Sports
India take control after day of batting dominance
India produced a classic Test match batting performance on the second day of the one-off Test against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday (December 22) to move into complete control. At Stumps, half-centuries from four batters and two century stands either side of a second-session stutter propelled them to 376/6, leading by 157 runs.
When India began proceedings on Thursday, little would they have envisioned that they’d go on to have an even better day of Test cricket than they did on Wednesday after losing the toss, against the best team on the circuit. They’d wiped out 98 runs off Australia’s total but further success depended on how they navigated the opening session today.
To that regard they enjoyed the perfect hour, or 55 minutes with Smriti Mandhana moving serenely to her third half-century in Test cricket. Even though Ashleigh Gardner, Australia’s best by a distance, routinely troubled both Mandhana and Sneh Rana, a breakthrough proved elusive. India also caught the visitors at their benevolent best and Tahlia McGrath’s twin misfields off successive deliveries both went for boundaries and allowed the hosts to take large chunks out of the deficit.
Fittingly, it was Gardner that struck the first blow for Australia when she had Rana play inside the line to a delivery and had her stumps rattled. India then opened a door for Australia to fight back courtesy a miscommunication between Richa Ghosh and Mandhana, which resulted in the latter’s run-out for 74.
Played up the order on her debut, Ghosh then forged an alliance with Jemimah Rodrigues and the pair set about rebuilding India’s innings. India went to Lunch without any further casualty having come to within 57 runs off their opposition’s first-innings total of 219.
The partnership flourished post the lunch interval with the pair’s astute running between the wickets and their decision to sweep the spinners off the stumps being notable highlights. Both batters got to their half-centuries and India had comfortably moved into the lead when Australia brought forth their famed bounce-back-ability.
Kim Garth ended the 113-run stand when her short-ball ploy bore fruit and elicited a miscued pull from Ghosh. Three balls later captain Harmanpreet Kaur was trapped LBW by a Gardner grubber. The offspinner also trapped Yastika Bhatia LBW and had the well-set Rodrigues hit a floaty delivery to the hands of cover to fall for 73. India lost 4 for 14 inside nine overs with the lead barely over 50.
If that period post drinks interval and before Tea was reason for Australian optimism that India could be rolled over for a lead under 100 and then put pressure on in the fourth innings, that was dispelled rather spectacularly by Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar. The pair batted cautiously in the first part of the final session and as the bowlers tired and the ball got softer, the shots began to flow.
Deepti, with a half-century to her name in each of her last three Tests, made it four from four and moved to 70 while Vastrakar was resolute in defence and ensured a wicketless final session for the hosts. The pair added 102 runs going into Stumps and on a pitch expected to deteriorate over the next two days, left Australia buried under a mountain of runs.
Brief scores:
India Women 376/7 (Smriti Mandhana 74, Jemimah Rodrigues 73, Deepti Sharma 70*; Ashleigh Gardner 4-100) lead Australia Women 219 by 157 runs.
Six-a-side school cricket is set to make a high-profile return to Moratuwa when the Old Boys’ Association of Prince of Wales’ College stages the Prince of Wales’ College 150th Anniversary Inter-School Sixes Cricket Tournament on August 29 and 30 at the De Soysa Stadium.
The two-day tournament is one of the major sporting attractions of the College’s historic 150th anniversary celebrations and
will bring together 16 leading school cricket teams for a knockout competition.
The tournament is aimed at reviving the excitement of six-a-side cricket, a format renowned for its fast pace and spectator-friendly nature, which has not featured regularly in major inter-school competitions in recent years.
The Old Boys’ Association believes the 150th anniversary provides the ideal opportunity to bring the format back to the forefront while celebrating Moratuwa’s deep-rooted passion for cricket.
Cricket has long held a special place in the hearts of Moratuwa’s residents, while Prince of Wales’ College boasts a proud cricketing tradition that has produced several outstanding players who have gone on to represent Sri Lanka at the highest level.
The organizers expect more than 5,000 cricket enthusiasts from Moratuwa and surrounding areas to witness the tournament over the two days, turning the event into a major festival of school cricket.
The opening ceremony on August 29 is scheduled to be attended by Kusal Mendis, one of the leading cricketers produced by Prince of Wales’ College and a member of the Sri Lankan national team.
The tournament will feature 16 schools, including Royal College Colombo, St. Joseph’s College Darley Road, Thurstan College Colombo, S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda, Prince of Wales’ College Moratuwa, Moratu Maha Vidyalaya, D.S. Senanayake College Colombo, Sri Sumangala College Panadura, Richmond College Galle, Mahanama College Colombo, St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa, St. Peter’s College Bambalapitiya, Wesley College Colombo, Ananda College Colombo and Mahanama College Panadura.
With the competition being played on a knockout basis, the compact format is expected to produce plenty of attacking cricket and give emerging players an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of a large crowd.
Apart from the competitive aspect, the tournament is also intended to promote sportsmanship, friendship and fellowship among the participating schools.
The tournament will conclude on August 30 with a ceremonial awards presentation, with the participation of Eran Wickramaratne, distinguished invitees, representatives of participating schools, past pupils and members of the cricketing community.
The Old Boys’ Association has also expressed its appreciation to the corporate sector and event sponsors whose support has helped make the tournament possible.
Their contribution, according to the organizers, reflects the continuing partnership between Prince of Wales’ College, its alumni and the corporate community in supporting educational, sporting and development initiatives.
The six-a-side tournament is therefore expected to provide not only two days of entertaining school cricket, but also a fitting sporting celebration of 150 years of Prince of Wales’ College.
India 503/9 decl (Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115; Asitha Fernando 4-106, Prabath Jayasuriya 2-132) drew with Sri Lanka 290 (Sonal Dinusha 103, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80; Prasidh Krishna 3-52, Manav Suthar 3-85) and 429/9 f/o (Sonal Dinusha 133*, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92; Ravindra Jadeja 3-94, Manav Suthar 3-121)
American golfer Matt Gogel has been suspended for six months for betting on golf tournaments, the PGA Tour has said.
The 55-year-old competes on the PGA Tour Champions circuit which is reserved for professional golfers aged 50 and older.
Gogel did not bet on events in which he was participating but admitted to unknowingly violating PGA Tour policy by placing “small recreational wagers” in 2024 and 2025.
“I would never knowingly violate the integrity of the game of golf,” Gogel said in a statement.
“I made an honest mistake and I look forward to playing in 2027 on the PGA Tour Champions.”
He had two top-10 finishes across 18 PGA Tour Champions events in 2026 and was most recently in action during the Rogers Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta where he finished tied 30th last week.
Gogel, who has earned more than $760,000 (£559,000) in prize money from Champions events, won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 2002 – his only victory in 179 starts on the PGA Tour.
His suspension came into effect on 23 August and lasts until 22 February.
[BBC Sports]
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