BGT: Cummins confirms Hazlewood ruled out of remainder of the series

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Brisbane, Dec 18 (IANS) Australia skipper Pat Cummins has confirmed that fast-bowler Josh Hazlewood will be out of the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series due to calf injury.

Hazlewood hurt his right calf during Australia’s warm-ups on Tuesday morning. He bowled one over in the opening session on Day 4 before leaving the field with calf soreness. The 33-year-old pacer then underwent scans to assess the severity of the injury. Medical scans later confirmed he had strained his right calf, which led the pacer to miss the rest of the series.

“In terms of Joshie (Hazlewood), yes, obviously not ideal. He’ll miss the series. Yeah, take a few weeks to recover and then build up again from there. So not sure exactly when that looks like, but it’ll be at least this series,” said Cummins to ABC Sport after the day’s play on Wednesday.

Hazlewood arrived late on the field at the start of Day 4 play on Tuesday and appeared to struggle when he began his spell, rarely exceeding 131 kmph. During the drinks break following that over, he was seen engaged in an extended discussion with Cummins, Steven Smith, and physio Nick Jones before leaving the field.

Reflecting on missing the rest of the series due to injury, Hazlewood expressed disappointment but insists that he will bounce back stronger.

“Disappointed that I couldn’t bowl for the Gabba Test due to injury, but it’s all part of the game. I’ll be working hard to bounce back and get back to doing what I love with the team.. Good luck to the team ! Wishing the lads all the best for the remaining series – let’s get the win!” he posted on X.

Australia made only one change in their playing 11 for the third Test, which ended in draw, with Hazlewood replacing Scott Boland, who then took five wickets in the Adelaide Test when Hazlewood missed the game due to his side injury.

In Hazlewood’s absence, Boland is firmly back in contention to play the Boxing Day Test, starting from December 26 at the MCG.

Notably, Hazlewood hurt the same calf in August ahead of Australia’s limited-overs tour of the UK, which led him to miss the T20 series against Scotland, but he featured in matches against England.

–IANS

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AM Ghazanfar added to Afghanistan’s squad for upcoming Tests against Zimbabwe

New Delhi, Dec 25 (IANS) Spinner AM Ghazanfar has been added to Afghanistan’s squad for its upcoming Test series against Zimbabwe, starting in Bulawayo on Thursday. The development comes after reports emerged of Rashid Khan being unavailable for the Boxing Day game due to personal reasons.

AM Ghazanfar has been added to Afghanistan’s squad for the two-match test series against Zimbabwe, with the first one being scheduled to begin tomorrow in Bulawayo,” said the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) through its X post on Wednesday.

Ghazanfar’s maiden call-up to the Test team comes after he picked up impressive figures of 5/33 in the third ODI at Harare Sports Club, which helped Afghanistan secure an eight-wicket win and take a 2-0 series win. Interestingly, Ghazanfar is yet to play a first-class game in his cricketing career.

2024 has been a meteoric year for Ghazanfar, who began by playing for Afghanistan in the U19 Men’s World Cup in South Africa, where he bagged eight wickets in four matches at an economy rate of 3.35 and was followed by his senior ODI debut against Ireland in March.

He then guided Afghanistan A to winning their maiden ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup title in 2024, winning the Player of the Match award in the final against Sri Lanka A in Oman.

The series opening game against Afghanistan, to be played at the Queens Sports Club, will be the first time Zimbabwe will be hosting its first Boxing Day Test at home in 28 years. It will be followed by Zimbabwe hosting its first New Year’s Test, scheduled for January 2-6, 2025.

Afghanistan updated Test squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhail, Afsar Zazai, Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ismat Alam, Azmatullah Omarzai, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Zahir Shehzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad Afghan, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad Malik and AM Ghazanfar.

–IANS

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ISL 2024-25: Odisha FC extend unbeaten run with 2-1 win over 10-man East Bengal

Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Hugo Boumous 81 scored a goal each in the second half as Odisha FC overcame a 10-man East Bengal FC 2-1 in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium, here on Thursday. With this win, the Juggernauts extended their unbeaten streak this season to five games.

All three goals of the match came in the second half, with Mawihmingthanga and Boumous netting in the 55th and the 81st minutes of the game respectively, after the Red & Gold Brigade found their only strike through Lal Chungnunga in the 53rd minute. East Bengal FC were reduced to 10 men in the 43rd minute due to Jeakson Singh’s sending-off.

The two sides shared the honours in the opening moments of the match. Nandhakumar Sekar embarked on an ambitious solo run from the right flank in the 23rd minute, dazzling into the box and holding his shape before making a terrific effort at goal, but was denied by an outstretched Amrinder Singh.

Seven minutes later, Ahmed Jahouh’s free-kick inside the East Bengal FC box, directed to Mourtada Fall, reached the towering defender, but he ended up heading the ball off-target. Odisha FC continued exerting attack and a passage of end-to-end action unfolded with both teams offering each other abundant space at the back.

One such move saw the trio of Isak Vanlalruatfela, Boumous, and Jerry interlink seamlessly inside the East Bengal FC penalty area in the 36th minute. Isak surged ahead on the wing and found Boumous ahead of him. The attacking midfielder crossed the ball to Jerry whose shot was kept at bay by Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. East Bengal FC were dealt with a blow in the 43rd minute when Jeakson Singh was sent off for accumulating his second yellow card of the game. He fouled Diego Mauricio and the home side was thus reduced to 10 men, handing a numerical advantage to the Juggernauts.

To their credit, East Bengal FC grabbed the first lead in the contest despite that, as Lal Chungnunga pounced upon a crowded Odisha FC box following a corner kick to smash the ball into the centre of the net in the 53rd minute, as the Juggernauts’ defence was unable to clear their lines in time. They, however, got back in shape especially in their offensive movements thereafter, as Isak switched flanks to operate from the right briefly and helped his side discover a breakthrough.

His run wasn’t stopped by the East Bengal FC defence and that resulted in him delivering a decisive pass to Jerry, who was positioned on the right side of the box and sliced the ball into the top right corner of the net with a sublime finish to equalise the scores.

Odisha FC resumed operating on the offence as a consequence of this and got their hands on the second goal with a joint effort by Mauricio and Boumous.

Mauricio had donned a free-flowing role upfront and that meant he shifted slightly on the left, drawing defenders towards him and opening up space in the middle. In one such move, he made his way into the box, before squaring up a timely pass for the onrushing Boumous, who hammered the ball home to get the visitors the important lead and sealed the three points in their favour.

East Bengal FC will play their next game against Punjab FC on December 17, whereas Odisha FC will feature against Mohammedan SC on December 27.

–IANS

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BGT: Pujara advises Rohit to score first 20-30 runs steadily

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) Veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has advised skipper Rohit Sharma to focus on getting his 20 or 30 runs in a steady mode, following which can help him amass a big score and break his poor run of form in Tests.

Rohit could only muster nine runs over the two innings as a number six batter in India’s ten-wicket defeat to Australia at the Adelaide Oval. Moreover, Rohit’s average in his last six Tests is just 11.83. With the current five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series locked at 1-1, India would need for Rohit to hit top form in the third Test, starting on December 14 in Brisbane.

“First of all, I would like Rohit Sharma to come back to form as soon as possible. Because when he scores runs, it will affect his captaincy as well. When a captain is out of form, it affects his captaincy as well. So, I think when scores runs, it will affect his captaincy.

“Rohit Sharma is an experienced player. He knows how to score runs when batting. He is going through some bad form. But even there, a start is very important for him. He should focus on getting his first 20 or 30 runs steadily. After that, he can capitalise on the start and convert it into a big score. So, hopefully, when he comes in the first half or quarter of an hour, he should focus on getting a start,” said Pujara to Star Sports.

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh stated that Rohit’s form plays a crucial hand in him succeeding in his role as the team’s skipper. “As a captain, I would like Rohit Sharma to make runs. When he scores runs, he will think better and do better things.

“No matter how big a player is, he is always worried about his performance. There is no doubt that when a player scores runs, he makes a better decision. So, let’s hope that Rohit Sharma scores some runs so that his captaincy gets better.”

–IANS

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