“Kids And Women Are Watching”: Navjot Singh Sidhu Fumes At Travis Head’s MCG Act
The echoes of Team India’s defeat in the 4th Test against Australia are going to be heard for a long time. The repeated failures of seniors like Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, and irresponsible batting from young stars like Rishabh Pant resulted in India going 2-1 behind in the 5-match series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was Pant’s dismissal that is said to have changed the course of the game in Australia’s favour on Monday. The wicket-keeper’s departure also prompted a strange celebration from Australia star Travis Head, who was credited with Pant’s wicket. Head’s gesture, however, prompted a backlash on social media, prompting former India cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu to slam the Australia batter. Head’s gesture became a big talking point on the internet, with several fans calling his gesture ‘obscene’. Navjot Sidhu also hit out at the Australian cricketer saying women and kids were watching the match. Hence, he should’ve abstained himself from the act.
Matthews’ marked move leads Women’s Rankings top-10 shuffles
Hayley Matthews’ Vadodara century leads to six-spot batting jump as West Indies, India players enjoy Rankings boost. Hayley Matthews’ seventh ODI century has propelled the West Indies opener back into the top 10 of the ICC Women’s Batting Rankings. A score of 106 from 109 balls lifted the opener into a share of seventh in the Tuesday update to close out the calendar year, with a rating of 652 to sit alongside Australia left-hander Beth Mooney. While making a half-century in the same match, a score of four in the third ODI has meant a one-spot drop to third in the rankings (720 rating points), falling below Chamari Athapaththu (733). Outside the top 10, performers with the bat in Vadodara saw rankings jumps, with Jemimah Rodrigues closing in on a top 20 position (22nd) with a four spot jump thanks to scores of 29 and 52. Richa Ghosh (13 not out and 23 not out) moved seven spots to 41st (448 rating points), with Chinelle Henry’s half-century in the third ODI leading to a 21-spot leap to 65th (349 rating points).
Discussions set to take place with Rohit and Gambhir post BGT
“If I was a selector now, it depends on what happens in the second innings, but if he doesn’t make runs… I’d be saying, ‘Rohit, thank you for your service. You’ve been a great player, but we’re going to bring in Jasprit Bumrah as captain for the SCG.'” That was Mark Waugh before the second innings of the Boxing Day Test. Few cricket pundits have been as outspoken about the India skipper as the former Australia cricketer. Rohit has gone through an extended spell of slump in personal form in red-ball cricket and it may have affected his captaincy, otherwise known to be quite imaginative and incisive. In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, he has managed just 31 runs in five innings. This is after a disappointing 91 runs in six innings during the previous home series against New Zealand and a mere 42 runs in the home series against Bangladesh. In all, he has managed just 164 runs across 15 innings, averaging less than 11. Another player with such dismal numbers would likely have gotten the axe from the Indian team by now. Shubman Gill, for instance, has scored 60 runs in three innings at double Rohit’s average.
Scorchers bank on Richardson, Allen and Connolly to finish 2024 on high
A record ninth-wicket partnership with the bat wasn’t enough for Adelaide Strikers to stop Perth Scorchers, who cruised home with 33 balls to spare. Scorchers finish 2024 in second position on the BBL ladder after cruising to a seven-wicket win over the Adelaide Strikers on New Year’s Eve. A record-breaking ninth-wicket stand between tailenders Brendan Doggett (47*) and Cameron Boyce (29*) spared the Strikers total humiliation in front of a bumper crowd of 41,624 at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night, lifting them to 142 for 8. But it wasn’t enough to stop resurgent Finn Allen (50 off 23 balls), golden-bat leader Cooper Connolly (48* off 35 balls) and captain Ashton Turner (35* off 18 balls) from piloting the Scorchers to victory with 33 deliveries to spare. The Perth reply, though, wasn’t without drama. Matt Hurst was dropped twice before being pouched for three, and the Scorchers should have been 13 for 3 when Connolly, on four, edged Doggett to wicketkeeper Ollie Pope but only the bowler offered a muted appeal.
‘Travis Head insulted not just Rishabh Pant but 1.5 billion Indians; should be slapped with stringent punishment’: Sidhu
Travis Head didn’t trouble the scorers much with the bat – he registered scores of 0 and 1 – and yet left a telling impact on the outcome of the fourth Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The left-hander batter, who has been one of India’s biggest headaches in the last couple of years, was finally silenced by Jasprit Bumrah. The World’s No.1 bowler got him in both innings of the Boxing Day Test but Head dented India with the ball. The handy off-spinner got the all-important wicket of Rishabh Pant just after Tea on Day 5, triggering a dramatic collapse in which India lost 7 wickets in just over an hour to lose the Test match.Travis Head’s celebration of Rishabh Pant’s wicket did not go down well with former India cricketer. It was a half-tracker from Head that India’s talented keeper-batter Pant hit it straight to the deep mid-wicket fielder. The unexpectedness of the wicket was such that Head celebrated in a never-before-seen manner. He created a hole with his left hand and inserted his right index finger in it multiple times. Needless to say, the celebration raised eyebrows.
Every ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 squad
The squads have started to arrive for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2025. The 2025 ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup will be the second edition of the event and is scheduled to be hosted by Malaysia in 2025 from 18 January. India are defending champions, having won the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2023. 16 teams will be divided across four groups in the opening stage of the tournament. 41 matches will be played in a 16-day period. India are with hosts Malaysia, Sri Lanka and West Indies in Group A. Neighbours England and Ireland join Pakistan and USA in Group B. Established sides New Zealand and South Africa are pitted with Nigeria and Samoa in Group C. Finally, Australia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Scotland comprise Group D.
Abhishek-Prabhsimran record stand powers Punjab to massive win
Group A
Gujarat vs Manipur
Hemang Patel bagged a fifer and Aarya Desai smashed an unbeaten 57 as Gujarat cruised to an easy eight-wicket win over Manipur. Put in to bat, Manipur were bowled out for 96, a total which was overhauled in only 12.3 overs.
Assam vs Goa
In a rain-shortened 30-over-a-side encounter in Jaipur, Goa secured a thrilling 9-run win over Assam. Put in to bat, Goa were bowled out for 182 despite Ishaan Gadekar’s 55. Assam stuttered in the chase, but Sumit Ghadigaonkar’s 50 kept them in the hunt till the end, but in vain.
Haryana vs Uttarakhand
Anshul Kamboj’s late blast (6-ball 19*) helped Haryana secure a thrilling 2-wicket win over Uttarakhand. Kunal Chandela’s 70 had helped Uttarakhand to 178 for 9 in the rain-shortened 31-over-a-side contest. Kamboj, who had returned figures of 4 for 22 from his seven-over spell earlier in the day, came on to bat with his side needing 20 runs in 16 balls and only two wickets left. He smashed three boundaries and a six to help them over the line with six balls to spare.
Ayush Mhatre breaks Yashasvi Jaiswal’s record for youngest to hit 150-plus in men’s List A
Mumbai’s Ayush Mhatre has set a new world record for the youngest player to score 150-plus in men’s List A cricket, during Tuesday’s Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Nagaland, bettering Yashasvi Jaiswal’s effort. Mhatre did it at 17 years and 168 days, while Jaiswal had been 17 years and 291 days when he achieved the feat, also playing for Mumbai against against Jharkhand in 2019. Mhatre, who made his debut for Mumbai earlier this season, clobbered 11 sixes and 15 fours to make 181 off only 117 balls while powering his side to an imposing 403 for 7 in their 50 overs. A local boy, Mhatre has been a regular fixture for Mumbai across formats since he broke into the squad earlier in the season. He was a part of the Irani Cup-winning Mumbai side which defeated Rest of India to take the title after 27 years in October. On his Ranji Trophy debut, Mhatre scored a fine 71-ball 52 but Mumbai lost that season opener to Baroda.
Allen, Connolly and bowlers extend Strikers’ losing streak
A blistering 23-ball 50 from Finn Allen and a matured unbeaten 48 off 35 balls from Cooper Connolly complemented a strong Perth Scorchers bowling performance as they downed Adelaide Strikers by seven wickets. The result meant that the hosts have now lost three games on the bounce. Put into bat on a decent batting surface that did offer some help early on, Strikers were in tatters at 58/8 at one point but recovered thanks to a record unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 84 between Brendan Doggett (47*) and Cameron Boyce (29*) as the total passed the 140-run mark. It was, however, a below-par score as Allen and Connolly made merry after a wobbly start to the Scorchers innings. Skipper Ashton Turner (35* off 18) hastened the end with a flurry of boundaries towards the back end as the Scorchers got home with more than five overs to spare. The chase did begin on a dodgy note as Henry Thornton had removed Matthew Hurst and Aaron Hardie very early on to reduce the visitors to 5/2. Scorchers would have been in further trouble had the umpire ruled Connolly caught behind but the left-hander’s thin edge wasn’t spotted, nor was the appeal that confident from the Strikers.
2024 The year of landmark overseas Test wins
As India defeated Australia by 295 runs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener last month, the reactions among a fair section of the fans was followed by a feeling of restlessness, for a 10-day-long wait for the second Test of a high octane series was far too long for an appetite conditioned for ceaseless cricket. Come the Boxing Day Test – the centrepiece of the Australian cricket calendar – the attendance records were shattered at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground – 3,50,700 – surpassing the 3,50,334 set during the Ashes 1936-37 at the venue. Just three days then to allow the dust settle down after a thrilling finish, for there’s still a lot to play for as the teams head to Sydney. How much cricket is too much anyway? Factor this in: at the time of writing, the calendar year 2024 has already seen 1660 Men’s T20s, 654 of them internationals – both highest in a calendar year ever by a fair distance. The number of Men’s internationals across formats breached 800 for the first time ever (811). ODIs understandably took a backseat – 104 compared to an all-time record of 218 in 2023 – a World Cup year. The shortest format saw 24 250-plus scores – 300 being breached twice – featuring sixes galore and a World Cup win for a team with the arguably the craziest fanbase.’
