Rico Carty, Exceptional Hitter Who Was Stymied by Injuries, Dies at 85

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Rohit's Final Hug To Ritika Before Leaving For Aus, To Reach Perth On...

After missing the 1st Test in Perth, India captain Rohit Sharma left for Australia on Saturday. Rohit was spotted at the Mumbai International Airport, and was accompanied by wife Ritika Sajdeh, who came to see off her husband. Rohit and Ritika welcomed their second child last week, a baby boy. With Ritika's due delivery date close to the ongoing Perth Test, Rohit decided to stay back in Australia, thus missing the series opener at the Optus Stadium.

In Rohit's absence, Jasprit Bumrah is leading the team in Perth. It was earlier reported that Rohit is expected to land in Perth on Sunday.

Before leaving for Australia, Rohit gave a goodbye hug to Ritika, who had accompanied him to the airport. 

ROHIT SHARMA COMING.

- Captain Rohit has arrived at the Mumbai airport to leave for Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. pic.twitter.com/fUSctsdrzk

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 23, 2024

Rohit is likely to feature in the practice match against Prime Minister's XI before officially resuming his captaincy duties during the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, starting December 6.

Meanwhile, India built an ominous 218-run lead over Australia to take a stranglehold on the opening Test in Perth. Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a composed unbeaten 90 and KL Rahul a stylish 62.   

A determined and gritty effort by both men against a world-class attack put the visitors in the driving seat as they look to draw first blood in the five-match series.

Jaiswal faced 193 balls while Rahul fended off 153 to steer India to 172 without loss at the close on day two.

India have won their last two Border-Gavaskar trophy series in Australia but came into the Perth Stadium clash after a devastating 3-0 home loss to New Zealand. 

After making a miserly 150 on a lively pitch in their first innings, the pressure was again on. But their response proved admirable.

They took a 46-run advantage into the second innings after dismissing the hosts for a meagre 104 at lunch.

Dynamic skipper Jasprit Bumrah blitzed 5-30 and Harshit Rana grabbed 3-48.

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Hardik Achieves Historic First. Not Even Bumrah, Kohli Or Rohit Have It

Hardik Pandya led Baroda to an emphatic five-wicket win over Gujarat in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore. Making a rare appearance in the domestic circuit, Hardik smashed an unbeaten knock of 74 runs off 35 balls, striking 211.4 with six fours and five sixes. By doing so, Hardik etched his name in the history book with a never-before-seen record. He became the first Indian player register a unique double of 5000 runs and 100-plus wickets in the T20 format. The former India T20 captain has 5,067 runs and 180 wickets to his name. 

In the match against Gujarat, Hardik also took a wicket while conceding 37 runs in four overs as Gujarat made 184 for five.

Axar Patel made an unbeaten 43 off 33 balls. But in bowling, the India left-arm spinner could not pick up any wicket while giving away 31 runs in his full quota of overs. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi took two wickets.

Meanwhile, Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami's first white ball outing since 2023 World Cup final was below par but Bengal survived a fine all-round effort by Arshdeep Singh to eke out a four-wicket win over Punjab.

Shami returned with figures of 4-0-46-1 in Punjab's total of 179 all out in 19.4 overs.

The Bengal man earlier made his red-ball return in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore and was impressive while picking up seven wickets.

Abhishek Sharma (18 off 8 balls) did not fire but Prabhsimran Singh (35, 19 balls), Anmolpreet Singh (39 21 balls) and Arshdeep (23 not out, 11 balls) chipped in for Punjab.

Karan Lal took three wickets for Bengal.

In reply, Shahbaz Ahmed made a 49-ball 100 as Bengal overcame a good spell by pacer Arshdeep (2/21 in 3 overs) to reach the target with an over to spare.

Brief Scores: Group A: At Rajkot: Punjab: 179 all out in 19.4 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 35, Anmolpreet Singh 39, Arshdeep 23; Karan Lal 3/23) lost to Bengal: 181/6 in 19 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 100 not out, Arshdeep Singh 2/21, Abhishek Sharma 3/37) by 4 wickets.

Group B: At Indore: Gujarat: 184/5 in 20 overs (Aarya Desai 78, Axar Patel 43 not out; Hardik Pandya 1/37, Atit Sheth 2/31) lost to Baroda: 188/5 in 19.4 overs (Hardik Pandya 74 not out, Shivalik Sharma 64; Ravi Bishnoi 2/23) by 5 wickets.

Group C: At Mumbai: Delhi: 233/3 in 20 overs (Priyansh Arya 102, Himmat Singh 77 not out, Bhunveshwar Kumar 1/29) beat UP: 186/8 in 20 overs (Rinku Singh 70, Nitish Rana 61; Ishant Sharma 2/23) by 47 runs.

Group E: At Hyderabad: Services: 149/9 in 20 overs (Mohit Ahlawat 41; Akhil Scaria 5/30) lost to Kerala: 153/ in 18.1 overs (Sanju Samson 75; Pulkit Narang 4/7) by 3 wickets.

(With PTI Inputs)

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"The Sound It Made...": Starc's Verdict On Controversial KL Rahul Dismissal

Australia's senior pacer Mitchell Starc on Friday played down the chatter around India batter KL Rahul's contentious caught behind dismissal on the first day of the opening Test here, saying it was a "regulation wicket". Rahul's dismissal kicked up a controversy with former players from both the countries questioning the third umpire's decision to overturn the on-field official's not out call. After on-field umpire Richard Kettleborough ruled in Rahul's favour following Australia's appeal, the home team used DRS to challenge the decision.

Third umpire Richard Illingworth, however, overturned the call despite not having the benefit of a split-screen view which would have given him a clearer picture of whether the Starc delivery actually grazed the bat or the snicko responded to a hit on the pads.

"It got overturned obviously, but I thought it was regulation, the sound it made, the timing of it, I thought it was just a regulation wicket," Starc said at a press conference.

Starc (2/14), who bagged the opening wicket of the series when he removed Yashasvi Jaiswal, will resume on six not out alongside wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who is unbeaten on 19, on Saturday, with Australia at 67/7 after India made 150 in their first innings.

A staggering 17 wickets fell on the opening day, a record on Australian soil, but the leading pacer believed batting is going to get easier in the second innings and they just need to survive the new Kookaburra ball.

"I think there was a fair bit of good bowling today. Obviously there was enough in the wicket and it probably felt like it was a hardball wicket," Starc said.

"When the ball started to get a little bit softer towards the the back end of that Indian innings, it probably didn't do as much. (There was) still enough there, but it didn't do as much as the brand new hardball.

"So I guess that's something for teams to take in the second innings.

"If you can get through the testing period, it does get slightly easier. That being said, the outfield is quite slow, so that probably made runs a bit hard to come by. That's probably the slowest outfield we've seen over in the west for a long time." While Starc gave the first breakthrough, his pace-bowling colleague Josh Hazlewood proved to be more successful on the day, returning with excellent figures of 4/29 in 13 overs before the peerless Jasprit Bumrah (4/17 in 10 overs) yet again displayed his extraordinary skills.

Starc is also not of the view that batting conditions were becoming harder across Australia.

"How many ways can you skin a cat? Bowlers are allowed to bowl good balls," he said.

"When there's a lot of runs, it's like, 'Oh, the bowlers bowled badly. When there's wickets, the wickets are tough'. (But) you are allowed to bowl good balls and maybe credit should go to both teams and bowlers.

"Sure, there's plenty in the wicket when you put it in the right area and it was hard work for batting, but as I said, you're allowed to bowl good balls and there were plenty of those today." At stumps, Australia trailed by 83 runs thanks to the incredible comeback by the Bumrah-led Indian team, something that seemed improbable after they were all out for an under-par score and weeks after their unprecedented 0-3 drubbing to New Zealand at home.

Starc said he was not surprised by India's comeback.

"That was a completely different series, different conditions, different teams, so, yeah, that was entertaining to watch, that series .. but we know how good a team India are and they have shown that today.

"I thought we bowled quite well and perhaps an under par score and they have come out and matched us with the ball, so, no, I wouldn't say I was surprised as we know the skill they have got in that team with bat and ball, and they showed that with the ball today," Starc pointed out.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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India vs Australia 1st Test Weather Report: Rain To Play Big Role In Perth?

Just before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series between India and Australia, a new and unprecedented problem came to the forefront - the threat of rain. As per reports, Perth, an area that generally does not receive any rainfall between November and May, was predicted to receive rainfall right on the week of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The threat of rain even brought the possibility of 'snake cracks' forming on the pitch at the Optus Stadium, where the first Test will be held. But recent weather forecasts show that rain is unlikely to hamper the first Test.

As per AccuWeather, rain is a possibility on only Day 1, with the percentage being as low as just one percent. However, there is a 40 percent chance of precipitation on November 21, the day before the first Test gets underway. Even thunderstorms are a possibility.

It barely rains in Perth from November-mid May.

Amazingly there will be wet weather this week, but it is forecast to clear in time for the first Test #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/2W0Sxzsn1z

— Tristan Lavalette (@trislavalette) November 18, 2024

The rest of the Test match is expected to be completely unaffected by rain. While conditions are expected to be pleasant and breezy on Day 2 and Day 3, it is forecast to get sunny and warm on Day 4 and Day 5.

Meanwhile, the pitch at the Optus Stadium in Perth has been reported to be quite green, meaning it could provide additional impetus to fast bowlers.

India are reportedly set to enter the game with three pure fast bowlers, along with handing a Test debut to pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Only one frontline spinner is expected to play, with reports suggesting that Ravichandran Ashwin will be given the nod ahead of the first Test.

Captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack alongside Mohammed Siraj, while reports suggest that it is a toss-up between Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana for the third seamer role.

On the other hand, Australia's batting will face an adjustment of its own. 25-year-old Nathan McSweeney will debut as an opener, while Steve Smith will return to the No. 4 slot.

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Manhattan D.A. Suggests Freezing Trump’s Case While He Is President

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