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Arshdeep Record, Sydney Thunder Win And Babar Azam’s Slip – January 22 Cricket Highlights

Aakash Saini

Arshdeep Singh and Sydney Thunder players [Source: @BCCI, @ThunderBBL/x]Arshdeep Singh and Sydney Thunder players [Source: @BCCI, @ThunderBBL/x]

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Arshdeep Singh became India’s most successful T20I bowler as the ‘Men in Blue’ secured a huge series-leading win over England. Pakistan batting great Babar Azam slipped further down on the latest ICC batting rankings. In Australia, the David Warner-led Sydney Thunder team qualified for the Challenger of the BBL 2024-25 season.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Wednesday, January 22.

Arshdeep Becomes India’s Leading Wicket-Taker With Match-Winning Spell

Arshdeep Singh became India’s most successful bowler in T20Is by going past Yuzvendra Chahal’s tally of 96 wickets. The speedster picked up two wickets against England to spearhead India’s emphatic seven-wicket victory at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

Hardik Pandya (2-42) and spinners Varun Chakravarthy (3-23) and Axar Patel (2-22) also picked up crucial wickets later in the innings to wrap up England for just 132 from 20 overs. Later in the Indian run-chase, young opener Abhishek Sharma clobbered 79 runs from just 34 balls with five boundaries and eight sixes after the early exits of Sanju Samson and captain Suryakumar Yadav to Jofra Archer.

Thunder Set Up Sydney Derby In Challenger With Knockout Win

Sydney Thunder defeated Melbourne Stars by 21 runs (DLS method) in the knockout match of the BBL 2024-25 season at the Sydney Showground Stadium. Batting first in a 19-over game, the Thunder conjured 135-7 from 20 overs with middle-order batter Oliver Davies top scoring in the innings by composing a near run-a-ball 36.

In response, the Stars folded up for just 114 in 18 overs to crash out of the competition. Nathan McAndrew picked up five wickets in the innings at an expense of just 16 runs as Sydney Thunder qualified for the Challenger, where they will face cross-city rivals Sydney Sixers at the iconic SCG.

BCCI Agree For Pakistan’s Name On Indian CT Jersey

BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia has confirmed that the Indian cricket team’s jersey will feature Pakistan’s name during the upcoming 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. Earlier this week, several reports had claimed that Team India jersey will exclude the name of arch-rivals Pakistan, even though the latter is one of co-hosts of the tournament.

The Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, will not be playing their Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan owing to the prevailing geo-political tensions shared between the two countries. The ‘Men in Blue’ are slated to commence their campaign on February 20 against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

AB de Villiers Hints At Return, But Not For RCB

Former South African captain AB de Villiers has hinted out a possibility of making a comeback to competitive cricket. The swashbuckling middle-order batter played his last competitive match for the RCB franchise back during the 2021 edition of the IPL.

While speaking with journalist Melinda Farrell on the ‘Running Between The Wickets’ podcast, AB de Villiers stated that he is considering making his return to cricket at the behest of his kids. Much to everyone’s surprise, Villiers also claimed that he does not intend to return to the RCB franchise as he does not want to put himself under “that pressure again”.

Babar Azam Slips In ICC Test Rankings

Pakistan batting great Babar Azam lost four rungs to slip to number 16 on the ICC rankings for men’s Test batters. The 30-year-old recently scored three successive half-centuries in South Africa, before managing to aggregate just 13 runs across both innings of Pakistan’s home Test against West Indies at the Multan Cricket Ground.

While Babar Azam slipped to number 16, Saud Shakeel gained three slots to occupy the eighth position as the cricketer continues to remain Pakistan’s highest ranked batter in Tests. Mohammad Rizwan is ranked 18th to remain one of only three Pakistan cricketers in the top 20 list.