Day three of the Duleep Trophy semi-finals saw South and Central Zone in strong positions. Shubham Khajuria's unbeaten 128 helped North Zone reach 278/5 against South Zone's 536. Central Zone amassed 556/8 against West Zone, led by Shubham Sharma's 96, securing a 118-run lead and a strong chance to advance to the final.
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Shreyas Iyer will captain India A in the upcoming matches against Australia A, but Sarfaraz Khan's absence due to a quadriceps injury is a major talking point. Khan's injury also sidelined him from the Duleep Trophy. Iyer's leadership provides him a fresh opportunity after missing the Asia Cup squad.
Pakistan clinched a spot in the T20I tri-series final, defeating the United Arab Emirates by 31 runs. Fakhar Zaman's impressive unbeaten 77 and Abrar Ahmed's remarkable 4-9 spell led Pakistan's comeback from an early batting collapse to post a competitive total. Their dominant performance secured their place alongside Afghanistan in the upcoming final.
Defending champions India are set to commence their Asia Cup 2025 preparations with practice sessions in Dubai, foregoing a preparatory camp in India. Players will assemble individually, with captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir already en route. India's campaign begins against UAE on September 10, followed by a highly anticipated match against Pakistan on September 14.
Shreyas Iyer will captain the 15-member India A squad for two matches against Australia A in Lucknow, starting September 16, announced BCCI on Saturday. Despite strong Duleep Trophy performances, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rajat Patidar were surprisingly omitted. KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj are slated to join the squad for the second game, replacing two players from the initial lineup.
The associations earlier followed a mark of 16.5 as cut-off for yo-yo but showed leniency by selecting even those who posted 14 as, unlike the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era, there was no strict directive from the Indian cricket board. Compared to the world standards, India's Yo-Yo marker wasn't stiff but even then plenty of superstars found it difficult to pass the assessment between what became the dreaded cones in Indian cricket.
Rohit Sharma, India's ODI captain, was recently seen offering prayers to Lord Ganesha in Mumbai amidst a large crowd. Videos circulating online show the cricketer performing rituals and acknowledging fans, causing a chaotic scene around his car. He is expected to return to action in October for an ODI series in Australia, with a preparatory series planned beforehand.
Sandeep Sharma recounted a memorable IPL moment from 2017 when Preity Zinta, co-owner of Punjab Kings, advocated for him to receive the Player of the Match award after his crucial spell against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Sharma dismissed Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers, helping Punjab defend a low score.
Day three of the Duleep Trophy semi-finals saw South and Central Zone in strong positions. Shubham Khajuria's unbeaten 128 helped North Zone reach 278/5 against South Zone's 536. Central Zone amassed 556/8 against West Zone, led by Shubham Sharma's 96, securing a 118-run lead and a strong chance to advance to the final.
Wasim Jaffer playfully trolled Michael Vaughan after England's dismal batting performance against South Africa in the first ODI, where they were bowled out for a mere 131. Jaffer humorously pointed out England's eighth position in the ICC ODI rankings, suggesting the ICC should investigate, continuing their long-standing banter.
The BCCI has terminated its jersey sponsorship deal with Dream11 due to the newly enacted Online Gaming Bill, which prohibits money-based online gaming. This decision cuts short the original three-year contract, prompting the BCCI to seek a new sponsor for the Indian cricket team.