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Rashid, Tewatia overcome Umran’s fifer as Gujarat beat Hyderabad by 5 wickets

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Sensational batting by Rahul Tewatia (40 not out off 21) and Rashid Khan (31 not out off 11) in the slog overs overcame pacer Umran Malik’s maiden fifer (5/25) as Gujarat Titans beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in a thrilling IPL 2022 match at the Wankhede Stadium, here on Wednesday.

Invited to bat first, brilliant fifties by Abhishek Sharma (65 off 42), Aiden Markram (56 off 40) and a late blitz by Shashank Singh (25 not out off 6) powered Sunrisers Hyderabad to 195/6 in 20 overs.

Chasing a big total, Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill gave Gujarat a flying start. Saha, in particular, was very aggressive and dealt in boundaries, to take his team 59/0 at the end the powerplay.

It was Umran Malik, who gave SRH their first breakthrough by removing Shubman Gill (22) in the fourth ball of the 8th over. In the very next ball, he hit Hardik Pandya on the shoulder with a thunderbolt. In his second over, Umran again troubled Hardik (10) and eventually dismissed the Gujarat skipper with a short ball.

Both sides didn’t want to give any inch to their opposition at the half-way stage, GT had reached 91 for 2 with Saha and David Miller at the crease. While Malik was hogging all the limelight with his sheer pace, Saha continued his good job with the bat for Gujarat as he brought up a 28-ball fifty.

Just when it looked like Saha and David had brought GT back into the game, Malik bagged his wicket by dismissing Saha. Saha (68 off 38) failed to dig out a yorker from Malik, leaving GT to 122/3, needing 74 more in 40. Umran completed his demolition job of the GT batting order in his final over when he blew away David Miller and Abhinav Manohar in back to back deliveries to record his first five-wicket haul in the IPL.

Gujarat were in a spot of bother at 140/5 after 16 overs with Tewatia and Rasid in the middle. The duo went on to crack a slew of shots to break open the game. With 35 needed off 12 balls, the left-handed Tewatia used the left-arm angle to his advantage by smacking T Natarajan for a boundary and six – slog-sweep over cow corner.

Gujarat needed 22 runs in the last over of the innings and Tewatia began on the right note by clubbing Marco Jansen over deep midwicket for another six but could eke out only a single off the next ball. Rashid then showcased his pyrotechnics and managed to smash three sixes in the four balls to take their team over the victory line.

Earlier, invited to bat first, Mohammed Shami drifted down the leg side to SRH opener Abhishek Sharma twice in the opening over of the innings to concede 11 runs. Left arm pacer Yash Dayal, who came to bowl next over, was struck for two fours by Abhishek as Hyderabad raced to 22/0 after the end of 2 overs.

However, Shami made a brilliant comeback by dismissing SRH skipper Kane Williamson (5) on an incoming delivery. Rahul Tripathi (16 off 10), who came to bat next, was dropped by Rashid Khan when he was on 0. The right-handed batter took advantage of that reprieve and smashed Shami for a six and two fours off successive deliveries before the veteran pacer trapped him in front of the stumps to leave SRH at 44/2 after 5 overs.

From there on, Abhishek and Aiden Markram did the rebuilding job for Hyderabad.Though they were not able to find regular boundaries, both Abhishek and Markram rotated the strike as much as possible and kept the SRH run-rate steady.

After spending enough time in the middle, Abhishek decided to free his arms and hit his former teammate Rashid Khan for two sixes in the 12th over and brought up his half-century off 33-balls. On the other hand, Markram was targeting the likes of Alzarri Joseph and Lockie Ferguson for boundaries at regular intervals.

With five overs to go and both batters set, SRH were cruising towards a big score but an off-cutter from Joseph got rid of Abhishek, who departed for 65 off 42, leaving SRH at 140/3 in 15.1 overs. Nicholas Pooran (3), the next batter couldn’t do much and was dismissed by Shami in his comeback spell.

Despite losing quick wickets from the other end, Markram continued his innings with the same force and reached his half century. But he couldn’t give the finishing touch to SRH innings, getting out on a slow ball from Yash Dayal on the last delivery of the 18th over.

Gujarat Titans pulled things back by getting rid of Washington Sundar, who was run out at the non-striker’s end but the likes of Shashank and Marco Jansen had saved their best for the last over.

Getting his first proper chance to bat despite featuring in the eleven in the last few games, Shashank made the most of the opportunity and smashed three sixes off Ferguson while Jansen also hit a maximum as 25 came off the final over and SRH finished with 195/6 in 20 overs.

Mohammed Shami (3/39), Yash Dayal (1/24), Alzarri Joseph (1/35) were the wicket-takers for Gujarat.

Brief scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad — 195/6 in 20 Overs (Abhishek Sharma 65, Aiden Markram 56; Mohammed Shami 3/39) lost to Gujarat Titans 199/5 in 20 Overs (Wriddhiman Saha 68, Rahul Tewatia 40 not out; Umran Malik 5/25) by 5 wickets

International

Champions Trophy 2025: Pakistan’s Cricket Stadiums Far From Ready, Tournament Could Be Moved To Dubai, Claims Report

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Problems seem to be mounting for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as they face a race against time to handover a proper stadium to the International Cricket Council (ICC) before the Champions Trophy gets underway. According to The Times Of India report, the construction and upgradation work is still underway at the National Stadium in Karachi, Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

A source following the developments said,”It is a very disappointing picture. All three stadiums are far from ready and it’s not renovation or refurbishment, but proper construction which is underway. There is so much work left with seats, floodlights, facilities and even the outfield and playing surfaces,”

The report further states there is not much time left for the venues to be handed over and it’s not a surprise that there are discussions about moving the entire tournament to the UAE. 

The PCB has to hand over the tournament venues to ICC by February 12, however, the stadium work which was scheduled to be finished by December 31, is yet to be completed.

A team of from the ICC will leave for Pakistan towards the end of the week to do a status check and informal contingency discussions are underway in Dubai corridors.

What is the Current stadium of Champions Trophy venues?

Lahore and Karachi are the two centres where heavy construction work is underway and their multi-storied enclosures, which will have dressing rooms and hospitality boxes, are yet to enter the finishing stages. In addition to the new enclosures, there is fencing work, placement of floodlights and seats which is far from the finish line.

The source added, “The weather is not ideal for construction and finishing work to happen at a rapid pace. At Gadaffi, even the plaster work isn’t completed yet. And most of the time is taken by finishing work because we are talking about dressing rooms etc. They just can’t be random rooms/enclosures for an ICC event. ICC has a checklist which needs to be met. National Stadium has decided to not completely finish the new enclosure because there is no time,”

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International

AFC Asian Cup 2027 to take place in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar from Jan 7 to Feb 5

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Kuala Lumpur, Jan 7: The AFC Asian Cup 2027 will take place from January 7 to February 5 across three cities – Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar – in Saudi Arabia, the AFC announced on Tuesday.

A total of five stadiums in Riyadh will host the tournament’s matches; the King Fahd Sports City Stadium, the King Saud University Stadium, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University Stadium, Kingdom Arena and the Al Shabab Stadium.

Two stadiums have been confirmed for Jeddah – King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium – with a new state-of-the-art venue to be built in Al Khobar, completing the world-class infrastructure set to provide the backdrop for Asia’s top 24 national teams.

Saudi Arabia was announced as the host nation for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in 2023. This will be the first time Suadi Arabia will host the tournament.

“Confirming the dates and selecting the stadiums for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ is a strategic milestone in our journey to host the tournament. This announcement goes beyond simply identifying locations and schedules; it reflects the ongoing high-level collaboration between us and the AFC as we work towards delivering an exceptional tournament that fulfills the aspirations of the entire Asian continent,” Saudi Arabian Football Federation chief Yasser Al Misehal.

Eighteen teams have already sealed their places at the AFC Asian Cup 2027. The remaining berths will be decided via the Qualifiers Final Round, which is scheduled to commence from March 2025 and features six groups of four teams – confirmed at last month’s draw – with the winners of each group making up the final cast.

India, aiming for its fifth appearance at the AFC Asian Cup, has been placed in Group C alongside Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. The team will look to replicate or surpass its 2019 performance, where it showcased significant progress on the continental stage.

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International

Bumrah, Head nominated for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year

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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.

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