In the third ODI match against South Africa, Team India emerged victorious by nine wickets at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Needing to chase a target of 271 runs, Team India's opening batsman, Yashasvi Jaiswal, registered an unbeaten century. Facing 121 balls, the left-hander smashed 116 runs, which was laced with 12 boundaries and two maximums. This also marked his maiden ton in the format. Fellow opening batsman, Rohit Sharma, played a knock of 75 runs off 73 deliveries, including seven boundaries and three maximums. Along with Jaiswal, stalwart Virat Kohli stayed unbeaten at the crease. Kohli accumulated an unbeaten 65 runs after facing 45 balls. His knock also included six boundaries and three maximums. With this, the "Men in Blue" successfully chased the target in 39.5 overs. The victory also helped the hosts clinch the series by 2-1 against the Proteas. Keshav Maharaj was the only bowler who managed to pick up a wicket for South Africa in the series decider. Completing his quota of 10 overs, he conceded 44 runs and claimed one wicket. Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Ottniel Baartman, Corbin Bosch, and Aiden Markram went wicketless in the third ODI match against Team India. Bowling eight overs, Jansen was smashed for 39 runs, whereas Ngidi gave away 56 runs in 6.5 overs. Baartman bowled seven overs and leaked 60 runs, and Bosch, on the other hand, conceded 53 runs in his spell of six overs. Markram gave away 17 runs after bowling two overs. Earlier, South Africa's Quinton de Kock smashed 106 runs off 89 deliveries, which was laced with eight boundaries and six maximums. Fellow opening batsman, Ryan Rickelton, departed on a four-ball duck. Skipper Temba Bavuma missed his well-deserved half-century by just two runs. He scored 48 runs in 67 balls, including five boundaries. Matthew Breetzke accumulated 24 runs off 23 balls, including two maximums. Aiden Markram scored one run in three balls, and Dewald Brevis returned to the pavilion on 29 runs off 29 balls, including two boundaries and a maximum. Facing 15 balls, Marco Jansen scored 17 runs, with the help of two boundaries. Corbin Bosch managed to score nine runs in 12 balls. Lungi Ngidi scored just one run after facing 10 balls, whereas Ottniel Baartman departed after scoring three runs in seven balls. Keshav Maharaj stayed unbeaten on 20 runs in 29 balls, with the help of two boundaries.
06 December,2025 09:06 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist spoke about England's Ollie Pope's dismissal and also labelled it as a "reckless" batting approach, according to Fox Cricket. On day three of the second Test match of the ongoing Ashes series, Pope lost his wicket after scoring 26 runs in 32 balls, including four boundaries. He gained the attention of many people after his dismissal, as he tried to play a shot against a fuller delivery from Michael Neser. He got into the shot too early and lacked control, and the ball nipped back in to strike the inner half of his bat as Pope played it right into the hands of the bowler. Speaking about his dismissal, Gilchrist explained the reason for what is bringing Pope down. "(Pope's) desire to keep attacking and keep imposing himself on the bowling unit is what's bringing him down. Tonight was reckless. It just looked like reckless cricket," he said as quoted by Fox Cricket. The former cricketer then added that England's number three batsman needs to think about his batting approach before heading to Adelaide Oval for the third Test match of the Ashes series. "It's all a little bit too predictable from what we've seen in four innings so far (this series). There's a bit for him to think about before he goes to Adelaide," said the veteran of 96 Test matches. The 27-year-old Pope has struggled against Australia, averaging only 18.71 across 14 Test innings without registering a fifty, with a highest score of 46 in the first innings of the Ashes opener in Perth earlier this month. He also suffered a poor outing in the first innings of the ongoing match, as the right-hander returned to the pavilion after registering a three-ball duck. In the second Test match, the "Three Lions" have concluded day three with a score of 134 runs for the loss of six wickets in 35 runs. They are still trailing by 43 runs against the Aussies. England skipper Ben Stokes and Will Jacks will resume play on Day 4 at the Gabba in Brisbane. The Aussies are leading the five-match Test series by 1-0 against England. (With ANI Inputs)
06 December,2025 08:44 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the third ODI match against Team India, South Africa's Quinton de Kock played a knock of 106 runs. He faced just 89 deliveries and smashed eight boundaries and six maximums at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. With this, he became the seventh South African batsman to enter the elite list of players to complete 13,000 runs in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Currently, Quinton has accumulated 13,088 runs in 311 ODI appearances for South Africa. He has an average of 40.24 and a strike rate of 93.71. The left-hander has a total of 30 tons and 70 half-centuries, with a top score of 178 runs. With this century, his conversion rate from 50s to 100s in ODIs has risen to 41.81 per cent, more than Indian ODI maestro Virat Kohli (41.40 per cent). Also, he has levelled with Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara for the joint-most-highest centuries as a designated wicketkeeper-batter, with 23 tons each. The South African has also levelled with iconic Sri Lankan cricketer, Sanath Jayasuriya, for the joint-most centuries against Team India in ODIs. In just 23 innings, the 32-year-old has achieved his seventh century against the "Men in Blue", as compared to Jayasuriya, who has these seven centuries in 85 innings. The Johannesburg-born cricketer also joined the likes of legendary Sachin Tendulkar (seven centuries in the UAE), Saeed Anwar (seven centuries in the UAE), AB de Villiers (seven centuries in India), and Rohit Sharma (seven centuries in England) for the most ODI centuries in an away country by a batsman. This was de Kock's seventh ton in India. Riding on his knock, the Proteas reached the score of 270 runs in 47.5 overs against the KL Rahul-led men. Fellow opening batsman, Ryan Rickelton, departed on a four-ball duck. Skipper Temba Bavuma missed his well-deserved half-century by just two runs. He scored 48 runs in 67 balls, including five boundaries. Matthew Breetzke accumulated 24 runs off 23 balls, including two maximums. Aiden Markram scored one run in three balls, and Dewald Brevis returned to the pavilion on 29 runs off 29 balls, including two boundaries and a maximum. Facing 15 balls, Marco Jansen scored 17 runs, with the help of two boundaries. Corbin Bosch managed to score nine runs in 12 balls. Lungi Ngidi scored just one run after facing 10 balls, whereas Ottniel Baartman departed after scoring three runs in seven balls. Keshav Maharaj stayed unbeaten on 20 runs in 29 balls, with the help of two boundaries. (With ANI Inputs)
06 December,2025 07:04 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the third ODI match against Team India, South Africa posted a total of 270 runs in 47.5 overs at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Having put to bat first, Quinton de Kock smashed 106 runs off 89 deliveries, which was laced with eight boundaries and six maximums. Fellow opening batsman, Ryan Rickelton, departed on a four-ball duck. Skipper Temba Bavuma missed his well-deserved half-century by just two runs. He scored 48 runs in 67 balls, including five boundaries. Matthew Breetzke accumulated 24 runs off 23 balls, including two maximums. Aiden Markram scored one run in three balls, and Dewald Brevis returned to the pavilion on 29 runs off 29 balls, including two boundaries and a maximum. Facing 15 balls, Marco Jansen scored 17 runs, with the help of two boundaries. Corbin Bosch managed to score nine runs in 12 balls. Lungi Ngidi scored just one run after facing 10 balls, whereas Ottniel Baartman departed after scoring three runs in seven balls. Keshav Maharaj stayed unbeaten on 20 runs in 29 balls, with the help of two boundaries. Team India's pacer Prasidh Krishna bowled 9.5 overs and claimed four wickets by conceding 66 runs. Star spinner Kuldeep Yadav bagged four wickets for 41 runs in his spell of 10 overs. Arshdeep Singh and Ravindra Jadeja picked up one wicket each. Bowling eight overs, Arshdeep was smashed for 36 runs, whereas Jadeja leaked 50 runs in his nine overs. Harshit Rana and Tilak Varma went wicketless in the third ODI match against South Africa. Harshit bowled eight overs and gave away 44 runs, and Tilak, in his three overs, conceded 29 runs. The "Men in Blue" will expect their stalwart Virat Kohli to replicate his performance from the previous two matches. The right-hander had smashed centuries in both matches of the ongoing 50-over format series against the Proteas. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who registered his maiden ODI ton in the previous match, will be riding high on confidence and will look to bring his 'A-game' in the series decider. On the other hand, the Proteas under the captaincy of Bavuma will not allow the hosts to score easy runs. They will heavily rely on Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj to help their strike early wickets in the match. Currently, the three-match ODI series stands tied at 1-1. Both teams will be eager to secure a win in Visakhapatnam in order to clinch the series. After the conclusion of this series, both teams will lock horns against each other in the five-match T20I series, starting from December 9.
06 December,2025 06:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn the third ODI match against South Africa, Team India skipper KL Rahul has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Team India has made one change, in which Washington Sundar has made way for Tilak Varma. For Proteas, Tony de Zorzi and Nandre Burger have picked up injuries, which in turn have provided opportunities to Ryan Rickelton and Ottneil Baartman, respectively. After winning the toss, the hosts' skipper Rahul said, "We're looking to bowl first; the dew doesn't seem to be a major factor here. We trained here last night, and the conditions appear to be good. We're happy with how we played in the last game; there were many positives to take away. We're making one change - Tilak Varma comes in for Washington Sundar". On the other hand, South Africa's captain, Temba Bavuma, said that the side was planning to bowl first, but having put to bat, the opening batsmen would look to set things up for the middle order. "We were planning to bowl first; assessing conditions early is key. The pitch doesn't look easy, so we'll start well and set things up for the middle order. We've made two changes: Ryan Rickelton and Ottniel Baartman come in. Injuries to Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi give others a chance to step up," he said. Considering that the three-match ODI series between the "Men in Blue" and the Proteas stands at 1-1, the third clash will serve pure entertainment and intense moments. The fans will expect Team India stalwart Virat Kohli to yet again showcase his elegance and classical strokes, whereas Ruturaj Gaikwad, who smashed his maiden century in the format in the previous game, will be riding high on confidence. IND vs SA 3rd ODI: Confirmed Playing XI India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna. South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.
06 December,2025 01:35 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentGeneral Education Academy (GEA) and Dyandeep Seva Mandal (DSM) played out a draw on Day 2 of their Dreams Sports MSSA Harris Shield Super 8 tie at Parsee Gymkhana. After GEA were bowled out for 288 on Day 1, DSM were all out for 223 with Himanshu Sharma (61) and Chirag Luchach unbeaten on 60. GEA’s Aarush Kolhe took (3-56). In their second innings, GEA reached 137-3 three in 27 overs with Aarush scoring an unbeaten 46.
06 December,2025 09:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamFormer India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has urged the Indian team management to provide Washington Sundar with “proper” role clarity, warning that the bowling all-rounder could otherwise be left “searching for who he is.” Ashwin stressed that Washington must be treated as a frontline bowling all-rounder and given a full quota of overs to build confidence with the bat as well. The 26-year-old has bowled only seven overs across the first two ODIs against South Africa and is yet to take a wicket. “Once you have decided to play Washington Sundar, you’ve to treat him as a bowler who can bat. You’ve to bowl out his overs,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.“Only if he keeps bowling, he’ll have the mindset of a bowler who can bat. Otherwise, if he just bats and bowls a few overs, he’ll keep searching for who he is. So don’t leave him in the searching space. Instead, the team should arrive at giving him the proper role clarity,” he added. India failed to defend 358 in the second ODI as South Africa levelled the three-match series with a four-wicket win. They had scrapped through in the opening ODI after scoring 348. Ashwin felt the hosts lacked a finishing option in the absence of Hardik Pandya and questioned whether a like-for-like replacement was overlooked. “India also didn’t finish well with the bat in both ODIs. Especially when you don’t have a finisher like Hardik Pandya, why didn’t a similarly powerful Nitish Kumar Reddy play?” said Ashwin. He suggested the inclusion of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the playing XI instead of Washington. “I am not sure if they are looking at Rishabh Pant as a finisher or not. India are not able to provide that finishing punch. So should an extra fast-bowling all-rounder play instead of a spinning allrounder?” 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
06 December,2025 09:08 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIA New Zealand team with a crowded medical ward met stiff resistance and was unable to finish off the West Indies on the fourth day of the first Test Friday after setting the tourists 531 to win. Shai Hope led the resistance with his fourth Test century in an unbroken partnership of 140 with Justin Greaves (55 not out) which began when NZ captured four wickets quickly in the second session. At stumps, Hope was 116 not out and WI were 212-4, trailing NZ by 319 runs. 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
06 December,2025 09:03 AM IST | Christchurch | AP | PTIFormer India captain and batting stalwart-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar has been unable to make it to Vizag for the series-deciding third ODI between India and South Africa due to the ongoing issue with flight cancellations at Mumbai airport. India’s largest airline Indigo cancelled all departures from Mumbai on Friday, further escalating its ongoing operational disruption as it continues to struggle to cope with the new pilot rest rules which in turn is leading to a staff shortage issue. It is learnt that Gavaskar’s Mumbai to Vizag flight got cancelled on Friday which is why he was unable to travel. He will now be part of the Hindi commentary team for the crucial ODI encounter and will operate from a Mumbai studio.
06 December,2025 08:56 AM IST | Mumbai | Debasish DattaJoe Root said England were “well and truly” still in the day-night second Ashes Test despite Australia seizing a 44-run lead on Day Two Friday in Brisbane. England scored 334 in their first innings on the back of Root’s epic 138 not out, his first century on Australian soil. But some wayward bowling and dropped catches helped the hosts back into the contest, with Australia ending on 378-6 to give themselves the opportunity to build a healthy lead on a deteriorating pitch. “It’s clear we weren’t at our best... but we took those wickets in a cluster, which shows the nature of this game,” Root told TNT Sports, referring to Brydon Carse removing Cameron Green and Steve Smith within four deliveries. “More work to do but we’re well and truly in this game. It is different fielding to a pink ball, we practise really hard, just one of those days when things didn’t stick to hand,” he added. “We’ll keep backing ourselves. We need to take four wickets. It’s a simple game. Energy and positivity. We know our best cricket can turn a game very quickly. If we are anywhere near our best this game can turn in our favour.” Root also reflected on his breakthrough ton, his 40th overall, glad to get the monkey off his back. 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
06 December,2025 08:53 AM IST | Brisbane | AFPMarnus Labuschagne praised Jake Weatherald and Travis Head for their quickfire start to Australia’s run chase in the day-night second Ashes Test on Friday, with himself and Steve Smith able to “piggyback” off them. The opening pair put on an aggressive 77 to get the ball rolling as they zeroed in on England’s first-innings 334 at the Gabba. Head was eventually out for 33 and Weatherald for 72, with Labuschagne cracking an assured 65 and Smith 61 in their wake. Labuschagne said upping the tempo was not talked about before the run chase, with Head and Weatherald playing their natural games. “With Heady and Weathers at the top they sort of just grabbed the momentum and I feel like the rest of us sort of just piggybacked off the back of that,” he said. “That sort of kept going and I think everyone that came in had that good intent and we were able to keep scoring through that whole day.” Marnus Labuschagne By stumps Australia had reeled in England and were 44 runs clear with four wickets left, ending day two on 378-6 with a threatening Alex Carey not-out 46. “That was a crucial last hour there for us. To get to the end of play six down gives us a bit of time in the morning in that day session and then obviously pushes our bowling innings later into the night,” said Labuschagne. “So that was crucial there and obviously the boys played well. We probably let them in a little bit there through that middle session but it’s a nice day.” While praising Head and Weatherald for the fast start, Labuschagne said he was disappointed with how he got out, edging Ben Stokes to Jamie Smith behind the stumps. “Very frustrating to get out like that, especially at the change of the conditions there where it just quickened up a little bit,” he said, referring to the fading daylight. Brief scoresEngland 334 (J Root 138*, Z Crawley 76, J Archer 38, H Brook 31; M Starc 6-75) vs Australia 378-6 (J Weatherald 72, M Labuschagne 65, S Smith 61, A Carey 46*; B Carse 3-113, B Stokes 2-93) 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
06 December,2025 08:48 AM IST | Brisbane | AFPADVERTISEMENT
