The Ashes | Boxing Day Test - England score 50 ducks in 2021 Test calendar

SA vs IND | Ahead of 1st Test, Dravid chooses to ignore 'Kohli vs Ganguly' saga

Ahead of the Boxing Day Test match in Centurion, India head coach has chosen to completely cold shoulder the Virat Kohli vs Sourav Ganguly captaincy saga. Asked about his opinion of the ugly battle that unfolded between the Indian Test captain and the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Dravid stated that he would not be revealing the details about his internal conversations. “It’s not the place and the time to be doing that and discussing that. And what internal conversations I have had is certainly not going to come out in the media and I am not going to start telling people what conversations I have had.” The whole incident started with the change of captaincy mantle from Kohli to Rohit Sharma and Indian cricketing circles has been divided about the decision and the manner it unfolded. While some have supported the merit of Sharma, several, including former captain Dilip Vengsarkar have argued that the BCCI president had no business making statements for the board of selectors. Asked about the shift in the white ball captaincy, the coach reflected Vengsarkar’s opinions stating that it is indeed the selector’s call. However, his statements seemed to indicate that there has been a conversation about the same but Dravid chose to not make it clear. “To be honest that’s the role of the selectors and I am not going to get into conversations that I might or might not have had.” India take on South Africa in a Test and ODI series starting 26 December.

The Ashes | MCG Test, Day 1 - Pat Cummins breaks Malan’s resistance; England three-down at Lunch

It was Pat Cummins once again whose persistence with impeccable lines and lengths bore fruit at the stroke of lunch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, 26 December. The returning captain got the Boxing Day crowd hyped up on the final ball of the first session by removing Dawid Malan for 14 runs. With Malan’s wicket, Cummins scalped all three wickets in the morning, having removed Zak Crawley and Haseeb Hamid in his first spell. With Malan’s wicket, Australia would feel that they can make quick work of the batting order having broken the 115-ball partnership of the Malan-Root duo.

U19 Asia Cup | Pakistan defeat India in a last-ball thriller

The Junior India team lost to Pakistan in the U19 Asia Cup in a last-ball thriller on Saturday, 25 December. Coming off a win in their inaugural game of the championship, India were expected to win the match against their arch-rivals, however, a top order collapse ushered those dreams away. Batting first, India were reduced to 41/4 inside the first 10 overs with pacer Zeeshan Zameer making easy work through the top order. Last game’s centurion Harnoor Singh was the only one in the top five who was able to put up some resistance and managed to score 46 runs off 59 balls. India were rescued from embarrassment by their lower order who battled through and saw India to a respectable score of 237 runs. Coming into the chase, India would have hoped for some quick wickets, however despite grabbing their first one very quickly, the bowling attack was fended off by Muhammad Shehzad who shielded his way to 82 off 105 balls. Pakistan were put in a spot of bother in the middle overs where they lost wickets and did not get the scoreboard moving at all, however, a fiery innings of 29 off 19 balls from Ahmed Khan made sure that they won the match with a boundary off the last ball. India play Afghanistan next in their last group stage match on Monday, 27 December.

The Ashes | MCG Test, Day 1 - England openers fail once again; return to pavilion after 13 runs

England’s new opening combination for the series failed once again on Sunday, 26 December in the third Test match of the Ashes series. Being forced to bat first after losing the toss, England openers survived for a total of 7.2 two overs. Both of them edged their deliveries forcing Dawid Malan and Joe Root to come out much earlier than anticipated. Returning captain Pat Cummins took it upon himself to open the bowling with Mitchell Starc on Boxing Day and was rewarded in his very first over dismissing Haseeb Hameed for his 100th Test wicket. Australia were not hit for a single boundary in the opening spell of Starc and Cummins and that pressure bore another wicket in the 8th over with Cummins removing Zak Crawley. At the time of writing Joe Root and Dawid Malan were once again forced into the rebuilding act and had put up a partnership of 18 runs from 28 balls. England were 31/2 in 12 overs.