Laura Wolvaardt backed up a century in the semi-final with another one in the final but South Africa fell short in a chase of 299

Karthik Krishnaswamy02-Nov-2025

The Indian team lifts the World Cup Trophy•ICC/Getty Images

This had been India’s World Cup all along. As hosts. As the emerging global powerhouse of women’s cricket. As the team that has pushed the sport’s hegemonic force harder than any other, defeating it twice in semi-finals. As the team whose time had been too long in coming.On Sunday, India made it their World Cup by winning it. Shafali Verma capped an extraordinary week with an extraordinary display in the final: 87 off 78 balls to set up a total of 298 for 7, and two unexpected wickets of characteristic cheek at a crucial juncture in a chase that threatened more than once to turn into a nailbiter. Deepti Sharma, a world-class offspinner who has raised her batting to a new level this year, backed up a run-a-ball half-century with a five-wicket haul that combined old-school overspin with new-age defensive skills. India won by 52 runs, and that margin disguised how much tension this final contained.This was a meeting of two teams nursing histories of heartbreak, and one had to lose. That fate was South Africa’s, cruelly for their captain Laura Wolvaardt, the tournament’s highest run-getter, who followed a career-defining semi-final century with an innings just as good. This was anyone’s game as long as she was in, given South Africa’s immense depth, until she was seventh out for 101 off 98 balls, miscuing Deepti high into the Navi Mumbai night.Nadine de Klerk, the match-winner in the league-stage meeting between these teams, kept faint hopes alive with her hitting, but 78 to get with only Nos. 10 and 11 for company was too much of an ask even for her.Laura Wolvaardt finished 571 tournament runs, new World Cup record•ICC/Getty ImagesSouth Africa won what looked to be an important toss, but the dew that Navi Mumbai has always brought to run-chases didn’t quite materialise, possibly because the showers that pushed the match back by two hours brought temperatures down well before night fell.This equalised conditions for both teams, and India, in the end, had personnel better suited to a pitch where the ball stopped and gripped: more in-form batters adept at risk-free manipulation of spin, and spinners who posed a greater attacking threat. As long as dew didn’t complicate Deepti and Shree Charani’s job, South Africa were going to find it difficult to chase 299 on this pitch.Related

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The chase put India’s innings in perspective. Their total was the second-highest ever achieved in a Women’s World Cup final, but given the events of Thursday’s semi-final on the same ground, and given South Africa’s depth, it looked less than intimidating.And recent events were fresh in the mind. India had been 200 for 3 after 35 overs. They only scored 98 in their last 15 overs, and only 69 in their last 10.But the key passages may have come earlier.When the skies cleared and the match began, Shafali and Smriti Mandhana got off to start as ominous as Australia’s on Thursday; 58 for no loss in eight overs. Ayabonga Khaka struggled to control the sometimes extravagant swing she found, and Marizanne Kapp didn’t find much at all with her new ball. Both erred frequently.Shafali Verma made her highest ODI score in the World Cup final•AFP/Getty ImagesShafali, stepping out to the seamers whenever she could, drove and flicked her way to five fours in her first 19 balls, and Mandhana, less overtly aggressive, had unfurled her two favourite shots, the back-cut and the cover drive, against Khaka in a 14-run sixth over.But South Africa pulled things back courtesy de Klerk’s straighter lines and left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba’s pace variations, with India only scoring 13 runs in the five overs from the ninth to the 13th.The boundaries began to flow again thereafter, though, with Shafali launching de Klerk down the ground for the first six of the innings in the 15th over, but just when India seemed to be pulling away from South Africa’s reach, Mandhana was out edging a late-cut to the keeper, bringing a 104-run opening stand to an end.This pull-push continued all the way through the innings, in conditions where neither the bowlers nor batters could quite get on top. A tiring, cramping Shafali fell after adding 16 runs to her previous ODI best of 71*, holing out while looking to hit straight and big. Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet and Amanjot Kaur all got off to starts but couldn’t convert, two of them falling to balls that seemed to stop on the pitch.India’s lack of a big finish owed a lot to how well South Africa exploited this tendency of the pitch, with Khaka making up for her expensive new-ball spell (3-0-29-0) by conceding just 29 runs in her last seven overs while picking up the key wickets of Shafali, Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh.Ayabonga Khaka picked up three big wickets•Getty ImagesGhosh walked in at 245 for 5 in the 44th over and launched her second ball for an effortless six over the covers. She remained the only India batter to defy the conditions and hit the old ball cleanly through the line, pouncing on South Africa’s shift in strategy from stump-to-stump cutters to yorker attempts that came with a smaller margin for error.Khaka’s dismissal of Ghosh in the 49th over, however, seemed to even up the contest once more. Right through that over, Khaka kept cramping Ghosh with pinpoint yorkers that followed her attempts to manufacture room, before a last-ball flick ended up in deep backward square leg’s hands.De Klerk followed up with a final over in which Deepti and new batter Radha Yadav were only able to take singles, and India had ended up two short of 300.Deepti had been a busy presence through the last 20 overs of the innings, slog-sweeping with authority when she could, and keeping the strike turning over when she couldn’t. She didn’t quite find the next gear, however, to lift India to the 320-plus total they had seemed set for for so long.The magnitude of India’s 298, however, began looking clear from the time they began defending it. Their seamers didn’t make the line and length errors that South Africa’s did with the new ball, with Renuka Singh causing problems in particular with her booming inswing. She unsuccessfully reviewed a not-out lbw appeal against Tazmin Brits early on, and then nearly had her spoon one to a cleverly positioned short mid-on.DY Patil Stadium was a sea of blue on Sunday•ICC/Getty ImagesBut it took a brilliant bit of fielding for India to get their breakthrough, with Amanjot pouncing to her wrong side from midwicket and throwing down the stumps at the bowler’s end to find Brits short while attempting a quick single.Two overs later, South Africa were two down, as Anneke Bosch ended a miserable tournament with a six-ball duck, misreading Charani’s length and getting trapped right in front while playing back to a ball of fullish length.Wolvaardt, though, was already on 35 off 30, and already looking ominous, having broken free of early pressure with a series of leg-side swats and a clean, straight six off Deepti. Just when she needed a partner to stay in with her, she found one in Sune Luus, whose trademark mix of square and fine sweeps quickly began putting India back under pressure.But just when the third-wicket stand had crossed the half-century mark, India found their golden arm. Shafali, who had taken just the one wicket with her part-time offspin in 30 previous ODIs, sauntered to the crease and prised out Luus with her second ball, delivering something like a slow legcutter or a carrom ball without the finger flick. Expecting turn in one direction and finding it in another, Luus closed her bat face and popped back a return catch. Kept on for another over, she struck again with her first ball, this time turning an offbreak big to have Kapp strangled down the leg side.Deepti Sharma was named Player of the Tournament•ICC/Getty ImagesWith parts of Mumbai experiencing rain at that moment, South Africa had been ahead of the DLS par score before Luus’ dismissal. At 123 for 4 in the 23rd over, they were well behind it.And they slipped further behind when Sinalo Jafta, batting ahead of more proven, more powerful names despite an ODI average in the mid-teens, began to dot up against the spinners. By the time she spooned Deepti to midwicket, she had scored 16 off 29 and 25 off 44 with Wolvaardt.But even with 151 required from 123 balls, this match wasn’t done. Annerie Dercksen silenced a packed stadium with back-to-back sixes off Radha, the first off a high full-toss no-balled for height. Wolvaardt ended Shafali’s spell – perhaps ambitiously stretched into a seventh over – with a pair of fours drilled through the covers and down the ground.With 11 overs to go, South Africa needed 92.But they still had the tournament’s highest wicket-taker, and an end-overs ace, to contend with. Deepti, in the second over of a new spell, produced a quick yorker out of nowhere that Dercksen couldn’t put bat to. And then, in her next over, she slowed one down, inviting Wolvaardt to go big. Dip produced the mishit, but it still needed to be taken, and Amanjot, walking in from deep midwicket, did on the third – or was it the fourth? – attempt, falling to the floor but somehow holding on.Three balls later, Deepti’s white-ball smarts put India another massive step closer, a quicker, cross-seam ball beating Tryon to rap her front pad; given out on the field, DRS upheld it on umpire’s call.There was still work to do, and still nerves to get past, but the World Cup, so elusive for so many years, was beginning to loom into India’s view.

The wheels are in danger of coming off for Chelsea this season, if they haven’t already.

Enzo Maresca’s side have looked a shadow of the team that demolished Barcelona over the last week or so.

First, they lost to Leeds United, then drew with Bournemouth, and then, to make matters even worse, they threw away a one-nil lead and lost to Atalanta on Tuesday night in the Champions League.

It’s a run of form that should see the board reflect on who is and isn’t good enough to represent Chelsea, and there is one player who has been even worse than the underwhelming Jamie Gittens and therefore shouldn’t play another minute this season.

Chelsea's poor performers vs Atalanta

Unfortunately for Maresca, although he bears a great deal of responsibility for the loss, more than a handful of Chelsea players were seriously poor against Atalanta on Tuesday night.

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Gittens, for example, once again put in a performance that should seriously worry fans as he was utterly ineffective against the 12th-placed Serie A side.

Somehow, the former Borussia Dortmund gem remained on the pitch for the full 94 minutes, despite doing nothing of any note on or off the ball.

For example, he registered a combined expected goal and assists figure of just 0.26, lost seven of his ten duels, failed to take a single shot on target and played just a single key pass.

To say it was an underwhelming showing from the Englishman would be an understatement, and therefore the 5/10 match rating he received from the Standard’s Dom Smith was more than justified.

The journalist gave Benoit Badiashile the same rating, and it’s hard to disagree.

Sure, the French centre-back made a few good interceptions and tackles in the first half, but he was partly responsible for Charles De Ketelaere’s winner, as he kept backing off from the Belgian before he shot.

It was also a really disappointing night for Enzo Fernández.

The World Cup winner has been crucial for the Blues at times this season, and a source of goals from the middle of the park.

However, against the Bergamo outfit, he was hugely frustrating, as while he did get into dangerous positions on more than one occasion, he either fluffed his lines or made the wrong decision.

Minutes

67′

Expected Goals

0.01

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.42

Assists

0

Key Passes

1

Crosses (Accurate)

1 (0)

Passes (Accurate)

24/33 (73%)

Lost Possession

15

Dribbles

0

Duels (Won)

10 (3)

Now, there is an argument that all three of these players should be dropped for this weekend’s game, but there is another player in the squad, someone who’s been worse than Gittens, who should probably never play for the club again.

The Chelsea flop who cannot play another minute for Maresca

While there are a few Chelsea players who need to be sold in the upcoming transfer window, the first one out the door should be Tosin Adarabioyo.

Now, it should be said that he was far from the worst player on the pitch on Tuesday night, but he still managed to disappoint in the 18 minutes he spent on the pitch.

For example, he lost 100% of his ground duels, committed a foul, lost the ball four times and didn’t even make a tackle, despite the hosts pushing more in the closing minutes.

However, the defeat to Atalanta is not the sole reason the 28-year-old should no longer be getting any minutes for the team, as he has cost the side on multiple occasions this season.

The most recent example of this came in the game against Leeds United.

It was at Elland Road that, under very little pressure, he lost the ball in the Blues’ penalty area, which led directly to the hosts scoring, and content creator Tom Overend calling him “utterly embarrassing.”

Moreover, the statistics from his season overall do not make for pleasant reading.

In the four Champions League appearances he’s made this season, the former Fulham star has averaged just one point per game and conceded eight goals.

Games

9

5

1

Starts

5

3

1

Minutes

557′

239′

90′

Goals

0

0

0

Assists

0

0

0

Points per Game

1.78

1.00

3.00

Then, in the Premier League, he has averaged just 1.78 points per game across nine appearances, five of which have been starts.

Finally, FBref have ranked him in just the top 38% of centre-backs in the league for tackles won per 90, but the top 13% for tackles attempted, meaning he simply isn’t winning enough of them.

Ultimately, Gittens has been disappointing this season, but he’s still young and could come good.

However, Tosin is an experienced defender who has directly cost Chelsea points and, given he was signed for free, should be sold as soon as possible.

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ByJack Salveson Holmes 3 days ago

The fast bowler hit his stride in the Perth nets three days from the start of the Ashes

Vithushan Ehantharajah18-Nov-20257:21

Can Ollie Pope reward England’s faith?

Mark Wood’s chances of playing the first Test against Australia took a positive step forward on Tuesday with a 40-minute spell in the nets at Perth’s Optus Stadium, where the Ashes begins on Friday.Returning from a hamstring scare during the warm-up match against England Lions last week, Wood, left leg heavily strapped, watched on initially as England returned to training after a couple of days off. However, he was soon into meaningful work with the ball, with Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum taking a closer look at their prized asset from the standing umpire’s point-of-view.Related

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“He was absolutely rapid today, I can tell you that firsthand,” said Jamie Smith, who was one of the batters facing Wood. “He’s definitely one to avoid on the list. He’s near enough full tilt so it’s good signs for us.”England are expected to opt for an all-pace attack on a pitch regarded as one of the fastest in the world. They had their first look at the surface, which was watered yesterday, ahead of training.Wood is a key component of their plan, not just as the quickest in the touring party – and, perhaps, the circuit – but also as the only specialist bowler with previous Ashes tour experience. Wood was the standout quick during the 2021-22 series, taking 17 wickets at 26.64, with a number of batters he troubled still part of the current Australia side.Mark Wood steams in at training•Getty Images

Much will depend on how Wood pulls up on Wednesday, and whether he can get through another session later in the day. He has not played competitive cricket since February, spending the last nine months recovering from left knee surgery, having suffered a stress fracture of the right elbow in September 2024.Selecting Wood remains a risk, albeit one that will be cushioned among four other quicks, including Stokes, and with Jofra Archer able to provide further support on the express pace front. It is also a risk England are more than willing to take.The management were not overly worried when Wood left the field against the Lions with a tight hamstring after two four-over spells. The soft outfield at Lilac Hills contributed to that discomfort in what was Wood’s first bowl since England’s penultimate Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan, on February 26. And given the investment in Wood, which includes a three-year central contract with this Ashes in mind, there is a sense now is the time to cash in.Josh Tongue, the likely beneficiary if Wood is deemed unfit for selection, reiterated that sentiment: “It feels like if he’s good to go and the management feels he’s good to go, I don’t see why not.”

Before Kyle Schwarber re-signed with the Phillies on a five-year, $150 million deal, the slugger—one of the top free agents on the market—was garnering interest from a number of teams including the Reds, Orioles and Pirates.

The Pirates, surprisingly, might have been the most serious team outside of Philadelphia bidding for the slugger’s services. Tom Verducci reported Tuesday that according to sources, both the Pirates and Orioles were also offering Schwarber deals in the five-year, $150 million range, and that the Pirates “indicated a willingness to go higher.”

Related: MLB Winter Meetings Live Blog—Phillies Shatter Record With Schwarber Signing

While Schwarber ended up choosing to return to Philadelphia after spending the previous four seasons with the team, the Pirates’ reported offer does display a different competitiveness by their front office. It was previously known that the Pirates had interest in Schwarber, but given their history of low spending in free agency, the fact that they were offering Schwarber was not initially treated as very serious. The Pirates being willing to offer more than he signed for with the Phillies instead shows the contrary, that the Pirates might actually be trying to field a team that can truly compete—even if it means paying a high price to do so.

It makes sense for the Pirates to make this pursuit. After all, they have a franchise piece in ace Paul Skenes, who is coming off his first Cy Young-winning campaign in only his second season. Despite rumors and assertions that Pittsburgh should trade the ace if they don’t make moves to compete, Skenes has expressed that he wants to remain in Pittsburgh and help the Pirates win. Given the Pirates haven’t made the postseason in a decade and Skenes is locked in with Pittsburgh through 2029, they’d be wise not to let his tenure as a Pirate go to waste.

In turn, the Pirates appear to be prioritizing building a winning team around the star pitcher. The Pirates have already traded pitcher Johan Oviedo for promising hitter Jhostynxon Garcia this offseason, and have since looked at some high-priced free agents. It’s unclear whether Pittsburgh will manage to land any of the top players available via free agency or trade, but their pursuit of Schwarber signals a step in the right direction for a franchise that has spent much of this century in the cellar of the National League Central.

The Blue Jays roared back in the ALCS on Wednesday night with a 13-4 beatdown of the Mariners after dropping the first two games of the series in Toronto. As has been the case all postseason, Vlad Guerrero Jr. was the engine that drove his team's offensive production. The star slugger went 4-for-4 from the plate with three runs and came up a triple shy of a cycle.

It was a near miss, though. In the eighth inning with the game well in hand Guerrero mashed a double into the gap in right field. It was a bit of a slow roller so from the broadcast view it looked like the Blue Jays star have gone for third and become the second player to ever hit for the cycle in the playoffs. But he held up at second and missed his shot at history.

Guerrero didn't seem terribly concerned about that while speaking to the Fox Sports crew afterwards, which makes sense; his team still won by nine runs. Derek Jeter decided to have some fun with it and pressed Guerrero on why he didn't try for the historic achievement. Guerrero explained his third base coach held up the stop sign and he has to listen to his coach, leading to a perfect reaction from Jeter.

"Next time blink and tell him you didn’t see him," Jeter said.

A fun exchange, and one well-earned by Guerrero.

The Blue Jays are still up against the wall, down 2-1 with two more games to play in Seattle before heading back to Toronto if the series gets that far. But they carved out some breathing room with the dominant Game 3 win.

Guerrero will look to do it again on Thursday night. Maybe he'll take Jeter's advice, too.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Botafogo já está classificado na Libertadores, mas terá confronto importante nesta terça-feira (28), contra o Junior Barranquilla, na Colômbia, em busca da liderança do Grupo D. O alvinegro poderá contar com Tiquinho Soares na última partida da fase de grupos.

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Faça as suas apostas na Libertadores 2024: quem será o campeão? Vem pro Lance! Betting!

O atacante se lesionou contra o Universitario, no dia 24 de abril. A previsão para o retorno do atleta era de seis semanas, mas Tiquinho superou as expectativas para a recuperação e voltará aos gramados com uma semana de antecedência.

A presença do camisa 9 foi uma das novidades do Botafogo durante o treino aberto, realizado na manhã deste domingo (26), no Nilton Santos. O jogador treinou com a equipe e está relacionado para a partida contra o Junior, mas se ele entrará em campo ainda vai depender da decisão de Artur Jorge.

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Com a volta de Tiquinho, o Botafogo ganha um reforço caseiro importante para o resto da temporada. O jogador foi um dos destaques da campanha de 2023, disputando a artilharia de competições nacionais. Sua pontaria é um dos destaques, o atacante converteu 21 das 30 chances claras que teve (70%). Tiquinho de participou de 27% dos gols do Botafogo nos últimos 2 anos, 47 de 174. Ele marcou 35 vezes e deu 12 assistências.

Desde a sua estreia com a camisa alvinegra, ele é o artilheiro do Brasileirão, com 25 gols em 50 jogos. Com o jogador em campo, o Botafogo marcou 124 dos 174 gols nos últimos dois anos e 59% de aproveitamento.

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O Glorioso precisa vencer o time colombiano para assumir a liderança do grupo. Neste momento, ambos estão empatados com 9 pontos. A bola rola a partir de 19h (Brasília) com transmissão da ESPN e a plataforma de streaming Star+.

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تعادل منتخب مصر مع نظيره الإمارات، في إطار منافسات دور المجموعات من بطولة كأس العرب التي تقام في دولة قطر. 

وواجه منتخب مصر الثاني نظيره منتخب الإمارات، في الثامنة والنصف مساء بتوقيت القاهرة، في الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات من بطولة كأس العرب.

ويقع منتخب مصر في المجموعة الثانية في مجموعات كأس العرب رفقة منتخبات الإمارات والاردن والكويت. 

طالع.. بالتوقيتات.. مواعيد مباريات منتخب مصر في كأس العالم 2026

وحسم التعادل الإيجابي بهدف لكل فريق مواجهة منتخب مصر مع الإمارات، في المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين مساء اليوم. 

وأحرز منتخب الإمارات هدف اللقاء الأول في الدقيقة 60، عن طريق اللاعب كايو لوكاس. 

وفي الدقيقة 85، عادل منتخب مصر النتيجة عن طريق مروان حمدي، بعد عرضية من كريم العراقي ليضعها بالرأس على يمين حارس مرمى الإمارات. 

وفي الدقيقة 90، احرز منتخب مصر هدفًا عن طريق ميدو جابر ولكن ألغاه الحكم بداعي التسلل.

وبهذه النتيجة رفع منتخب مصر رصيده إلى نقطتين في المركز الثالث في جدول ترتيب المجموعة، بينما رفع منتخب الإمارات رصيده إلى نقطة وحيدة في المركز الأخير.  أهداف مباراة مصر والإمارات اليوم في كأس العرب 1-1

ملخص مباراة مصر والإمارات (1-1) كأس العرب

England’s key batter won’t dwell on Perth dismissals, despite poor head-to-head record

Vithushan Ehantharajah30-Nov-2025England’s first training session at the Gabba on Sunday, ahead of the second Ashes Test, featured a couple of unfamiliar “dog-throwers”.With the Lions taking part in the Prime Ministers’ XI match in Canberra, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue with them, and the bowlers resting up after Saturday’s session at Allan Border Field – only Ben Stokes sent deliveries down – net bowlers and coaches were working overtime. As were two new faces in England stash.They were drafted in from the Sunshine Coast by bowling coach David Saker as reinforcements. And it was no coincidence there was a left-hander in there.After Mitchell Starc blasted through England in the first Test at Perth to put Australia 1-0 up, the extra focus was a no-brainer. The tourists had no answers for Starc’s brilliance as he finished with 10 in the match. They will need to find some ahead of the day-night Test, because no one does it better than the 35-year-old in this novelty off-shoot of the longest format.Related

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No bowler has anywhere near as many as Starc’s 81 pink-ball wickets at 17.08, nor his experience of 14 Tests with various iterations of the lighter Kookaburra. Like cocktails on a beach, he is a class apart when the sun sets. And with half of each day’s play expected to take place under lights, there is unlikely to be a period not suited to his game.As is England’s way, the onus is on individuals to work out their own ways of combating Starc. And it was noteworthy that one of England’s greatest problem-solvers, Joe Root, hogged a left-handed thrower during the afternoon session, trying to workshop a method against a familiar foe.The pair have played each other 23 times – red and pink – and Starc has the slight upper hand in their ongoing battle.Test cricket’s second-most productive run-scorer averages 34.9 against Starc, who has removed Root 10 times in Tests, including twice last week.”I think the first innings, to be honest, it was a pretty good ball,” Root said of his dismissal for a duck on day one, twisted around and edging to third slip. “Nipped across you from straight in. I wasn’t looking to whip it through square leg or anything like that. It was just one of those things you can get on a lively wicket. In England that probably doesn’t carry, it drops short with soft hands. It’s just one of the things you have to wear.”In the second innings, Root felt he started well “being quite busy and proactive” before edging a drive onto his stumps for 8 from 11 deliveries. The third batter dismissed in a run-less six balls that turned the Test on its head. “I just made a slight error of judgement and it costs you. You could play and miss at that, or it goes between stumps and keeper and goes for four, and you never think about it again.”Joe Root trains at the Gabba•Getty ImagesFine margins? Or, whisper it – does Root have a Starc problem? Both can be true, of course. Likewise, the fact that since adding the wobble seam delivery to his repertoire, Starc has been able to challenge both edges of the bat, regardless of whether he is faced with a right- or left-hander. Supplemented by his pace, angle and swing, he was able to cover for the loss of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in the first Test, and may do again in the second.”Clearly the more he’s played, the more experience he’s getting, and the more skills he’s developed,” Root said. “He’s a fine bowler and has been for a long time – and that’s never changed. They’ve had a couple of injuries, and he’s had to step up and he did that very well in the last game. Our challenge will be, can we counter that this week?”Root is optimistic solutions can be found, even in Starc’s day-night domain, and sees no reason why the bowler’s strengths cannot be managed to a degree. It is worth noting, Starc’s average with the pink ball at the Gabba is a solid yet unspectacular 29.00, with 14 dismissals across six innings.”It’s understanding all of the different tools he might have and then how are you going to counter that both in a positive manner and in allowing yourself to do it for a long period of time. Just being clear individually in how you want to go about scoring your runs and readying yourself as best you can is going to be the key.”With two days of practice, and information due to come their way from Canberra, England are fairly happy with the current batch of pink balls, even if Root thinks day-night matches are unnecessary for an Ashes series. Having played in all seven of England’s previous ones, he will need to draw on that experience, and share it with team-mates, if the tourists are to dent Australia’s impressive record in the side-format, which currently reads 13 wins out of 14. That one loss came here at the Gabba, against West Indies in 2024.”It felt pretty good when facing it. I think it’s [the black seam] actually a nice way of really focusing on the ball. Look hard at that seam and give you as many cues as you can from that point of release.”Of course, it’s going to have its different challenges and nuances from the red ball, but that’s all part and parcel of it. Can we be better at it than Australia? That’s the question and the challenge ahead of us.”

He has made himself impossible to drop, pushing India towards the rare move of picking him as a non-keeping middle-order batter

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Nov-2025It was clear even in January 2020 that Dhruv Jurel had big ambitions.Watch this video, produced during that year’s Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. “I just want to be a successful cricketer,” he says. “I want to play 200 Test match[es] for my India.”He seems to say these words with no thought of how outlandish they must sound coming from anyone, let alone someone who had played no senior cricket at that point. Or with no thought given to the hurdles in front of him, including Rishabh Pant, older than Jurel by only three-and-a-half years and by then already looking set for a long and extraordinary career.A year-and-a-half into his international career now, Jurel has played seven Tests, and all but one of them has come in the forced absence of Pant. This, typically, is life for the wicketkeeping understudy. Keeping is a specialist job, and for much of cricket’s history it was unusual for regular keepers to be good enough with the bat to play Test matches consistently as pure batters.Related

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It’s become a lot more common in recent times, of course, and Test teams now routinely line up with one keeper who keeps and one or even two who don’t. On Friday, South Africa are likely to line up at Eden Gardens with a keeping keeper in Kyle Verreynne and a non-keeping keeper in Ryan Rickelton.India, however, haven’t had much of a history of non-keeping Test keepers. Of the 13 India players who have kept wicket in 10 or more Tests (this weeds out specialist batters who have occasionally done the job, like Vijay Manjrekar and KL Rahul), only two have played as specialist batters in non-emergency situations (such as the crises of unavailability that led to Wriddhiman Saha’s debut and Jurel’s appearance in Perth last year): Budhi Kunderan (in three Tests, with Farokh Engineer keeping) and Dinesh Karthik (in seven, with MS Dhoni keeping).And both Kunderan and Karthik opened the batting when they played alongside another keeper. Stopgap or otherwise, and with or without the big gloves, keeper as opener is certainly an authentic Indian-cricket tradition.All this to say, then, that Jurel, against South Africa on Friday, could go where no India Test keeper with a career of any real length (sorry, Madhav Mantri and Chandrakant Pandit) has gone before: starting a Test series as a non-keeping middle-order batter, ahead of specialist contenders within the squad. And if it happens, it will happen because Jurel has made himself near-impossible to leave out.On September 15, before India A’s first unofficial Test against Australia A, Jurel had one century in 25 first-class games, and an average of 47.34. It was a record befitting his status as a keeper-batter of immense potential, but even if he had shown signs of an uncommonly good eye, technique and temperament, there was, as yet, not a lot of evidence to force India to pick him ahead of B Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal or Sarfaraz Khan or a host of other candidates in a specialist middle-order role.Since then, Jurel has rattled off 140, 1, 56, 125, 44, 6*, 132* and 127* in five first-class games — two Tests against West Indies (in the first of which he scored that 125) sandwiched between India A matches against Australia A and South Africa A. His first-class average has jumped to 58.00.Gloves or no gloves, Dhruv Jurel has proved himself to be handy in the field•PTI How do you leave out someone with that record, in this form, who has already shown multiple times that he looks entirely at home in Test cricket? This is someone with a match-turning, Player-of-the-Match performance on a tricky, low-bounce pitch in just his second Test. Someone who, in his most recent match, scored a day-one century on a greentop against South Africa A when no other India A player — their XI included Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Padikkal and Pant — went past 24. Someone who had done the same sort of thing for India A — twin half-centuries when none of his team-mates scored one in either innings — at the MCG last year.India must have come very, very close to the conclusion that you don’t leave out such a player, in fact, and that you find any possible way to pick him. And they probably don’t have to think too long or hard about how they can do this, because there is a fairly obvious way, and a fairly obvious player to leave out.During the Tests against West Indies, Nitish Kumar Reddy looked like a luxury player India picked because they could afford to pick him — not so much for his utility for the immediate task at hand but for helping him grow into the game-changing player they believe he can become. India could afford, in that series, to pick an allrounder who is, at his present stage of development, a sixth bowler and, for all his batting promise, a No. 8 behind Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar who are far more accomplished with the bat at present.Jurel, except in one innings when India promoted Reddy to give him batting time, batted above all three allrounders during the West Indies series, and looked a natural fit in that position. Now, even with Pant back in their XI, there is every chance India will want the batting edge Jurel gives them over this current, work-in-progress version of Reddy, because South Africa’s attack is nothing like the severely depleted West Indies bowling they just faced.Kagiso Rabada is an elite fast bowler with the experience of two previous India Test tours. Keshav Maharaj is one of the world’s best fingerspinners and Simon Harmer a hugely experienced one, and both arrive with more subcontinent know-how than they did in 2019-20 and 2015-16 respectively. Senuran Muthusamy was a debutant and far more of a batter than a bowler when he last toured India, but now he’s fresh off a Player-of-the-Series performance in Pakistan.Jurel could be starting the Test series as a non-keeping middle-order batter, ahead of specialist contenders•Getty ImagesWho would you pick between Jurel and Reddy, against that attack, when you already have five bowlers?The question, however, isn’t quite as simple as that, because there’s a specialist batter in India’s squad, and that batter, Devdutt Padikkal, has been in pretty good form too, notwithstanding two lean games against South Africa A.Since his return from a hamstring injury suffered during the IPL, Padikkal has scored a 150 against Australia A and a 96 for Karnataka against Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, and if an average of 38.40 across six first-class games in this period doesn’t look flash, there’s one mitigating factor in that he batted at No. 3 or No. 4 in all his innings, and typically faced a newer ball than Jurel had to.And if you put aside the question of current form, there’s the fact that the selectors and team management have long viewed Padikkal as the next batter in line for a middle-order role. Does a run of inspired form from another candidate change that view? And does that question become more awkward if that candidate is the reserve wicketkeeper?

“To select him now as a specialist batter in a Test XI that also includes Pant is another leap of faith, but it can’t be a particularly difficult one to make”

The answer, in normal circumstances, would be yes, it would be terribly awkward. But present circumstances are far from normal. Jurel isn’t on a random burst of inspired form; he’s showing India the run-scoring ceiling that everyone who has tracked him since his junior days has believed him capable of.Right through his career, people with a deep understanding of the game have looked at Jurel and seen a talent worth fast-tracking. Rajasthan Royals picked him in their XIs, or as an Impact Player, when they already had two keeper-batters as good as Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler, and did this when he had only played three previous T20 games.When he was first picked for India A, Jurel had only played 12 first-class games, and scored just one century. Three first-class matches later, he was in India’s Test squad. Then he spent two Tests on the bench before India gave him his cap and left out KS Bharat, who had been in and around the squad as reserve keeper for close to five years.So many leaps of faith, and so far, Jurel hasn’t once given the wise heads who have made them any reason to doubt their judgment. To select him now as a specialist batter in a Test XI that also includes Pant is another leap of faith, but it can’t be a particularly difficult one to make.

A remarkable ODI played out in Raipur when conditions, injuries and two teams who did not want to give up went head-to-head

Alagappan Muthu04-Dec-20254:31

Gaikwad: I decided I’d try to be consistent in any game this year

Arshdeep Singh didn’t look back. He had done his bit – secured a false shot from Quinton de Kock – and just kept on jogging through. Wake up babe, a new celebrappeal just dropped.A few hours later, the India left-arm quick coaxed another mis-hit. And this time he whipped right round to see if the catch would be taken. On his face was a rare kind of anxiety. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was just north of seeing three dots appearing and disappearing while texting your crush.Arshdeep was on his haunches when Ruturaj Gaikwad did his part and ended Marco Jansen’s stay at the wicket. This game was no longer fun.Signs of South Africa going on to complete the joint-highest chase by any team against India in India began to show up in the 28th over. Rohit Sharma spent more time in Harshit Rana’s ear than at mid-off where he was supposed to field. In the 30th over, he went up to Rohan Pandit, who was making a big step up on Wednesday, umpiring in an India ODI for the first time. Those other four matches in Dubai between USA, UAE and Nepal can’t have possibly prepared him to deal with one of the biggest names in cricket expressing abject displeasure about the condition of the ball.Related

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Pandit went to Rod Tucker, who officiated the 2019 World Cup final, for a little help and he had zero sympathy for India’s plight. Even when India did eventually get a drier Kookaburra, it was whacked straight out of the ground. This game was now just cruel. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was just short of doing a simple stretch at the gym and hearing a very loud rip.”Even scoring 350 is very difficult when batting first,” Gaikwad said at the post-match presentation. “There’s moisture in the wicket in the first ten overs and the ball doesn’t come onto the bat that well. After 34 overs, there’s only one ball and the wicket also slows down, so it’s not easy to hit.We scored 350 in the last match, 360 in this match, so there’s an improvement of ten runs. Any more improvement you probably cannot pre-decide. You can think you will score 380-400, but the opposition is also good, they have got good bowlers. So you cannot have that gameplan.”Conditions did change, as Gaikwad said. The toss did matter, as KL Rahul said. Dew made run-scoring easier, as Aiden Markram said. But through it all an Indian side without Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj kept fighting. A South African side also skewered by injury refused to go away. Tony de Zorzi actually thought he could get the last 31 runs off 31 balls on one functioning leg. One attempt, hopping between the wickets, showed that though he was brave he was being foolish. He ended up watching the rest of the chase from the dugout, still kitted from head to toe.”I feel at phases we bowled really well,” Gaikwad said. “I think first 10-15 overs we bowled really well but after that there was obviously huge amount of dew and because of that the spinners were slightly out of the game and I think after that I feel every South African batter who ever came in chipped really well, played really well. So I think lot of credit goes to them, they batted really well and hats off to them.” He left out the part where the match-winner who went on to make 110 was dropped on 53.Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram were crucial in South Africa’s series-levelling win•BCCIUntil Wednesday, there had only been seven successful chases of even 300-plus scores against India in India. Keeping it there required an enormous effort from the hosts. Some of them came away a little worse for wear. Prasidh Krishna, whose role in the middle overs is to hit the deck, wasn’t getting any purchase. Still the team insisted that he keep trying and he would now hope they see his figures – 15.4 overs for 133 runs – with some leniency.South Africa running down 359 required a lot of composure. By the end, there were echoes of not one but two hall-of-fame finishes. The equation reading 27 off 30 took the mind back to Bridgetown. Keshav Maharaj’s appearance with the series on the line punched a hole straight through to Chennai 2023. The man still has ice in his veins. He was leaving balls in the 48th over, confident in his judgment that Rana’s bouncers were too high and would be called wide.In these situations, Indian cricket grounds become impossible engines. The silence in them turns deafening. This game – sandwiched between a seminal Test series result and T20 World Cup prep – had no business being this dramatic. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was everything.