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Sa Vs Ind 1St Test Will Rain Play Spoilsport On Day 1 In Centurion

SA vs IND | 1st Test: Will rain play spoilsport on Day 1 in Centurion?

The first Test between India and South Africa in Centurion might see a delay as there is a 60 percent chance of rain on the opening day as per the weather forecast. But the conditions are expected to get better as the day progresses.

India are looking to clinch their first ever Test series win in South Africa. The Virat Kohli-led side will lock horns with the Proteas in a three-match tie which will be followed by three ODIs as well.

The selectors made a tweak in the leadership group ahead of the South Africa tour as Rohit Sharma was handed over the captaincy in white-ball captaincy and was also named Virat’s deputy in Tests. Unfortunately, he will be missing the Test series due to a hamstring injury and KL Rahul has now been named as the vice-captain of the team for the three fixtures.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid took up the head coach’s job after the T20 World Cup and had a decent start to his sting after India defeated New Zealand in both T20Is and Tests at home. This would be Dravid’s first overseas assignment after taking up the full time post.

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The Ashes | MCG Test: England's batting struggles continue as visitors get bowled out for 185

England’s batting struggles in the Ashes series continued as they were bundled out for 185 in the first innings of the third Test in Melbourne on Sunday. The visitors had a dismal start to the proceedings and were 13/2 when Dawid Malan was joined by skipper Joe Root in the middle and the two batters tried to provide the resistance as they had been doing in the series for a while. The left-right batting duo put 48 runs for the third wicket before Malan’s resistance was dismantled by Pat Cummins after sending him back to the pavilion for 14 off 66. Later, Root also followed Malan in a short span after he was undone for 50 by Mitchell Starc. While the wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Jonny Bairstow tried to hold the fort from one end but couldn’t resist for a long time and was dismissed for a 75-ball 35 by Starc, leaving England struggling at 159/8. Later, Ollie Robinson and Jack Leach tried to chip in with small contributions before the side was bowled out. While Robinson struck 22 off 26, Leach scored 13 off 18. For Australia, it was captain Cummins and off-spinner Nathan Lyon who picked up three wickets each while Starc had a couple of dismissals to his name. Scott Boland and Cameron Green also scalped a wicket apiece during the course. The Australian side had already clinched wins in the first two Tests and lead the five-match series 2-0.

Tamil Nadu’s tactics pay off after early debacle against Himachal Pradesh

Tamil Nadu recovered after an early debacle in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Final on Sunday, 26 December. Batting first on a cold morning in Jaipur, Tamil Nadu openers were sent back to the pavilion cheaply by the Himachal pacers. With slight assistance from the deck on a nippy deck, the south India stalwarts found themselves in a precarious position down by four wickets inside the first 15 overs. However, TN played a masterclass after the dismissal of the first wicket by sending in lower order batsman R Sai Kishore in an attempt to shield the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Shahrukh Khan. The strategy seemed to be working out fairly well, but Karthik and Baba Indrajith building up a 104-run partnership, scoring at a brisk rate. At the time of writing, TN were batting at 144/4 in 34 overs having not lost a wicket since the 15th over. They still have the likes of Shahrukh Khan, Vijay Shankar and Washington Sundar in their ranks who could light up the final 15 overs to put on a big total.

Ray Illingworth passes away at 89

Former England skipper Ray Illingworth passed away on Saturday (December 25, 2021) at the age of 89. "We are deeply saddened to learn that Ray Illingworth has passed away," wrote Yorkshire County Cricket Club on Twitter. "Our thoughts are with Ray's family and the wider Yorkshire family who held Ray so dear to their hearts." Illingworth played 61 Tests where he picked up 122 wickets at an economy rate of 1.91. In three ODIs that Illingworth featured in, he had four scalps to his name. Talking about Illingworth’s batting, he notched up over 1800 Test runs including a couple of tons during the course. Illingworth was a part of 787 FC matches, where he scored 24134 runs including 22 centuries and 105 fifties and also picked up 2072 wickets. In a 32-year long career, he achieved the feat of double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets six times and also led Yorkshire to three County Championship titles. He had revealed that he was receiving treatment for esophageal cancer in November 2021.

The Ashes | MCG Test, Day 1 - Buttler plays outrageous shot; England 6 down at Tea

Tourists England are once again staring at a dreadful Test outing on Boxing Day after losing 6 wickets in the first two sessions of the game. The home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground had a day out with Australia feasting upon some poor show of batting from the visitors as none barring Joe Root were able to cross the 30-run mark. After failing to negotiate the tough morning session, England’s middle order succumbed to their shot selection later in the day. Both Ben Stokes (25 off 60) and Jos Buttler (3 off 11) got out to avoidable shots that put England in a compromising position in Day 1. At the time of writing England were batting at 128/6 with only Jonny Bairstow remaining as the last recognised batter left in the team. Australian bowlers have feasted on the English and everyone has scalped at least one wicket barring Scott Boland whose figures read 10-2-33-0.