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It's official now. Rohit Sharma is not playing the fifth India vs Australia Test in Sydney. Jasprit Bumrah , who had led India to victory in the first Test of the five-match series in Perth, walked out for the toss along with Australia captain Pat Cummins in Sydney on Friday morning. Surprisingly, Bumrah was not asked in details about Rohit Sharma's absence by commentator and former India coach Ravi Shastri . Later, visuals showed Rohit having a light chat with India coach Gautam Gambhir .    Bumrah revealed that Rohit had opted out of the match. "Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game. That shows there's a lot of unity in this team. There's no selfishness. Whatever is in the team's best interest we are looking to do that. Two changes, Rohit has opted to rest and Akash Deep is injured so Prasidh comes in," Jasprit Bumrah said at the toss. "We've played some really good cricket in this series. The last match was prett...

India vs Australia 5th Test Day 1 Live Updates:  India's full-time captain Rohit Sharma opted out of the 5th and final Test against Australia as stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah decided to bat first at SCG on Friday. India made two changes in the team, with Shubman Gill replacing Rohit while Prasidh Krishan came into the team in place of injured Akash Deep. A win is what India need from the game to keep their World Test Championship Final hopes alive. Anything less than that will simply throw India out of the race for the summit clash. On the other hand, a win in the final game will also seal the deal for Australia, while a draw will see their WTC Final fate hanging on their two-match series vs Sri Lanka. ( Live Scorecard ) Here are the Live Score and Updates of India vs Australia 5th Test Day 1 - from NDTV Sports-Cricket https://ift.tt/o6Qi4GC

While the entire focus during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy is on the duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, another star performer Rishabh Pant has also been under scrutiny. The wicketkeeper-batter has scored 154 runs in 4 matches at an average of 22. While runs have not come as much as expected from the bat of Pant, his shot selections and batting approach have also been under the radar of critics, of late. Former India cricketer Atul Wassan feels the 27-year-old needs to "think" and "tamper" his game according to the situation. The statement from Wassan comes after Pant was brutally slammed for his performance in the Melbourne Test. Pant ended the fourth Test with scores of 28(37) and 30(104).  Pant faced backlash from fans and former cricketers after India fell to a 184-run defeat in front of a record-attendance crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the Boxing Day Test. The southpaw gave away his wicket while trying to pull off an audacious shot in...

The fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) could get affected by rain during the last two days of the match, reported Wisden Cricket. The final Test will be a New Year's Test starting on January 3 at the SCG. Also, the Test is a special event as it marks the 'Jane McGrath Day', the wife of legendary pacer Glenn McGrath who lost her life in a battle with cancer. "On the third day of the match venue is covered with a full sea of pink and millions of dollars are typically raised for cancer support and awareness in Australia. As per Google Weather as quoted by Wisden, on day one, the game will start under a thick cloud cover. There is a chance of rain by 25 per cent, which will reduce to just five per cent on day two. The second day will be bright and sunny as will Sunday, with the temperatures also rising to the mid-thirties. The last two days of the match could get affected by inclement w...

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke feels Rishabh Pant would have regretted the shot that led to his dismissal in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test more. Pant was at the receiving end of backlash from fans and former cricketers after India succumbed to an 184-run defeat in front of a record-attendance crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the Boxing Day Test. In the first innings, he lost his wicket after trying to execute a cheeky shot. The plan was there in his mind, but when it came to execution, Pant fluffed and lost his wicket. Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who was on commentary at that time, was livid and didn't mince his words while reacting to the chain of events he saw unfolding right in front of his eyes. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. You've got two fielders there, and you still go for that, you've missed the previous shot. And look where you've been caught. You've been caught at deep third," was Gavaskar's reaction durin...

The face-off between India's Virat Kohli and Australia's Sam Konstas at Melbourne Cricket Ground became the talking point during the fourth Test. Kohli was involved in a shoulder-barge with the Australian teenager, who made his debut in the just-concluded Boxing Day Test at MCG. For the action, the India veteran even received a 20 percent match fee penalty and one demerit point from the International Cricket Council. The Australian media houses were clearly unhappy over ICC's decision as they felt that Kohli "got off lightly". Backing the apex cricket council's decision, former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at the Australian media and cited an example from the past to back his opinions. "The match referee, Andy Pycroft, who was officiating in his 100th Test match, had earlier in the year also levied a penalty for a similar offence on (Ireland's) Josh Little. The maximum allowed under the offence is what Kohli got, so for the Aussie me...

New Year 2025 was welcomed in great fashion across the world. The Indian cricket team members also wished their fans on social media. Currently, the Indian cricket team is in Australia and celebrated the New Year in Sydney. Power couple Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma were spotted on the streets of Sydney on Tuesday. Devdutt Padikkal , who has played in the IPL with Virat Kohli, accompanied them. Several social media accounts said that the group was going to a New Year Party.  virat and anushka spotted in sydney likely celebrating new year pic.twitter.com/Grn54flBE1 — p bumrah's era (@ssnoozefest) December 31, 2024 Virat Kohli And @AnushkaSharma Spotted On The Streets Of Sydney For A New Year Party! #Virushka #HappyNewYear #AUSvIND @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/oAHD8Fxk1A — virat_kohli_18_club (@KohliSensation) December 31, 2024 Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma and Devdutt Padikkal & Prasidh Krishna at the Sydney for New Year's celebrations. pic.twitter.com/FC8ahlCV...

The talks around India captain Rohit Sharma 's potential retirement from Test cricket have intensified with the team's bitter defeat to Australia in the 4th Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday. India's defeat in the match makes World Test Championship (WTC) qualification quite difficult while Rohit's form with the bat does make it difficult for the management to fit him in the XI. Suggestions are that the Sydney Test is likely to be Rohit's last in the longest format, and Australia great Justin Langer also spotted an 'unusually emotional' India skipper on Day 5 at MCG, hinting that the end is near for him. Langer said that Rohit was unusually emotional on the field at MCG on Day 5 of the 4th Test, which could be seen as a hint behind his potential exit from the format. The former Australia batter also feels Rohit is quite tired, with the stress of the game getting to his nerves. "Rohit Sharma looks very tired to me. I saw him quite emotion...

2024 saw some of the most competitive and captivating cricket being played on the field. While new rivalries developed, the older ones continued to prosper with a new-found intensity. On one side, game's greats retired, a new generation is also slowly taking shape. This year saw India end their 11-year-long ICC title drought and secure the T20 World Cup title win. England, New Zealand and Australia also registered some important wins throughout the year. All this while, some of the world's best cricketers enthralled the crowds, became thorn in the eyes of their rivals and broke several records on the way to victory. Here are the best cricketers of 2024: Joe Root (England) Largely a one-format player nowadays, Root was in monstrous form in Tests this year, leading the run-charts with 1,556 runs at an average of 55.57 and a strike rate of over 63 in 17 matches, with six tons and five fifties in 31 innings and best score of 262. Root broke two massive Test records this year, b...