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Classy Rahul sets up Lucknow Super Giant’s big win
Despite yet another enthralling cameo from MS Dhoni – this time pushing Chennai Super Kings to a good total on a tacky surface – CSK finished second best in Lucknow. KL Rahul was largely responsible for that outcome as he smashed a fine 53-ball 82 in the chase. Quinton de Kock got runs too as CSK struggled for wickets and eventually conceded the game in 19 overs.
Ajinkya Rahane, sent to open the CSK innings once again, started off with a classical backfoot punch through point on the second ball, but this was a PowerPlay where run-making wasn’t straightforward for the holders. Rachin Ravindra’s lean run extended to five games as he was cleaned up on the first ball of the second over by Mohsin Khan while trying to take a wild swipe at it.
Though LSG used pace all through the PowerPlay, the ball didn’t quite come on to the bat for the batters to easily hit through the line. Yash Thakur arrived in the fifth over to nick off Ruturaj Gaikwad for 17 off 13.
CSK promoted Ravindra Jadeja, perhaps to deal with pace in the PowerPlay before they could unleash Shivam Dube on the spinners in the middle. Rahane got a couple of boundaries off Ravi Bishnoi but was cleaned up by Krunal Pandya in the ninth over, falling for a 24-ball 36. This was the fourth time in 52 balls that Rahane fell to the left-arm spinner in the IPL. Shivam Dube’s arrival came with the anticipation of quick runs against the spinners but they tied him down by firing balls at close to 100kmph. He couldn’t tee off straight away like he’s done before this season, and managed just three runs off his first seven balls – all from spinners.
Rahul went back to pace and even used Marcus Stoinis on the tacky surface with immediate dividends. The Australian, who has barely bowled this season, struck first ball with a short ball to Dube. The CSK batter pulled clumsily and was caught by Rahul. CSK went to Sameer Rizvi as their impact substitute, but he lasted all of five balls for one run – getting stumped off Krunal.
Rahul managed his bowlers perfectly well in the middle-overs, a phase where CSK scored at a lowly rate of 6.2 an over.
MS Dhoni kept up his habit of walking out and enthralling an already smitten crowd with his six-hitting. But even before he stepped out to deafening noise, Jadeja and Moeen Ali set the stage for the flourish. In the 17th over, Jadeja hit Mohsin for a six to bring up his fifty before Moeen hit a hat-trick of sixes off Bishnoi in the 17th to push CSK closer to 150. Moeen exited with a 20-ball cameo worth 30 runs to his name, and Dhoni went the other way to put on an even better show. His 9-ball 28 had trademark shots well over midwicket – one six even going 101m long. Dhoni even improvised with a shuffle-across and scoop shot over the keeper’s head. His efforts pushed CSK to 176/6, but that proved to be rather insufficient in the end.
With the white-ball not swinging enough in all venues, Deepak Chahar has been rendered largely ineffective this season. Though he came back for Shardul Thakur for this game, he couldn’t make the required inroads early on to put the home side under pressure in chase. Instead, Rahul and de Kock scored freely to dwarf the asking rate by the end of the six overs, in which they got 54 runs. CSK’s ordinary returns with the ball in the PowerPlay (7 wickets at an economy rate of 9.47) continued. Even Tushar Deshpande who has been frugal this season, couldn’t eke out a dismissal.
Nothing changed besides the field, from the seventh over on. Even CSK’s golden goose – Matheesha Pathirana – didn’t bring his wicket-taking knack to the middle overs as the LSG openers welcomed him with a 12-run over. The pair comfortably took LSG to 89/0 at the halfway stage, and then went after Jadeja to speed up the proceedings. Rahul cut one off Jadeja past point to go past 50, while de Kock upped his scoring rate too. Mustafizur Rahman attempted to break through with his wily change of pace, but he too hit a wall. Rahul and de Kock took the opening stand past 100 – the highest for any wicket at the venue. De Kock too got a fifty before feathering an attempted pull off Mustafizur to Dhoni behind the stumps.
That wicket, and of Rahul to follow, were mere consolations as LSG wrapped up the chase with an over to spare. Rahul looked set to mark the victory with a century to his name, only for Ravindra Jadeja to take a one-handed blinder at backward point to catch the LSG captain 18 short. But before this could happen, Nicholas Pooran had walked out swinging for the fences and put LSG well on course to pocketing the two points.
On the last ball of the penultimate over, from Deshpande, the West Indian backed away and hit one over point to put the finishing touch to a thoroughly competitive victory.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings 176/6 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 36, Ravindra Jadeja 57*, Moeen Ali 30, MS Dhoni 28*; Moshin Khan 1-37, Yash Thakur 1-45, Krunal Pandya 2-16, Ravi Bishnoi 1-44, Marcus Stonis 1-07) lost to Lucknow Super Giants 180/2 in 19 overs (KL Rahul 82, Quinton de Kock 54, Nicholas Pooran 23*; Mustafizur Rahman 1-43, Matheesha Pathirana 1-29) by 8 wickets
(Cricbuzz)
The final week of the year is like a Roman feast for the Test cricket fan, and Boxing Day this year promises mouth-watering contests in Melbourne and Centurion but look this way too, will you? Bulawayo is set to host Zimbabwe’s first Boxing Day Test 8n 28 years too, and with unpredictable Afghanistan on the other side, a real tussle is expected between the two teams, who despite their recent underwhelming performances, would feel like they’re favourites. After all, the last time either side won a Test was against each other.
But that was way back 8n 2021. Since then, they have not found a way to win. And one look at the Zimbabwe and Afghanistan squads for this two-Test series suggests that they’re both looking to change that by taking a different direction for 2025 and beyond. A splattering of Test debutants are expected – theoretically, there could be as many 15 debuts across the two XIs – and this series could very well be the one that births a new generation.
And then, Travis Head walked out to bat at the MCG on Christmas morning. Pretty late on Christmas morning at that. The entire media pack had been waiting for him to do so. That was after all the final piece of the Australian team puzzle. Sam Konstas had already been revealed as a teenaged Test debutant for Boxing Day. Scott Boland had already been revealed to be Josh Hazlewood’s replacement at the MCG.
But following Andrew McDonald’s admission that the key batter in the Australian ranks was being bothered by a quad strain a day earlier, all eyes were on whether Head would get into the net for a hit. And a sigh of relief when he did, even if he looked more than bemused by all the attention. Once Head was done making an appearance, before Pat Cummins cleared the air about his availability for the fourth Test, the mood around the MCG went back to soaking in the Christmas spirit, with kids and families making the most of the vast expanse of the outfield at the ‘G.
It was a kid, all of 19, who stole all the attention a day earlier with every movement he made around the MCG, as he will on Boxing Day. Konstas’ first outing in a Baggy Green will go down as probably the most anticipated debut in Australian cricket for many a year. And Cummins couldn’t stop talking up the teenaged opener while revealing his own feelings when he made his Test debut at 18, some 13 years ago.
“I remember as an 18-year-old I was thinking, ‘I’ve got a lot more leeway because I was young’, almost publicly, so I almost felt like, if I didn’t have a great game, it wasn’t my fault, it was the selectors’ fault for picking me. I was like, ‘well, they’re the idiots that picked an 18 year old!'”
“You’re so young starting out your career – it’s Boxing Day, it doesn’t get any better than this. So just enjoy the moment.”
Great advice that should stand true not just for the young New South Welshman but for everyone who’ll take the field in front of 92,000 people on a 40-degree day at the MCG. It doesn’t get better than this, not just in terms of the setting, but also where the series stands, level currently at 1-1. A loss for Australia will mean their drought with regards to winning the Border Gavaskar Trophy will extend to at least 13 years, with the next battle between these two teams scheduled only in early 2027, that too on Indian soil. An Indian loss will not just make this series even more scintillating, but could also deliver a painful blow to the visitors’ chances of making the World Test Championship final.
It could well be the hottest Boxing Day in recent memory, but the heat will add an intriguing element to how the toss goes, and what decisions get made with regards to team composition as well. Worry about the weather and bat first on a pitch that has been the friendliest for seam bowling since 2021, when Scotty Boland ran through England? Or back your fast bowlers to make the most of the surface conditions and roll over the opposition batting line-up to give yourself the early advantage. Either way, with no rain really forecast over the five days, it’ll be interesting to see how long the Test really lasts. Oh, the MCG will be packed, noisy, with the energy levels around the iconic venue at fever-pitch.
Australia Probable XI:Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India Probable XI:Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy/Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj
[Cricbuzz]
Jasprit Bumrah has attained the joint-highest rating points ever for an Indian bowler on the rankings chart after his 9 for 94 in the third Test against Australia in Brisbane.
The Indian spearhead, who already heads the rankings list for bowlers, further consolidated his position at the top by adding 14 points to his tally taking it to 904 rating points, 48 clear of second-placed Kagiso Rabada (856). The only other Indian bowler to achieve this tally is the recently retired R Ashwin who got there after the fourth Test against England in Mumbai in December 2016.
Bumrah, who is currently the highest wicket taker in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Series with 21 scalps in six innings at 10.90, now has a chance to break Ashwin’s record when the two teams meet in Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test with the series locked 1-1.
Meanwhile, Travis Head’s 152 in the first innings of the Brisbane Test on the back of a century in Adelaide has seen him overtake Yashasvi Jaiswal and move to fourth on the batters’ list which is led by Joe Root. Steven Smith also made his way into the top ten of the charts after his 101 in Brisbane, entering at the tenth position, while Rishabh Pant has moved out of the top ten.
On the ODI front, Heinrich Klassen’s three back-to-back fifties against Pakistan have seen him rise eight spots – from 13th to fifth on the batting table. Opener Saim Ayub who had a breakthrough series against South Africa, with scores of 109, 25 and 101 as Pakistan clean swept the series 3-0, advanced 57 slots to a career-best 23rd position.
Babar Azam continues to lead the ODI batting list, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in second and third place, respectively.
Winless in three years, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan set for rare Boxing Day Test
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