Argentina's legendary footballer Lionel Messi made his appearance at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as part of the "GOAT India Tour". This also marked the second day of the marquee event. During the event, Messi shared a warm hug with the Indian football legend, Sunil Chhetri. Messi greeted the Secunderabad-born footballer with Argentina's national football team jersey. Over the years, Chhetri has achieved the feat of being the fourth-highest international goalscorer and the all-time top goalscorer for India. Messi was also accompanied by Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul at the Wankhede Stadium. During the event, the Argentine footballer also met the legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who is the highest run-scorer in the history of the game. Speaking at the event, the former cricketer said that without the Wankhede Stadium's crowd, the ODI World Cup triumph in 2011 would not have been impossible. "I have spent some incredible moments here. As we call it, Mumbai is a city of dreams. And a number of dreams have seen the finish line here on this very venue. And without your support, we would never have seen those golden moments on this ground in 2011," he said. "And today, having all three of them here is indeed a golden moment for Mumbai, Mumbaikars and India. The way you have received all three greats of the game has truly been remarkable," added Tendulkar. Further, the former cricketer also said that Messi has achieved everything in his sport, and everybody admires him for his dedication and commitment. "When it comes to Leo, if I have to speak about his game, it wouldn't be the right platform. And you know, what does one talk about him? He has achieved everything. We really admire his dedication, determination, commitment. And above all, his humility, the person that he is. And on behalf of Mumbaikars and Indians, I would like to wish him and his family the very best of health and happiness to all of you. Thank you once again for being here and encouraging youngsters," said the 52-year-old former cricketer. The Mumbai-born cricketer also presented his No 10 jersey to Messi with his signature on it. The Argentine World Cup-winning captain reciprocated with a football.
14 December,2025 11:03 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the third T20I match against South Africa, Team India emerged victorious by seven wickets at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. Having put to chase a target of 118 runs, Team India posted 120 runs for the loss of three wickets in 15.5 overs. With this, the "Men in Blue" have taken a lead by 2-1 against the Proteas in the five-match T20I series. Abhishek Sharma smashed 35 runs off just 18 deliveries, which was laced with three boundaries and the same number of maximums. Fellow opening batsman, Shubman Gill, scored 28 runs in 28 balls, with the help of five boundaries. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav accumulated 12 runs off 11 balls, including two boundaries. Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube stayed unbeaten on the scores of 26 and 10 runs, respectively. Facing 34 balls, Varma smashed three boundaries, whereas Dube faced just four balls and smashed a boundary and a maximum. Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Corbin Bosch claimed one wicket each for South Africa. Bowling three overs each, Ngidi conceded 23 runs, and Jansen was smashed for 24 runs. Bosch, too, in his spell of three overs, was smashed for 18 runs. Ottniel Baartman and Anrich Nortje went wicketless in the third T20I match against Team India. Bowling 3.5 overs, Baartman leaked 34 runs, and Nortje was smashed for 14 runs in three overs. Batting first, South Africa lost the wickets of their openers, Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks, early in the match. Skipper Aiden Markram played a blistering knock of 61 runs off 46 deliveries. His knock was laced with six boundaries and two maximums. Team India's pacer Harshit Rana, who was picked in the absence of lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah, showcased exceptional skills with the ball. Bowling four overs, he bagged two wickets by conceding 34 runs. Along with Harshit, Arshdeep Singh (2), Hardik Pandya (1), Varun Chakaravarthy (2), Kuldeep Yadav (2), and Shivam Dube (1) also chipped in with the wickets. The "Men in Blue" bowled out the Proteas for 117 runs in 20 overs. The fourth T20I match between Team India and South Africa is scheduled to be played at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow on December 17.
14 December,2025 10:47 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the third T20I match against South Africa, Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. After winning the toss, the hosts' skipper Suryakumar stated that bowling first would be a good decision. The side has also made two changes, where Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah have made way for Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav. Meanwhile, Varun Chakaravarthy is just one wicket shy of completing 50 scalps in the format, whereas Hardik Pandya needs to dismiss one batsman to complete 100 wickets for the "Men in Blue" in the shortest format of the game. If Pandya manages to claim that one wicket, he will then become the third Indian player to achieve the feat. "We'll bowl first, the wicket looks good, and there's a bit of dew. It might become heavier later, so we think bowling first is the best approach. We're happy to be here, the crowd is fantastic, and we want to entertain them. Every game is important, and we need to be switched on for all three hours. We're making two forced changes, with Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah," said the Indian Captain. On the other hand, Aiden Markram, the South African captain, said, "It's nice to be here, and it's a bit chilly, quite different from Joburg. We're looking forward to a great evening of cricket. We weren't up to the mark in the first game, so it's great to see the response from the team. We need to back it up again tonight and play consistently. We're making three changes today and are excited to see how the team performs". Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch, and Anrich Nortje have come in place of David Miller, George Linde, and Lutho Sipamla. IND vs SA 3rd T20I: Confirmed Playing XI India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy. South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (C), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.
14 December,2025 07:10 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentAhead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) edition, Australia's star all-rounder Cameron Green clarified that he will be available to bowl in the cash-rich league. He said that a "stuff-up" by his manager led to him being mistakenly registered as a batsman for the mini auction. The 26-year-old cricketer, who missed out on the IPL 2025 season. Later, he recovered from the back surgery and returned to international cricket as a specialist batsman in June. However, since then, he has been cleared to bowl and has been rolling his arm in the ongoing Ashes Test series between Australia and England. "I'll be good to bowl. I don't know if my manager would like to hear this, but there was a stuff-up on his end," Green was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "He didn't mean to say 'batter'. I think he accidentally selected the wrong box. It was pretty funny how it's all played out, but it was actually a stuff-up on his end," added the cricketer. Green, who earlier represented the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2023 and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2024, is among the biggest names in the auction and is likely to be in the highest demand. He has entered the auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore. He has been listed under the batters' category instead of the all-rounders' lot. "I'm sure I will be (watching), with a few other guys. They're always good fun to watch. It's a bit of a lottery where you might go, but also who might be in your team, so it's always been fun to watch," he added. The IPL 2026 auction will take place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. So far, he has featured in 21 T20I matches for Australia and has scored 521 runs, with a career best score of an unbeaten 62 runs. He also has six half-centuries to his name. With the ball, the right-hander has bagged 12 wickets. His best bowling figures are three wickets for 35 runs. The 26-year-old cricketer has played 63 T20 games and has garnered 1334 runs. With a top score of an unbeaten 100 runs, he has a century and eight half-centuries in the format. Green also has 28 wickets in T20 matches. (With PTI Inputs)
14 December,2025 04:33 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentAustralia pacer Josh Hazlewood has no intention of quitting any format of cricket amid questions over his fitness after he was ruled out of the ongoing Ashes series. My body still feels as strong as ever. It’s just little things here and there that creep in. I’m still determined to play three formats as best I can. You’re still going to miss the odd game here and there, no one can do it all, unless you’re a batter, but I still enjoy all the different demands of the three formats,” said Hazlewood, who injured his Achilles last week. Prior to his recent injury, Hazlewood was on the comeback trail from a hamstring strain he picked up while playing in the Sheffield Shield in preparation for the Ashes series. Hazlewood has featured in 76 Tests, 96 ODIs and 60 T20I since making his international debut in 2010. He has also played 39 IPL games, and won the tournament this year with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The 34-year-old will hope to be fit in time for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that commences on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 December,2025 08:40 AM IST | New Delhi | IANSAustralia opener Usman Khawaja remains confident of playing for his side amid an intensifying debate about his return to the playing eleven for the Adelaide Test against England, which begins on Wednesday. Khawaja missed the second Test in Brisbane, which the hosts won by eight-wickets, due to worsening back spasms, which also limited his role in the opening Test at Perth. Nevertheless, the 39-year-old has stated that he is ‘100 percent fit’ and ‘still valued by the team,’ despite Travis Head and Jake Weatherald’s impressive outings while opening the batting. “I’m still valued by the team, still asked to be here to play, so I’m here. I can bat so many different ways. I’ve been successful in all formats, I’ve got gears when I want to. My sample size will tell you that you’ve got to find a way to be consistent for a long period of time, not just over a period of a game or two,” Khawaja was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia. 49.84Usman Khawaja’s batting average after nine matches against England in Australia This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 December,2025 08:38 AM IST | Adelaide | IANSCoach Shukri Conrad has defended South Africa’s decision to make frequent changes to the line-up. South Africa made three changes after losing the first T20I to India by 101 runs in Cuttack. They won the second game in Mullanpur by 51 runs. “It might look as if we’re slightly unsure given the amount of changes we make every match. But it’s certainly not changes for the sake of being changes,” Conrad said during the pre-match press conference on Saturday. “We have a pretty good idea of what our World Cup squad will be like. Again, it’s really just managing players. There are a few guys that have been here since the Test Series. And then we’ve also got SA20 after this. So really just about managing players. “And then also giving everybody a good run. See what works here, what doesn’t work. But yeah, we’re pretty clear in terms of what we want,” he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 December,2025 08:35 AM IST | Dharamsala | AgenciesIndia batter Tilak Varma on Saturday underlined the team management’s push for a flexible batting order, saying most players are ready to bat anywhere depending on match situations. With India continuing to experiment in the middle-order in the build-up to next year’s T20 World Cup, Tilak said adaptability has become a key requirement in the shortest format. “Everyone is flexible except the openers. I am up for batting at three, four, five or six — wherever the team prefers for me,” Tilak said during the pre-match press conference. “If the team feel a particular move is tactically best, everyone goes with the team.” Drawing parallels with recent examples, Tilak said such decisions are situation-based rather than role-driven. “One-off games keep happening. Axar Patel has already done the same thing and he did well there. It depends on the situation,” he said, citing examples of similar roles being successfully executed in recent international tournaments. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 December,2025 08:32 AM IST | Dharamsala | PTIThe countdown to save his place in the playing XI begins for a beleaguered Shubman Gill, who is likely to get three matches against South Africa to prove his worth before the Indian team management switches to a Plan B ahead of the T20 World Cup, starting in six weeks. As India gear up to play the third T20I against the Proteas on Sunday in sub-10-degree temperatures in the lap of the ice-clad Dhauladhar range, things are suddenly heating up in the Indian dressing room, with the prolonged poor form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav coming under the scanner. Worse, his deputy Gill, who was pushed into the XI at the expense of a settled Sanju Samson, is not inspiring much confidence. The South African pace attack featuring Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Ottniel Baartman and Lutho Sipamla — have shown how to bowl on Indian tracks, and the HPCA Stadium strip, offering extra bounce and some movement off the surface, will certainly keep them interested. Among all T20 sides, South Africa, in terms of personnel, appears to have the requisite balance to win the trophy in the Indian subcontinent this time. With only eight games, starting from the third T20I, left before the start of the T20 World Cup title defence, India’s under-fire head coach Gautam Gambhir won’t be able to afford two out-of-form top-order batters in the starting line-up. Gill’s entry into the T20 set-up was a classic case of trying to fix something that ain’t broken and things haven’t looked good so far. In this backdrop, Gill would need to bat out of his skin to prove that Ajit Agarkar-led committee wasn’t wrong in throwing Samson under the bus for one bad series against England. 17No. of innings since Gill last scored a half-century in T20Is. His last 50-plus score (58 not out) came against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2024 EightShubman Gill’s highest score in T20Is against SA, he has scored 12 runs in four innings @ 3.00 ThreeNo. of T20Is India have played in Dharamsala, winning two and losing one This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 December,2025 08:29 AM IST | Dharamsala | PTIMumbai Ranji Trophy all-rounder Vinayak Bhoir, who was purchased by Bollywood star Salman Khan’s Delhi Superheros for R3 lakh during the ISPL Season-3 auction recently, believes tennis-ball cricket is the perfect Plan B as a career option. “Tennis-ball cricket is tough, but it’s a good opportunity to look at as a career prospect. I’m also looking at it as a Plan B. The auction amount of R3 lakh [base price] notwithstanding, it’s important to get this opportunity, this platform, which is ISPL,” Bhoir, 37, who was part of the Shreyas Iyer-led Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy-winning (SMAT) Mumbai team last season, told mid-day. Bhoir, a left-arm spinner and middle-order batter, made his Ranji debut under Aditya Tare in 2019-20, before which he represented the Suryakumar Yadav-led Mumbai U-22 team that won the CK Nayudu Trophy in 2010. “I’ve played the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and was part of Mumbai’s SMAT-winning team last season, but was still not even considered among the probables thereafter. So, I have to look for other opportunities,” added Bhoir, who plays club cricket for Islam Gymkhana and inter-office cricket for Western Railway and represented SOBO Mumbai Falcons in the Mumbai T20 League last season.
13 December,2025 10:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh MayureAbhishek Sharma can’t win every game for India, said Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav while accepting that he and deputy Shubman Gill should have taken the onus of batting deeper during the team’s 51-run defeat to South Africa in the second T20I here on Thursday. Abhishek (17 off 8 balls) started well, but Gill (0) and skipper Suryakumar (5) were dismissed within the Powerplay as India folded for 162 in pursuit of 214 on a good batting track. “I think myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can’t rely on Abhishek all the time. The way he’s been batting, he might have an off-day. Me, Shubman and few other batters should have taken it,” Suryakumar said. “Shubman got out on the first ball. But I should have taken that responsibility, batted a little deeper,” the skipper added. 119No of runs scored by Suryakumar in last 11 T20I innings @ 13.22 This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 December,2025 10:24 AM IST | Mullanpur | PTIADVERTISEMENT
