Australia went into tea at 145 for 2 on Day 1 of the fourth Ashes Test. After going wicketless in the morning session, England removed both openers. However, David Warner had done the damage before James Anderson made him his 100th Australian wicket. At the crease are Steven Smith (5*) and Usman Khawaja (10*).

Tom Curran would have had his maiden Test wicket had he not overstepped. Warner was on 99 when Curran gave him a reprieve. He reached his 21st hundred off the next delivery, going past Virat Kohli’s tally. In the process, Warner also became the 14th Australian to 6,000 runs.

England, however, bowled exceedingly well in the next half of the tea session, throttling Australia with dot deliveries. The ploy worked as Warner poked the one he had been leaving all day. With this wicket, Anderson equalled Courtney Walsh’s tally of 519 wickets in Test cricket.

Before Warner walked back, England had dismissed Cameron Bancroft. The duo added 122 for the first wicket, 26 of which came of Bancroft’s bat. Chris Woakes darted one in to trap him in the crease.

In all, Australia have scored runs at 2.68. Smith will look to remain unbeaten to down the struggling Englishmen.

Brief scores:

Australia 145 for 2 (David Warner 103; Chris Woakes 1 for 38) vs England.

Full scorecard

David Warner‘s century kept Australia on top on Day 1 of 2017-18 Ashes Boxing Day Test at MCG. Steven Smith too looked in stead for smashing yet another another century. Warner received a major blow when he was playing on 99 until Tom Curran’s delivery was declared no-ball and the opener received a life. Warner raised his century off 130 deliveries. However, he was later caught behind off James Anderson for 103. Meanwhile, Smith remained unbeaten on 65 while Shaun Marsh was not out on 31 as Australia were 244 for 3.

Smith and Marsh have put up 301-run stand for the fifth wicket so far. The live cricket streaming of the match will be available on Sony LIV and ESPN.in, while the live telecast of the match will be available on Sony SIX, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD. In Australia, the live telecast would be available on Channel Nine. In England the live telecast would be available on BT sport.

In USA, Willow TV Online will provide the streaming along with the live telecast on Willow TV. In Malaysia, viewers can enjoy the streaming on Astro Go, along with the live telecast on Astro Cricket. In South Africa and Middle-East, the live telecast would be available on Supersport 2 and BeIN Sports HD. You can also follow CricketCountry’s LIVE SCORECARD HERE.

James Anderson became the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests during the Boxing Day Test of The Ashes 2017-18. Anderson had earlier equalled Courtney Walsh, taking his 519th wicket as he dismissed David Warner. He then bagged the wicket of Tim Paine that took him past Walsh. Anderson, with 520* wickets now, is just behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), Anil Kumble (619) and Glenn McGrath (563) in the list.

In the first session of the opening day, Anderson bagged only one wicket. Anderson came round the wicket and darted it away from Warner who edged it to the wicketkeeper and departed for 103. Although he went wicketless in the remaining sessions of Day One, he achieved the feat in the morning session of Day Two.

Anderson also became the eighth English bowler and 13th overall to take 100 wickets against Australia. He is following Ian Botham (128), Bob Willis (123), Wilfred Rhodes (109), Sydney Barnes (106), Alec Bedser (104), Bobby Peel (101) in the list of Englishmen.

2017 was a topsy-turvy year for the Australian women’s team. The year commenced with a string of losses, but finished on a high. Their season can be summed up in three phases. With the ICC Women’s World Cup at stake in middle of the year, the Meg Lanning-led side played a fiery series against oceanic neighbour’s New Zealand at home.

The start

Both T20I and ODI series’ went down to the wire that ended in 2-1 victories for the visitor’s and hosts respectively. The series set precedence for Australia that Lanning, Elyse Villani and Alex Healy will form the crux of their batting going ahead.

Unsuccessful ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 campaign

Australia went into the marquee Women’s tournament of the year with a well-balanced side that had a mix of youth and experience in the form of Ellyse Perry, Alex Blackwell, Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton and Beth Mooney.

The warm up games against Pakistan and South Africa were one-sided affairs that Australia came out as winners. Australia remained dominant in the early parts of group stages zooming past West Indies, New Zealand and Pakistan.

Match no.19 saw Australia face off against England. With hype surrounding the clash, a tight effort by Alex Hartley and co. managed to restrict Australia below 268 and snatch the match by 3 runs.

Australia reached the semi-finals after finishing second in the points table only to meet a rampaging Indian side.

Hamanpreet Kaur ends Australia’s march

In a rain curtailed match, Harmanpreet drowned Australia’s hope with a lionhearted show. She hammered an unbeaten 171* in 115 balls that helped India reach 281 for 4 in 42 overs.

In reply the defending champions fell 36 runs short for their target, despite fifties from Elyse (75) and Alex Blackwell (90).

Ellyse Perry (404) was the highest run-getter for Australia across the 13 games, while Bolton (351) and Lanning (328) came second and third respectively.

Kristen was the pick of the bowlers with 12 scalps, closely followed by Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen with 10 and 9 wickets respectively.

The Ashes year-ending high

Ahead of the one-off day-night Test, Australia received damaging news that Lanning has been ruled out of the series, with Beth Mooney taking over reigns.

The ODI series came out in favour of the hosts by margin of 2-1. The first and the final games were nail-biting affairs, with only the second being a one-sided match.

The historic first-ever pink-ball Test at Adelaide threw up a lot of excitement but ended in a draw. It was Australia’s all round show that saw them rule most of the match days. Ellyse (213*) slammed the third highest score in Women’s Test cricket. England in the second innings led by Heather Knight and new comer Georgia Elwiss helped them keep Australia’s new-ball attack at bay.

The match ended in a draw that would have disappointed the home side.

The action now shifted to the shortest-format of the game —T20Is. Australia were now lead by Rachel Haynes in an attempt to retain the Ashes title.  Australia won the first T20I and claimed stake at the women’s Ashes title for another two years, while England bounced back in the remaining two matches to win the 3-T20I series.

 Record in 2017

Player statistics

In totality, Australia had a fairly decent year that saw the rise of players like Beth, Nicole, Megan, Elyse and Alex Healy. Management rushed in young blood that shined when the opportunity came and held their own in moments of distress.

Going ahead with ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in sight, Australia to their credit have a side that could outmatch any team across departments and may be, even win  record their fourth title reign come November.

A picture speaks louder than words, but a video includes 25 images in one second (60 images if slow motion). The latest technologies engineered in the game have impressed everyone.

The first run out adjudged with the help of a TV replay was first seen in 1992, between a Test between South Africa and India. Sachin Tendulkar was the first victim. It, however, was based on only a solitary camera angle. The latest third umpire, on the other hand, has many angles to decide the same. We now have a stump mike that captures on-field conversations. There are mikes provided to the cricketers to have conversation with the commentators. Adam Gilchrist had a GoPro attached to his helmet during a match that celebrated MCC’s 200th anniversary.

The year 2017 has seen many special events. Here’s a list of few.

Ball of The Ashes?

Mitchell Starc bowled an unplayable delivery to dismiss James Vince in the Perth Test. Many former players and pundits refer it as ‘The Ball of the Ashes’. Starc came round the wicket, pitched the ball on a crack and hit the off-stump.

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo Graeme Swann admitted that Starc’s delivery is the best he has witnessed in Tests. He said that the ball would dismiss legends such as Sachin Tendulkar, Don Bradman and Australian captain Steve Smith out a thousand times.

Whether or not it was the ball of the Ashes, it surely was an unplayable delivery. Vince agrees to it as well.

Yeah that’s done a bit! @Specsavers #Ashes pic.twitter.com/tpcgiVFCoC

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 17, 2017

Just Pandya thing Hardik Pandya is famously known as Kungfu Pandya for his fielding skills. It was November 1, the day Ashish Nehra was set to play his final international match at his home ground. Yuzvendra Chahal came to bowl the second over and took the first New Zealand wicket. Martin Guptill was out to an brilliant catch by Pandya who took a full-stretch flying catch running from long-off. Pandya has always been a good fielder, but this was one of the best catches Nehra witnessed in his career. Monkey face challenge India and Australia have previously been known for the infamous monkey-gate controversy. But this year, Ishant Sharma’s monkey face had fans and cricketers in splits. It was Day Two of the second Test between India and Australia; Steven Smith had come to bat after Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed David Warner. Ishant, trying to distract Smith, made a monkey face that left even Virat Kohli in splits. The image of his face spread all over the social media like forest fire. Commentators took the monkey-face challenge, adding more fun to it. Cricketing stars such as Mathew Haden, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee, Sanjay Manjrekar and Lakshman Shivaramakrishnan tried to imitate Ishant and the result was hilarious. End of an era Ashish Nehra announced his retirement from all forms of the game on October 12. He was all set to leave the field forever after the first T20I against New Zealand on November 1. What better than retiring in front of your home crowd(Delhi). India won the match comfortably by 53 runs. After the match the team took rounds of the ground. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan lifted Ashish Nehra on their shoulders as the Delhi crowd cheered for the local boy. Murli Vijay got the moves Many cricketers have their own way of celebrating centuries. David Warner celebrates with a jump. Sachin used to look at the sky. Ravindra Jadeja waves his bat like a sword. However, Murli Vijay has found his own way of celebration. After scoring a century on the first day of final Test against Sri Lanka, he performed few dance moves and then performed the modern dab with the skipper Virat Kohli. Here is how the Test specialist celebrated.

Two consecutive centuries for @mvj888. This is his 11th Test #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/7igFLIW8ks — BCCI (@BCCI) December 2, 2017

  Because Delhi pollution matters while fielding The same Test where Vijay choreographed his way to celebrate was marked with another incident. The Sri Lankan team took the field post lunch with their masks on, complaining about the pollution in Delhi. Virat Kohli was forced to declare the innings after regular interruptions. The Sri Lankans ,who complained about the smog, came out to bat with their captain Dinesh Chandimal scoring 164 and batting almost for a day without complaining. Angelo Mathews also made his hundred. However, Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world, but Sri Lanka experienced it only while fielding. Hitman or giftman? If Rohit Sharma is your secret santa by any chance I am sure there is a knock to look out for. Rohit smashed his third double-hundred in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Mohali on December 13. The knock was special given it was his wedding anniversary. Just as we thought he was done with hammering Sri Lanka, he delivered the fastest T20I 100 in 35 balls, equalling David Miller’s record two days after his wife’s birthday. Rohit marked his name in the book of records with his staggering performance. During his 208, he was seen kissing his ring finger and pointing it towards his wife.

A captain’s knock. @ImRo45 has looked in full flow and has marched on to a well-made century. ODI Century no. 16 #TeamIndia #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/qWtwNpp7dr — BCCI (@BCCI) December 13, 2017

In the end, cricket won! India-Pakistan is one of the famous rivalries on and off the field. India had defeated Pakistan on the first game of Champions Trophy 2017. Little did anyone expect that they would meet again in the finals as well. An Indo-Pak affair is always a high-pressure event, but is it same post match? Here is a video that ICC tweeted after the finals where players from both teams were seen sharing happy moments and having a good time. India might have won the first match or Pakistan may have had the last laugh, but it was cricket that won in the end.

#SpiritofCricket #CT17 #BestOf2017

A post shared by ICC (@icc) on Dec 6, 2017 at 11:51pm PST

We all love doing this, don’t we? After all, India is a country obsessed with cricket and passing judgments on the varied aspects of the game. Sitting at the end of the year, I have jotted down a formidable T20I team of 2017. Of course, I have poured in some personal preferences as well. There have been some memorable innings, and bowlers have again tarnished the myth of T20I being a batsman-dominated format. On the contrary, there were very few all-round performances that stood out.

Here is the list. Feel free to punch holes into it.

Evin Lewis

Lewis aims to replicate Chris Gayle’s brand of cricket. While he is miles away from matching Gayle’s feats, Lewis has shown that he has the intent to be an aggressor. He is a regular in the format, and amassed 357* runs in 9* innings. This includes a spectacular knock of 125* against India. Lewis impressed one and all by his clean hitting, striking at 154.54.

Did you know that Lewis slammed 31* sixes this year? The second best, Rohit, hit 16 sixes?

Rohit Sharma (vc)

Rohit has earned the stature of being a limited-overs specialist. Since his promotion as an opener in 2013, Rohit has utilised almost every opportunity. This calendar year proved to be fruitful for the right-hander. He piled up 283 runs at a staggering average of 171.51. In addition, Rohit registered the joint-fastest T20I century in the second T20I of the three-match series versus Sri Lanka in December, equally David Miller’s spectacle.

Note: Rohit edged past Kohli and KL Rahul in the strike-rate department.

Babar Azam

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Babar told, “I loved watching (AB) de Villiers in the early days. I used to follow him closely. I copied him a lot too. In the nets, I used to at least try some of the shots he played in the matches. Nowadays I follow Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla, and of course, de Villiers.”

It is quite a feat for the Pakistani youngster to outclass the likes of Kohli and Amla, and score more than de Villiers in the year. Babar remained Pakistan’s run-machine against World XI and Sri Lanka, at home.

Note: Babar is the second highest run-scorer in the calendar year, after to Lewis, without any hundred and a solitary fifty. This shows that he continued to deliver those vital knocks.

AB de Villiers (c & wk)

De Villiers played only 7 T20Is in 2017. Nonetheless, the veteran showed that his long layoff (persistent elbow injury) did not deter his approach. He remained fearless, and dominated the opposition bowlers. With two half-centuries, de Villiers notched up 304 runs.

The feature of de Villiers’ pleasant run was maintaining an average of over 50 despite one unbeaten innings. In addition, the former South African skipper struck over 150. His overall experience makes him the skipper of the XI.

Did you know that de Villiers averaged over 60 in his comeback series versus Sri Lanka? He was the leading run-scorer in the three T20Is against England. He also finished with a strike rate of 164.29 playing against Bangladesh at home in October.

Shoaib Malik

Batting at No. 5, Malik featured in the list of 2017′s top run-scorers. He stitched many handy stands with Babar and Ahmed Shehzad, and switched gears significantly in the death overs. Malik was in top form, and it is evident from his numbers: 273 runs in 10 matches at an average of 45.45 and strike rate 144.

Malik, here, comes in handy as an off-spinner too.

David Miller

Miller became the fastest to slam a T20I hundred during a match against Bangladesh. He struck at a strike rate of 280.56 to enter the record books. He finished the year with an average of 30.66, mostly batting at No. 5 or 6. It is a vital position as the game changes in the end overs. Miller’s prowess ensured South Africa earn some one-sided encounters.

Thisara Perera

The recently appointed Sri Lanka’s limited-overs skipper features as an all-rounder. Perera averaged only 17.10 with the willow, but finished with an impressive strike rate of 158.33. In addition, Perera finished as the sixth highest wicket-taker with 13 scalps.

Did you know that Perera striked at 16.9 with the ball? He is one of the best among the top ten wicket-takers.

Rashid Khan

The Afghanistan spinner took giant strides in 2017. Rashid outfoxed batsmen with his unorthodox action, wrong’ uns and extra pace. He ended 2017 as the second highest wicket-taker. He scalped 17 wickets with the best average and economy rate of 9.41 and 4.57 respectively. His best figures of 5 for 3 in a rain-marred T20I versus Ireland was the icing on the cake.

Hasan Ali

Hasan had a ball this year. Apart from his heroics in Champions Trophy (13 wickets), he accounted for 12 scalps in T20Is. With an economy rate of 7.67, Hasan developed the knack of picking wickets at regular intervals. The most astonishing fact was that he was aware of what the batsmen were upto, and changed lengths accordingly.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal started the year with a bang. He became the first Indian to attain a five-for. Once Chahal got going, there was no looking back. He maintained pressure, bowled on flat tracks and small venues, but did not deter his usual approach. Chahal kept searching for wickets and ended with 23 wickets, including two four-fors.

The feature of Chahal’s breakthroughs were that they came in crunch situations. He kept his nerves despite bowling in the death overs.

Note: Chahal used flight as his biggest weapon, apart from bowling outside off stump and keeping it short when required.

Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah ended with 12 wickets at an average of 20. In addition, he has the second best economy rate of 6.82 among pacers in the year. His slower ones, off cutters, toe-crunching yorkers were a treat to watch. The 24-year-old also added extra pace in his arsenal. Given his heroics, he has earned a place in the Test side for South Africa tour.

Bumrah’s finest performance came in the second of the three T20Is against England in January. He defended 8 off the final over against the likes of Joe Root and Jos Buttler.

12th man: Shadab Khan

Shadad had a wonderful year as well. After an impressive debut against West Indies, he became Sarfraz Ahmed’s go-to bowler. An aggressive spinner, with the ability to bat, missed out due to the enormous success by Chahal and Rashid. Nonetheless, Shadab is undoubtedly one of Pakistan cricket’s rising superstars in 2017.

Lastly, Imran Tahir was another leg-spinner who made a mark. He is among the top five wicket-takers, but missed out due to the youngsters earning more accolades.

Australia were all out for 327 shortly after lunch on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday. Stuart Broad took four wickets for 51 as Australia lost their last seven wickets on the second day.

England, already an irretrievable 3-0 down in the five-match series, dismissed Smith, Mitchell and Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine and Jackson Bird to take five for 82 in the first session in baking temperatures.

Debutant Tom Curran celebrated his first Test wicket as Smith chopped a short, wide delivery on to his stumps on 76, just 30 minutes into the second day’s play.

It was the first of three similar drag-on wickets for England’s bowlers on a slow-paced MCG pitch. At lunch, Pat Cummins was batting on four not out with Josh Hazlewood yet to score.

Smith had not been dismissed in a Melbourne Test match since Boxing Day 2014, and was on track for his third century of the series on a bat-friendly MCG pitch.

In the previous three showpiece Boxing Day Tests, Smith had scored 192 against India, 134 not out against the West Indies and an unbeaten 165 last year against Pakistan.

Smith threw his head back in annoyance as the bails flew into the air. With his dismissal Smith has now scored 502 runs in the Ashes series at a stunning average of 125.50.

It was an overdue slice of luck for Curran, who had David Warner caught on 99 only to have the dismissal overturned for an overstepping no-ball on Tuesday’s opening day. Warner went on to score 103.

England got more return for bowling wide of the stumps when Mitchell Marsh also dragged on a Chris Woakes delivery for nine after his 181 in the third Test in Perth.

His elder brother, Shaun, lost a leg before wicket review on 61 off 148 balls to Stuart Broad.

It was Shaun Marsh’s second half-century of the series after scoring an unbeaten 126 in the second Adelaide Test.

Paine became the third batsman to chop on to his stumps in the session for 24, giving James Anderson his second wicket, while Bird fell leg before wicket to Broad for four.

Aiden Markram hit his second century in three Test matches and Morne Morkel produced a devastating spell of new ball bowling as South Africa took command on the first day of a four-day, day-night Test against Zimbabwe at St George’s Park on Tuesday.

Markram’s innings of 125 was the mainstay of South Africa’s 309 for nine declared before Morkel, bowling at high pace under lights in South Africa’s first home floodlit Test, took the first three wickets to leave Zimbabwe reeling at 30 for four at the close.

Morkel trapped Hamilton Masakadza leg before wicket with the first ball of Zimbabwe’s innings, dismissed Chamu Chibhabha for six with the help of a blinding catch by Temba Bavuma at fourth slip and had Brendan Taylor caught behind for the second duck of the innings.

Vernon Philander followed up by trapping Craig Ervine leg before for four.

New cap Ryan Burl showed resolve in batting through to the close on 15 not out while Morkel had figures of three for 20.

With South Africa losing five wickets for 58 runs after the dinner break, a total of nine wickets fell for 88 runs in a two-and-a-half hour floodlit session.

Opening batsman Markram, 23, who was caught behind off what proved to be the last ball before dinner, continued a dream start to his Test career.

Although he was run out for 97 in his first Test innings against Bangladesh in September, followed by 15 in the second innings, he made 143 in the first innings of his second Test against the same opponents.

Markram made a watchful start on Tuesday against some testing bowling from Zimbabwe new ball pair Kyle Jarvis and new cap Blessing Muzarabani.

He took 104 balls to reach fifty but accelerated to post his century off 175 balls with 13 fours and a six. He added another four and a six before falling to the 204th ball of his innings.

There will be tougher challenges for Markram than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe but Tuesday’s innings took his total to 380 runs in his first four Test innings at an average of 95.00.

Markram shared stands of 72 with fellow opener Dean Elgar (31), 96 with stand-in captain AB de Villiers (53) and 78 with Temba Bavuma (35 not out).

South Africa were without regular captain Faf du Plessis, who had failed to recover fully from lower back and shoulder injuries, and fast bowler Dale Steyn, whose return from a broken shoulder is now likely to be in the first Test against India, starting in Cape Town on January 5.

De Villiers, making a comeback to Test cricket, made an aggressive 53 off 65 balls.

He was the captain in his most recent two Tests, against England in January 2016, but then suffered a long-term elbow injury before deciding to take a break from long-form cricket.

Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock strained his right hamstring while running between wickets and De Villiers had to take the gloves at the start of the Zimbabwe innings.

Morne Morkel reopened the debate about conditions under floodlights with a devastating spell of fast bowling as South Africa took command on the first day of a four-day, day-night Test against Zimbabwe at St George’s Park on Tuesday.

Aiden Markram hit 125, his second century in three Test matches, as South Africa made 309 for nine declared.

It looked a match-winning total after Morkel ripped out the first three batsmen to leave Zimbabwe reeling on 30 for four. Morkel took three for 20.

Both Markram and Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer said there was a marked difference in conditions for batsmen against the pink ball under lights.

“From twilight onwards it does tend to move around quite a bit, definitely more than this morning,” said Markram, who was dismissed with what proved to be the last ball before the dinner break.

With South Africa losing five wickets for 58 runs after dinner, a total of nine wickets fell for 88 runs in a two-and-a-half hour floodlit session.

Markram gave credit to Zimbabwe for the way they bowled in the evening but admitted: “Maybe it was a blessing in disguise the way it worked out because it’s pretty difficult to bat under lights on that wicket.”

Cremer said he was not too disappointed with his team’s performance.

“Obviously I’m disappointed with the score but there were a lot of good balls out there. It’s tough to bat under lights against that attack. I’m sure most teams would have been in that position the way the ball moved around.”

Cremer added: “Even when we bowled, something started happening once the sun went down and the lights came on.”

With South Africa declaring with more than an hour remaining on the first day, Markram said it could become a trend.

“There are going to be tactics around declarations with regards to batting under lights.”

Cremer agreed. “Declaring will play a big part in day-night Tests. Every seam attack will want to bowl at night.”

Cremer said Zimbabwe’s immediate objective was to avoid having the follow-on, which in a four-day Test is 150 runs.

“We will try to make the most of daytime batting so we can bowl at them under lights,” he said.

Morkel trapped Hamilton Masakadza leg before wicket with the first ball of Zimbabwe’s innings, dismissed Chamu Chibhabha for six with the help of a blinding catch by Temba Bavuma at fourth slip and had Brendan Taylor caught behind for the second duck of the innings.

Vernon Philander followed up by trapping Craig Ervine leg before for four.

New cap Ryan Burl showed resolve in batting through to the close on 15 not out.

Opening batsman Markram, 23, continued a dream start to his Test career.

Although he was run out for 97 in his first Test innings against Bangladesh in September, followed by 15 in the second innings, he made 143 in the first innings of his second Test against the same opponents.

Markram made a watchful start on Tuesday against some testing bowling from Zimbabwe new ball pair Kyle Jarvis and new cap Blessing Muzarabani. He took 104 balls to reach fifty but accelerated to post his century off 175 balls with 13 fours and a six. He added another four and a six before falling to the 204th ball of his innings.

There will be tougher challenges for Markram than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe but Tuesday’s innings took his total to 380 runs in his first four Test innings at an average of 95.00.

South Africa were without regular captain Faf du Plessis, who had failed to recover fully from lower back and shoulder injuries, and fast bowler Dale Steyn, whose return from a broken shoulder is now likely to be in the first Test against India, starting in Cape Town on January 5.

De Villiers, making a comeback to Test cricket, made an aggressive 53 off 65 balls.

Wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock strained his right hamstring while running between wickets and De Villiers had to take the gloves at the start of the Zimbabwe innings.

After taking Australia’s last 7 wickets in 29 overs this morning, England scored 72 for 1 before taking tea on Day Two of the fourth Ashes Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Alastair Cook, who had scored 83 runs at 13.8 in the series thus far, finally found his lost mojo. He has scored 5 delightful boundaries, and is unbeaten on 37.

Stuart Broad had taken a mere 3 wickets at 61.8 in three Tests. He, too, was seen in his elements, finishing with 4 for 51. He scooped wickets of Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Pat Cummins, and Jackson Bird. However, Tom Curran stole the limelight by making Steven Smith his maiden international wicket. Playing away from his body, Smith induced an inside edge onto the stumps.

James Anderson attained another high. He made Tim Paine his 520th Test victim, surpassing Courtney Walsh and becoming the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the format.

After England got rid of Smith, Australia slumped to 327 all-out from 260 for 3. Barring Tim Paine, none of the lower-order batters could score in double digits. Broad and Anderson made sure that Australia do not wag their tail.

Brief scores:

Australia 327 (David Warner 103, Steven Smith 76, Shaun Marsh 61; Stuart Broad 4 for 51, James Anderson 3 for 61) lead England 72 for 1 (Alastair Cook 37; Nathan Lyon 1 for 19) by 255.

Full scorecard

The biggest union of two of India’s most loved genres, cricket and Bollywood, took place at one of Mumbai’s five-star hotels on December 26. It was the grand reception party of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma. Stars from both industries had come down dressed gorgeously to bless the newly-wed couple with happiness moving forth in life. And among them was Shahrukh Khan.

Shahrukh, who is known to be among Anushka’s close Bollywood acquaintances, not only turned up for the event but also gave the couple some moments to rejoice, making them dance to one off the peppiest Punjabi numbers. Here is the video:

It’s Bollywood king @iamsrk‘s and Cricket king @imVkohli‘s time on the floor. @imVkohli – @AnushkaSharma‘s post wedding reception is lit. #VirushkaReception #Virushka pic.twitter.com/4oBY2i3kWZ

— Virat Kohli¹⁸ (@ViratCrew) December 26, 2017

On the dance floor, Shahrukh guided both Kohli and Anushka as the couple followed Bollywood Badshah’s moves. Kohli had earlier proved himself to be one of the best dancers in Team India and matched up to Shahrukh’s moves easily while for Anushka, it seemed to be a cakewalk.

The couple earlier tied the knot in a grand wedding in Tuscany, Italy. The event was kept within the family members and close friends of the two, and for their extended families, they threw two reception parties — one in Delhi and the other in Mumbai. Both events oozed of gorgeous decorations and stars making appearances. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, attended the Delhi reception after the couple met him at his residence, inviting him for the evening personally.

Much like the men’s side, South Africa women also suffer from the fear of finals. The past year had two such moments that reminded us how dreaded fortunes go hand-in hand-for South African cricket teams. Packed with experience and youngsters, South Africa visited Bangladesh for 5-ODI tour.

Year begins on a high - 

South Africa started the tour with back-to-back win against the home side that set the tone for the remaining matches.

In a low scoring third ODI, Bangladesh was scuttled out for 136. South Africa in reply were complacent and failed miserably with the bat. It was Khadija Tul Kubra, who spun a web around South Africa’s strong batting line-up to hand Bangladesh a 10-run win.

Stunned by a shock defeat, South Africa came back into their own in the fourth and fifth ODIs, winning them comfortably by a margin of 93 runs and 8 wickets respectively.

The series helped South Africa gain much confidence as they marched to Sri Lanka in a bid to qualify for ICC Women’s World Cup.

So near yet so far -

South Africa were placed in Group B alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea Women. They notched up healthy win against all side and remained table toppers with 8 points.

Chloe Tryon, Marizanne Kapp, Shabnim Ismail and Dane van Niekerk starred for them heading into the Super Sixes stage where they were confronted by India and Sri Lanka as well.

South Africa suffered their first defeat in the hands of India. Chasing a target of 206, Indian women were all over their opponents with Shikha Pandey and Ekta Bisht tormenting them. Despite some handy knocks by Trisha Chetty and Marizanne, South Africa could not avoid a 49-run loss.

South Africa avenged their defeat on Sri Lanka. They mauled them by 9 wickets with Laura Wolvardt and Sune Luus running riot; both remained unbeaten on 50s.

Ireland were no match for the women from South Africa. Laura yet again shined with the bat, and guided her side to a 36-run victory (DLS method).

Reverse clash against India - 

In finals of the qualifiers, South Africa took on India with an aim to seek their Super Sixes defeat. Batting first, South Africa top-order smacked India’s bowling all across the ground and ended scoring 244 runs.

India in reply, started well with Mona Meshram and Deepti Sharma adding 124 runs for the fourth wicket. It was then Marizanne who came into her own and rattled a strong middle-order.

Her job was carried forward by Ayabonga Khaka, who scalped two quick wickets and their opponent on the mat. It was Harmanpreet Kaur that scored a run-a-ball 41 that edged India to a 1 wicket win off the last ball.

South Africa yet again became victims of pressure.

Pre World Cup preparatory series - 

South Africa took on India, Ireland and Zimbabwe in a quadrangular series at home. The first match against Zimbabwe was a cake-walk for the hosts, who won by 8 wickets. In the second match, they met familiar opponents in India and lost by 7 wickets. As expected, South Africa routed the likes of Ireland and Zimbabwe in the next matches. In ninth match of the series, they met India again.

This time the script was different as they came out victorious. More than South Africa’s brilliance it was India’s poor batting that was a fault in their win. India came back to avenge their defeat in handsome fashion, beating South Africa by 8 wickets to clinch their second successive final win over them.

The quadrangular threw out some upcoming stars for South Africa. Players like Laura, Andrie Steyn, Shabnim Ismail and Sune Luus gained much needed confidence and form heading into the World Cup.

The stairway to heartbreak - 

South Africa started their campaign with hard-fought 3 wicket win over Pakistan. They were cruising to a win but pressure almost saw them out of the same until Shabnim Ismail helped them cross the line. Their second match was abandoned due to incessant rains against New Zealand.

Inspired by Dane, South Africa thumped past West Indies by 10 wickets and faced tournament favourites England. The target of 374 proved to be too much for the visitors.

Laura, Lizelle Lee, Chloe Tryon and Mignon du Preez did put up a valiant effort in batting helping their side cross the 300-run mark but could not prevent a 68-run defeat. South Africa, once again, faced India and humiliated them for earlier defeats.

Asked to chase down a mammoth 274, Indian team felt flat on their faces and were handed a 115-run loss, thanks to Dane 4 for 22.

South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in their second last match and met Australia in the final Super Sixes game.

In a match that could have decided who South Africa face in the semi-finals, they were defeated by 59 runs. With 9 points in hands, South Africa were pitted against England in semi-final 1.

Heartbreak, yet again!

South Africa spirited on occasion on Nelson Mandela Day, took on England in one of the most closely fought semi-finals in the history of Women’s World Cup. Laura and Mignon slammed 66 and 76 runs respectively to set Heather Knight’s women a target of 219.

Heather in alliance with Sarah Taylor kept England in hunt despite losing early wickets. The pair looked good to but a run-out and few back-to-back wickets kept hopes alive for the visitors.

It was not until Jenny Gunn, who smacked a run-a-ball 27 that helped England nudge past South Africa by 3 wickets. In a reminiscence of the men’s semi-final defeat from World Cup 2015, South Africa women players also sat on the field and started weeping in disappointment and sadness.

2018 the way ahead 

The New Year will once again bring in challenges for South Africa as they travel to the land of heartbreak and take on England in a 3-ODI series. ODIs will be followed by a tri-nation T20I series involving New Zealand as well.

Given the exposure young players had during the World Cup, this series is bound to be an exciting affair.

What if I told you that Sri Lanka have won 2 and lost 1 in their last 5 Tests away from home? Mind you, these were not easy tours. Only one team (Australia in 2002, an incomplete series) have beaten Pakistan in a series in UAE. Sri Lanka became the second. Even if one claims that they got away at Kolkata, it cannot be denied that they drew the Delhi Test honourably (albeit after some controversy). In fact, had they scored one more run in the second innings, they would have become the first touring team in five years to score 300 in each innings on Indian soil.

Sounds good? Not quite, for that was about the only high in Sri Lanka’s miserable year. Sri Lanka won only 2 more Tests in the entire year. The first, against Bangladesh, was avenged immediately by the tourists. The other win was a hard-earned one against Zimbabwe, where all eight batsmen reached double-figures in pursuit of 388.

They lost 7 Tests this year. The win-loss 4:7 ratio (0.57) is poor, but a more worrying aspect is the list of abject surrenders. Bangladesh beat them by 4 wickets, but the others have not been as lenient.

South Africa had thrashed them on Boxing Day last year, by 206 runs. They completed the whitewash this year by winning the remaining Tests by 282 runs and by an innings.

But a far more brutal blow came later that year. India whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in Sri Lanka, winning the first Test by 304 runs and the other two by innings. Sandwiched between the Kolkata and Delhi Test was another win for India, by an innings and 239 runs at Nagpur.

Deeper blues for Men in Deep Blue

The ODIs were worse. They won 5 and lost 23 ODIs, and 2 of the 5 wins in their 2-3 home defeat against Zimbabwe. Their win-loss ratio reads 0.22: to provide perspective, this has been their worst since 1991. This is not a one-off, either: the 2016 ratio (0.67) was their worst since 2009.

They also drew 1-1 against Bangladesh at home. It was, thus, rather surprising that they have beaten India twice — including once at the Champions Trophy. To be fair, had Thisara Perera not dropped Sarfraz Ahmed in the virtual quarter-final, the rest of the tournament might have panned out differently.

But they were generally walloped by everyone in ODIs. South Africa blew them away 5-0. I have mentioned the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka series. They lost 0-5 to India at home and 0-5 to Pakistan in UAE. They broke the humiliation with that Dharamsala win, following which they lost at Mohali and Visakhapatnam.

And amidst all this, they have managed to win 2 T20I series — in South Africa and Australia. One may argue that South Africa, led by Farhaan Behardien, was not the strongest outfit, there are no such qualms about Australia. For once a team entered an Australia tour as favourites: Sri Lanka held a 3-0 advantage over Australia in Australia till the series; they merely extended it to 6-1.

They also won their next T20I, against Bangladesh, before the tourists levelled the series. Indeed, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh drew 1-1 in all three formats, which can indicate Sri Lanka’s fall or Bangladesh’s rise or both.

Then came consecutive defeats, 8 of them, in three countries: from a head-to-head of 5:2 Sri Lanka slumped to 10. Their win-loss ratio of 0.5 is the third-worst in their history. The worst two were 0.33 (2015) and 0.23 (2016). It is up to you whether you call this an upward curve or a three-year slide.

Amidst all this, three men led Sri Lanka in Tests, five in ODIs, and four in T20Is. Only Angelo Mathews led across all three formats. In all, they were led by seven men in a calendar year: how is a team supposed to win?

A few highs, but generally a disastrous year

There was the occasional high. Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne, for example, played a few innings of note. They scored 3 hundreds each, and were the only ones to top the 1,000-run mark. Nobody else got to even 800.

As always, Kusal Mendis frustrated selectors and fans throughout the year. He scored 110 in 135 balls against India on a burning deck at SSC and got another hundred this year. And yet, despite reaching double-figures 17 times in 20 innings, he got only one more fifty. Nevertheless, there is little doubt over his talent.

Mathews disappointed (barring that magnificent hundred at Delhi). Asela Gunaratne shone despite his limited outings (he got injured during the Galle Test and took no further part in the Test or the year).

Rangana Herath had 52 wickets this year, at 27.53, to nobody’s surprise. Even at 39 the loveable bank clerk continues to remain Sri Lanka’s go-to man.

The most worrying aspect of the Sri Lankan side is the fact that none of their other bowlers (with more than 3 wickets) averaged below 35. Take Dasun Shanaka’s 6 wickets at 35.83 away, and nobody is below even 42. Suranga Lakmal’s spell at Kolkata was indeed a one-off.

The opposition feasted on the toothless attack time and again, leaving the Sri Lankans little place to hide. The trend continued throughout the year: they conceded 22 hundreds in 22 innings, half of which was shared by the top four Indian batsmen.

Sri Lanka’s bowling averages for 2014, 2015, and 2016 read 33.94, 33, and 28.80 respectively. This year it rose to 40.92. But that is not all: take Herath away (though he carries an aura of eternity), and the number becomes 46.04. Indeed, dark days lie ahead.

The batting was also sub-par, but the fall was not as drastic: after the high of 2014 (37.67), the last three years have been 25.67, 28.63, and 27.04. The fall had taken place in 2015 already, which is probably why the batting did not seem as grim this year.

Mathews might have failed in Test cricket, but his ODI numbers (573 runs at 63.67) have been impressive. The strike rate of 77 isn’t great, but one must remember that he has always batted uphill. With over a thousand runs at 48.14 (strike rate 92), Upul Tharanga has shown that the second innings of his career has gone off to a good start.

Barring them, Niroshan Dickwella has gone off to fliers at times. He scored two hundreds and finished with a strike rate of 96. However, Sri Lanka’s greatest limited-overs win this year, against India at Cardiff, was masterminded by a group of inconsistent batsmen — Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, and Asela Gunaratne, with Mathews providing some much-needed touch.

Akila Dananjaya bowled the spell of the year for Sri Lanka. It was not his fault that India, despite being down at 131 for 7, chased down 231 without losing another wicket. He had taken 6 for 54 and had deceived everyone barring MS Dhoni; what else could he have done?

As in Test cricket, Lakmal bowled one, and exactly one, superlative spell in ODIs: his 10-4-13-4 at Dharamsala was an incredible display of controlled seam bowling, and gave Sri Lanka a much-deserved win. Nuwan Pradeep did not have a great year, but it was he who kept Sri Lanka in the hunt in the Champions Trophy match against Pakistan.

Lasith Malinga returned to the fray as well, but did little of note in ODIs. It was a different matter in T20Is, however: he took a single wicket in the India match at Premadasa, and at least 2 in each of his other 5 matches. This included a hat-trick against Bangladesh. Exactly why he was not picked for the T20Is in India will remain a mystery.

A similar treatment was dished out to Nuwan Kulasekara after he featured in Sri Lanka’s triumphs in South Africa and Australia. Kulasekara took 4 for 31 in the win at Geelong, but did not really play much thereafter.

Again, a worrying aspect was the fact that between them, Malinga and Kulasekara — the two senior men — took 22 wickets at 20.36. The others had 55 at 35.25 between them.

Head-to-head, 2017

Most runs

Most wickets

Most wicketkeeping dismissals

Thisara in T20Is (including World XI matches)

Footnote

A word or two about Thisara here is probably worth a mention. Thisara was the only Sri Lankan to be picked for the ICC World XI that toured Pakistan.

He launched two furious onslaughts. In the second match his 47 not out took 19 balls; and in the third, he got a 13-ball 32. He was the star in his side’s only win, and won the only Man of the Match for them.

A haul of 96 runs at a strike rate of 223 cannot be ignored. He also took 2 wickets in each of the 3 matches. The economy rate was 10.09, but the wickets came at 18.50 apiece. These are reasonably superior to his Sri Lanka tally of 75 runs (strike rate 115) and 7 wickets (average 31.14, economy 8.49) from 9 matches.

Alastair Cook built on his century to put England within 63 runs of Australia’s first innings on the third day of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne on Thursday. The 151-Test opener, resuming on an overnight 104, took his score to 134 off 244 balls at lunch with Jonny Bairstow on 16 and the tourists 264 for four.

It is Cook’s 32nd Test century and his first Ashes ton for almost seven years, and follows an underwhelming six previous innings in this series. At 3-0 down after three Tests, the Ashes urn is already lost to Australia, but England are chasing a face-saving win in the showpiece Boxing Day Test.

Cook was England’s main hope of getting a crucial innings lead on a slow Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch after the dismissals of captain Joe Root and Dawid Malan in the first session. Root yet again failed to convert his half-century into a big score when he top-edged a hook shot off Pat Cummins to Nathan Lyon at deep square leg.

The England captain reached his third half-century of the series early on day three but was clearly furious with himself when he holed out on 61. Root, playing in his 64th Test, has a 27 percent conversion rate of Test 50s to 100s. Although he put on 138 runs for the third wicket with Cook, his wicket opened the door for the Australians on the placid pitch.

Dawid Malan, a century-maker in the third Perth Test, was then out leg before wicket with Josh Hazlewood’s second delivery of the second new ball for 14. Malan conferred with Cook before deciding not to review, yet replays showed a distinct ‘hot spot’ nick on his bat which would have kept him at the crease if he had challenged the decision.

It follows James Vince’s similar dismissal on Wednesday to Hazlewood for 17, when he also did not seek a review despite ‘hot spot’ showing a mark on his bat.

Two teams, comprising of members from the United Nations peacekeeping missions, clashed in a cricket match on March 2004. Abhishek Mukherjee describes one of the more unusual India-Pakistan cricket matches.

Give it a bat and a ball, and cricket will find a way into your life — especially with Indians and Pakistanis around.

For the uninitiated, during the Second Congo War, the United Nations had sent a peacekeeping force to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mission de l’Organisation des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en République démocratique du Congo (MONUSCO) is still active in the country.

Obviously, the force was represented by several nations. However, the Ituri Brigade, formed in September 2003, had a subcontinental flavour to it: it consisted of soldiers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal (along with some from Indonesia and Morocco as well).

The match in question was played at Goma, on the Congolese border. In fact, Goma is almost adjacent to Gisenyi, Rwanda. Both cities are located on the banks of Lake Kivu.

About 15 miles north of Goma is the crater of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. The 2002 eruption had devastated the city. Lake Kivu itself is susceptible to limnic eruptions, which may put thousands of residents under threat.

But life goes on in Goma, as it did in 2004. It is not clear how the UN force acquired a bat and a ball, but sure enough, as soon as they did that, a team of Indians prepared to take on another, of Pakistanis. The exact date of the match is not known. However, possibilities of India’s tour of Pakistan in the same month cannot be ruled out as a source of inspiration.

There was barely a blade of grass on the lava-blackened ground. The upper layer of the soil was mostly dried lava, which gave it a hue of black. Old crates of guns, painted in dazzling white, stood out in stark contrast with the ‘outfield’ to mark the boundaries.

They decided on a 20-over match. This had nothing to do with the fact that the first T20 match had started in England only a few months ago. They merely had to finish the match before the night patrols started.

But infrastructural shortcomings could not dampen the enthusiasm of the cricketers. The match was “as intensely contested as if it were in Karachi or Kolkata,” one Donald Turner wrote to Wisden.

Umpiring was not of the highest order. Turner added that the LBW law was “interpreted liberally”. However, you can hardly blame the umpires: how could they focus if they have to stop a match every now and then? You see, soldiers from non-cricket nations kept walking behind the bowler’s arm. They even committed the cardinal sin of walking on the pitch.

The offenders were not too happy themselves, either. “The UN warned me about gorillas attacking us, but not cricket balls,” complained a Swede.

There was one major interruption, when a herd of goats escaped the prison farm, ran on to the ground, and chased a Pakistani fielder away. The goats were followed by prisoners, their guards … but all was well in the end.

India beat Pakistan in the end. Or perhaps they joined hands to defeat bloodshed, at least temporarily.

Brief scores:

MONUSCO India XI beat MONUSCO Pakistan XI in a 20-over match. No other detail is available.

The West Indies have suffered a further setback on their New Zealand tour Thursday with team officials confirming premier all-rounder Kieron Pollard had pulled out of the Twenty20 matches for “personal reasons”.

It is the second change for the tourists, who have already had to replace the injured Ronsford Beaton.

The West Indies have yet to win a match in New Zealand, having lost both Tests inside four days and been comprehensively outplayed in the three one-day internationals.

“Left-handed batsman Shimron Hetmyer will replace all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who is unavailable due to personal reasons,” Cricket West Indies said in a statement.

“Left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell will replace pacer Ronsford Beaton, who has been forced to return home with a side strain.”

However, despite New Zealand dominating the Tests and ODIs, coach Mike Hesson expected the West Indies to provide tough opposition in the Twenty20s, the format in which they are world champions.

“They’re certainly an exciting batting line-up, some middle order players who’ve obviously done pretty well in the IPL and the likes of (Samuel) Badree coming to the T20 gives plenty of experience in that bowling group,” Hesson said.

“They’re certainly a challenge for us.”

Tim Southee will captain the New Zealand side in place of Kane Williamson who is being rested for the first game of the three-match series on Friday.

India captain Virat Kohli gave the national U-19 cricket team a quick pep talk here on Wednesday ahead of their departure for the U-19 World Cup.

Kohli who captained India’s successful team to the U-19 World Cup in 2008, praised current U-19 skipper Prithvi Shaw, hailing him as a special talent.

Shaw has already scored five centuries in first class cricket and is expected to be one of the bulwarks of the Indian batting line-up at the U-19 World Cup which is scheduled to start in New Zealand on January 13.

“I am also excited about Prithvi. I have heard a lot about him and Ravi Bhai (Shashtri) has also told me many things about him. He has had a lot of good performances in first-class cricket, which is rarely seen,” Kohli told the media.

“He has been made the captain ahead of the boys, who have played U-19, there is special ability in him, that we have seen,” he added.

Kohli also asserted that he has agreed to a request from India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid and will spend some with the boys and give them crucial advice ahead of their departure for New Zealad on Wednesday night.

“Yes I will be meeting the U-19 boys after my press conference. Rahul bhai spoke to me and said that I should talk to them before leaving,” Kohli said.

Alastair Cook batted on and took England out of the woods on Day Three of the fourth Ashes Test. His 173* before tea helped England take 33-run lead. With him at the other end, further frustrating Australia, is Chris Woakes unbeaten on 26.

England lost two wickets in the session. Jonny Bairstow, who looked in an ominous touch, could not convert his start into a significant innings. Nathan Lyon had him caught behind.

Smith continued with Lyon, given he had dismissed Moeen Ali five times in the series. Moeen, however, launched an attack: he hit a massive six over long-on. It did not bother Lyon, though. In the pursuit of doing the same, Moeen holed out to short-cover, yet again becoming Lyon’s victim.

Amidst all this, Smith dropped Cook for the second time. He attempted a one-handed catch at square-leg. Cook made full use of the opportunity and scored his 11th 150-plus score.

Woakes did well to help Cook in piling runs. The duo have added 28 runs for the seventh wicket, eventually clearing the deficit. They will look to bat through the last session and compile as many runs they can to bury Australia under a sizable lead.

Lyon has taken 3 for 76, while Josh Hazlewood has accounted of Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan’s wickets.

Brief scores:

Australia 327 (David Warner 103, Steven Smith 76, Shaun Marsh 61; Stuart Broad 4 for 51, James Anderson 3 for 61) trail England 360 for 6 (Alastair Cook 173*, Joe Root 61; 3 for 76) by 33 runs.

Full scorecard

Anushka Sharma was seen accompanying husband and Team India captain Virat Kohli as the team left for their upcoming South Africa tour. Kohli and Anushka got married on December 11 in Tuscany, Italy and spent their honeymoon in Finland. They then threw back to back receptions in Delhi and Mumbai, while it was predecided that Anushka would go to South Africa with Kohli. The duo will ring in the new year together, and Anushka will reportedly return in the first week of January and resume work.

Team India member Ajinkya Rahane as well as Head Coach Ravi Shastri were also seen interacting with the couple and boarding the flight.

Anushka sported a white and black striped jumpsuit paired with a black bomber jacket while Kohli was seen in his usual Team India attire.

India will play three Tests, six ODIs and three T20Is stretched over the span from January 5 to February 24.

Rohit Sharma  eases the ball over the boundary line. There seems to be an element of power, but he relies sheerly on timing the ball. The head remains still, and he executes a stroke as if it was premeditated. In other words he makes batting look easy.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Rohit revealed that his stroke-making involves 80 per cent timing and 20 per cent power. “There is a certain element of power into it but not completely. It is like 80 per cent timing and 20 per cent power. Why do I need power hitting when I can clear the ropes with timing? The sixes I hit have crossed a decent distance; I don’t need to clear the stadium, just clear the rope. I try and get into the line of the ball and time it. That is my strength and I will stick to it.”

Rohit takes him time to settle in ODIs, and as he does, he goes on to compile Daddy hundreds. There is a reason he is the only player to score three double-hundreds in ODIs. When asked if he would carry the same approach in Tests, he said, ” I would love to do that in Test cricket as well. My strength is to try and dominate and take the game away from the opposition. Wherever I bat, I have to understand the conditions, respect the bowlers and see how I can be destructive. South Africa is not the easiest place to bat; the first 20-25 minutes can be challenging, but once you get your eye in, try and play your game.”

The tracks in South Africa will produce more bounce and lateral movement. The deliveries that the batsmen play on the front-foot will have to played by laying back a bit. Rohit explains his approach. “You have to keep telling yourself the shots you play in India, you cannot outside. That has to start with practice; certain shots that you play, on the rise, cut or pull… on pitches with extra bounce in South Africa you have to keep telling yourself, ‘no, I cannot play the pull shot from that length’ or ‘cannot drive on the up’. You need to understand the pace of the pitch, there are a lot of things like that.”

India have not won a Test series in South Africa. They had won the first Test in 2006-07 series but lost the remaining two. In 2010-11, they managed to draw the series. This time, however, they have a team that can put up a fight. There are many who believe that India will bag their maiden Test series win in this unconquered territory. Rohit believes that they can take 20 wickets. “It is the best pace attack we have. We believe we can take 20 wickets. These 5-6 bowlers have played together for a number of years now, and are one of the reasons why we are No. 1.”