 1 against Bangladesh in the first Test at Kingsmead here.
Bangladesh, who will be looking to add to their white-ball series win against the Proteas, struggled with the ball, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz the pick of the bowlers with 1/57 off 26 overs on Thursday.
After winning the toss, Bangladesh chose to bowl first on an unusual brown-green Kingsmead pitch. With their key pacer Shoriful Islam out due to niggle, Bangladesh went with a three-seam option and included Mehidy in the eleven as their only spin-bowling option. Opener Tamim Iqbal was missing from the starting eleven due to a stomach ache.
The Proteas opted for with two frontline spinners in their squad as they included Simon Harmer to partner Keshav Maharaj, anticipating the pitch to be slower than usual. Also, in the absence of some key players, South Africa handed Test debuts to Lizaad Williams and Ryan Rickelton.
The opening session was delayed owing to a sight-screen malfunction. However, after a 35-minute wait, the session began, and Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee made sure they got off to a strong start in the first Test of the two-match series. The two batters took advantage of the conditions and scored swiftly, leaving Bangladesh to question their decision to bowl first.
Despite having three seam bowling options, Bangladesh struggled to find wickets in the opening session, as the South African openers sailed through the opening stint. Elgar from the start of his innings looked set, as he only dealt in boundaries against the seamers, particularly Ebadot Hossain. He smashed three fours in the 12th over to bring up South Africa’s fifty.
Nothing appeared to work for Bangladesh as Elgar remained untroubled, timing both full-length and short deliveries to perfection, and he soon brought up his half-century from 60 balls.
Erwee, at the other end, took his time to settle in and kept rotating the strike, allowing Elgar to anchor the innings. However when Taskin Ahmed came up for his second spell, Bangladesh were able to cause some trouble for the batters, but it was not enough to get the much-needed breakthrough. The introduction of spin against the two left-handers halted the flow of runs, as Mehidy Hasan bowled an accurate length to keep the batters in check.
Bangladesh could have gotten some relief had Liton Das grabbed the opportunity just before lunch. In the last over before lunch, Erwee edged one to the wicket-keeper while trying to slash a short delivery from Mehidy, but Das dropped an easy catch and South Africa went for lunch on 95/0, with Elgar (60 not out) and Erwee (32 not out) inching closer to their century opening partnership.
After the break, the openers continued the steady flow of runs, making the Bangladesh bowlers toil. In the 34th over, the visitors finally broke the opening stand. Khaled Ahmed drew the first blood with Elgar gloving it behind the wickets where Das took a good diving catch. The 113-run opening partnership was ended with Elgar walking back for a solid 67.
One brought two for Bangladesh as in the next over Erwee was bowled by Mehidy for 41. All of a sudden, South Africa were two down, with both set batters back to the dugout.
The hosts went to tea at 165/3, with Bavuma on 22 not out and debutant Ryan Rickelton keeping him company on an unbeaten 11. Rickelton was the only wicket to fall after tea in a shortened session as bad light stopped play.
Brief scores: South Africa 233/4 (Dean Elgar 67, Sarel Erwee 41, Temba Bavuma 53 not out; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 1/57) vs Bangladesh.
Dubai, Dec 30: India’s premium fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is nominated for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Men’s Cricketer of the Year. Alongside Indian ace, who is also nominated for the Test Cricketer of the year, Australia’s Travis Head and the English batting duo of Joe Root and Harry Brook also made the list for the prestigious honour.
Bumrah nabbed 15 wickets from eight outings, including a couple in the final against South Africa, as India went unbeaten at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
India’s spearhead also had a memorable year in the longest format by picking 71 wickets in 13 Tests, the most scalps taken by a bowler this year.
In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, Bumrah is leading the wicket-takers charts with 30 wickets at an average of 12.83. He also completed 200 Test wickets and became the first bowler to achieve the feat with an average less than 20.
Indian bowling attack’s nemesis Head also made the list after shining across all formats for his country. After playing a vital role in the 2023 ICC World Cup final, Head continued his form as he was the third highest scorer in the 2024 T20 World Cup with 255 runs in seven innings, with his highest score being 76 against India. The left-hander is also the leading run scorer during the ongoing BGT helping Australia get in a good position to solidify their spot in the 2025 WTC final.
Root, England’s premier batter, made 1556 runs from 17 Tests at an average of 55.57, his second-best annual run tally in Tests after amassing 1708 runs in 2021. It was also the fifth instance of Root scoring over 1000 Test runs in a calendar year.
With six Test hundreds to go alongside five fifties, Root’s impressive run saw him become the joint-fifth highest century maker in Tests (36) alongside Rahul Dravid. In addition to his batting exploits, Root impressed by picking a four-wicket haul in the Test series against India.
His teammate Brook scored 1100 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 55, comprising three fifties and four hundred-plus scores, including a maiden triple century coming in Pakistan, and became England’s breakthrough batter in the format.
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.
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