Sports
Ashwin fifer scripts innings & 132-run victory for India
Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his 31st Test five-fer as Australia crumbled to a massive defeat by an innings and 132 runs in the first Test of the Border – Gavaskar Trophy.
After India’s lower order had stretched their first innings lead to 223 in the morning session, Australia were rolled over after Lunch as the spinners ruled the roost once again, this time led by their offspinner who hadn’t got a five-fer in ten previous Tests.
In this innings, Ashwin was brought on to open the attack unlike the first where he came on as the fifth bowler. And the move paid dividends early as Ashwin lured Usman Khawaja into a second cover drive in the over and had him caught at slip. Ashwin could have had the other left-handed opener, Warner early as well if only Virat Kohli had held onto a regulation take at slip. But instead he had to wait a little while longer, where Warner drove him for back-to-back boundaries but soon had him trapped LBW with a ball going straight on from around the wicket. Warner’s review went in vain as DRS adjudged it be clipping the leg stump.
In between these scalps, India struck from the other end as well with Ravindra Jadeja trapping Marnus Labuschagne plumb in front with the batter guilty of staying back on a turner. Ashwin, meanwhile, was relentless from one end. He had Matt Renshaw too taking a review in hope, after pinging him on the backfoot while trying to defend, and then had Peter Handscomb LBW on the frontfoot with DRS siding him each time. It worked in his favour again when Alex Carey missed a reverse sweep and was adjudged LBW on the field. That gave him a five-fer and stamped his dominance over the left-handers in the top order cleaning them all up single-handedly.
The only batter to offer some defiance through the carnage was Steve Smith, who managed to hang around with some confidence at one end. But the collapse was rapid at the other end. Jadeja had Pat Cummins caught behind while Axar Patel contributed with the wicket of Todd Murphy.
Jadeja nearly had his third when he beat Smith’s inside edge to bowl him for the second time in the Test. However, Smith got a reprieve with Jadeja overstepping for the fifth time in the Test. But Australia’s joy was short-lived as Shami had Scott Boland LBW in the next over to hand India a massive win.
Their batting show was also a far cry from how India’s lower order had progressed earlier in the day, with the home team digging deep to bat nearly 140 overs. India’s lower order wagged once again on the third morning as they added 78 runs even as Todd Murphy finished with a seven-wicket haul.
The offspinner got an early breakthrough when Ravindra Jadeja was bowled on 70 shouldering arms. With both offspinners getting some purchase early in the day, there was a possibility of an early wrap up to the innings.
Mohammed Shami was then put down by Scott Boland off Nathan Lyon which turned out to be costly. Shami proceeded to dominate a 52-run stand with Axar Patel hitting three sixes and two fours in his 37. This ensured that India’s lead went past 200.
Shami finally fell trying to hit Murphy and instead got a top edge that was snapped up by the keeper.
Mohammad Siraj then managed to hold one end up with tight defence as Axar went a little more adventurous in pursuit of his maiden Test hundred. The last wicket pair added 20 runs before the allrounder was eventually bowled off a slower ball from Pat Cummins with India finishing on an even 400, a score that proved 132 too many for Australia to reach parity.
Brief Scores:
Australia 177 all out (Marnus Labuschagne 49; R Jadeja 5/47) & 91 all out (Steve Smith 25*; Ashwin 5-37) lost to India 400 all out (Rohit Sharma 120, Ravindra Jadeja 70, Axar Patel 84; Todd Murphy 7-124) by an innings and 132 runs
PSL 2025 will resume on May 17, with the final on May 25. While there hasn’t yet been a public decision on the fixture list or venues, the announcement confirms the league will end a week after it was originally scheduled to.
This was announced on X (formerly Twitter) by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. “HBL PSL X picks up from where it left off,” he wrote in the post. “6 teams, 0 fear. Get ready for 8 thrilling matches starting 17th May, leading up to the Grand Final on 25th May. Best of luck to all the teams!”
PCB is expected to announce further details shortly, and though Naqvi’s tweet did not officially confirm it, the remaining matches are expected to be played in Pakistan. The league, which was postponed due to increasing cross-border tensions with India, has eight games left and the PCB, as well as several franchises, have been eager to conclude the season as early as possible.
The PSL held meetings with the franchises on Monday to discuss specific dates and venues. The most pressing issue is the availability of overseas players, with ESPNcricinfo understanding a significant number are unlikely to return. The asymmetry of player availability may also impact squads, with some franchises more confident about overseas players rejoining than others. To mitigate that, PCB has also considered a replacement draft to make up the numbers.
This also confirms that Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan will not stick to its original schedule. The final of the PSL takes place on the day Bangladesh were to play their first T20I against Pakistan, in Faisalabad. BCB has said it is in active and ongoing discussions about the tour.
(Cricinfo)
While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to officially announce the venues for the final and the first two playoffs – Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator – Cricbuzz understands that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has been shortlisted to host Qualifier 2 and the final, scheduled for June 1 and 3 respectively.
The IPL is resuming on May 17 and it will have 17 games post break. Six centres – Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur – will be hosting the games.
Arjun Menon, Cricket Malawi’s operations director, has died aged 48. Police are reported to be investigating the circumstances of his death in Blantyre, Malawi’s financial and commercial capital, on Sunday.
Menon played for Singapore and held coaching roles with various international teams including Chile, Botswana, Indonesia and Singapore before taking on the Malawi role in 2020.
“As Cricket Malawi, we are devastated by this loss because Arjun did so much to our transformative agenda,” Vivek Ganesan, the president of Cricket Malawi, told Nation Online. “All the successes we have so far are attributed to him. This is a very painful loss.”
Dr. Henry Kamata, CEO of the Malawi National Council of Sports, also conveyed his condolences in a statement. “Arjun was a dedicated coach and a passionate advocate for the development of cricket in Malawi,” he said. “His contributions to the sport were immense and far-reaching, playing a pivotal role in the growth and success of the Malawi cricket team on regional and international platforms.
“His commitment, professionalism, and vision were truly inspirational, and his loss is a devastating blow to the sporting fraternity in Malawi and beyond.”
During Menon’s tenure, the Malawi men’s team were runners-up behind Tanzania in Group A of the T20 World Cub Sub Regional Africa Qualifier in September 2024. The Under-19 women’s team, meanwhile, topped Division 2 of the 2025 Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier, gaining entry to Division 1 where they achieved a seventh-place finish.
[Cricinfo]
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