Bumrah’s Fiery Spell, SA In WTC Final And ICC Award Nominees – December 29 Cricket Highlights

Team India and South African players [Source: @BCCI, @ProteasMenCSA/x]

Jasprit Bumrah sparked India’s spirited fightback before Australia’s last-wicket pair reverted back the momentum for the hosts. South Africa secured a nervy win over Pakistan to qualify for the 2025 WTC final, while the International Cricket Council (ICC) unveiled nominations for the ODI Cricketer of the Year award.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest news that emerged out of Sunday, December 29.

Jasprit Bumrah Sizzles But Fails To Deliver Knockout Punch

Nathan Lyon got rid of overnight centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy earlier on Day 4 to envelop the entire Indian innings for 369. Emboldened with a 105-run lead, Australia slipped to 91-6 courtesy of Jasprit Bumrah’s perpetual brilliance this tour. The Indian speedster knocked over Sam Konstas for just eight, trapped Travis Head for a single, got Mitchell Marsh nicking towards Rishabh Pant for a duck and cleaned up Alex Carey for just two.

Mohammed Siraj also got the better of Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Australia’s lone half-centurion of the innings, Marnus Labuschagne. Having Australia on the mat at 173-9, the final wicket pair of Nathan Lyon (41*) and Scott Boland (10*) frustrated the Indian attack by batting out the remaining 18 overs of the day to reach 228-9 by stumps. With a lead of 333 runs, captain Pat Cummins will likely declare the Australian innings at the start of Day 5.

South Africa Win Thriller, Qualify For WTC 2025 Final

Resuming the innings at 27-3 while chasing 148 on Day 4, overnight unbeaten opener Aiden Markram punched out a valiant 37 during his courageous partnership with captain Temba Bavuma (40). With South Africa cruising comfortably towards their target at 96-4, a triple-wicket burst from Mohammad Abbas (6-54) and a prized-scalp from Naseem Shah crashed the hosts to 99-8 in the space of just two overs.

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SA vs PAK 1st Test Day 4 Highlights: Rabada, Jansen Fend Off Abbas As South Africa Qualify For WTC Final

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South Africa’s ninth-wicket pair of Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada cautiously fended off Pakistan’s raging pace attack by sharing 51 runs together to take their team to a thrilling two-wicket victory. While Rabada belted 31* off just 26 balls, Jansen notched up the winning runs as South Africa became the first team to qualify for the 2025 WTC final.

Ben Dwarshuis Sets Up Easy Sixers Win Over Brisbane Heat

A Ben Dwarshuis-inspired Sydney Sixers group upstaged defending champions Brisbane Heat at The Gabba in match number 15 of the BBL 2024-25 season. Dwarshuis wrecked Heat’s top-order, before adding two more wickets in the final over to claim astonishing figures of 4-32. Hayden Kerr and Todd Murphy also struck twice each to restrict the Heat to 138-9 from 20 overs.

Chasing 139, Sydney Sixers opener Josh Phillipe whacked 66 unbeaten runs from just 41 balls to blaze his team to an easy eight-wicket victory with nearly four overs to spare.

Shahidi Reaches 179* On Rain-Curtailed Day 4 vs Zimbabwe

Rains washed out nearly two sessions’ worth of play on Day 4 of the series-opening first Test at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo between Afghanistan and hosts Zimbabwe. Afghanistan’s number three Rahmat Shah managed to add just a couple of runs to his overnight score as he was dismissed for 234 in the second over of the day by Newman Nyamhuri.

Rahmat’s partner, captain and fellow centurion Hashmatullah Shahidi extended himself to 179* from 367 balls with 18 boundaries while forming a fresh 87-run stand with Afsar Zazai (46*). Before rains called for an early stumps on Day 4, Afghanistan reached an imposing 515-3 to find themselves just 71 runs away from the hosts.

Sri Lankans Dominate ICC ODI Cricketer Of The Year Nominations

Sri Lankan cricketers Wanindu Hasaranga and Kusal Mendis made a cut into the nominations for the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award for the year 2024. Hasaranga picked up 26 wickets in the calendar year while his teammate Mendis cracked 742 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 90.59.

Afghanistan star batter Azmatullah Omarzai and West Indies’ white-ball heavyweight Sherfane Rutherford rounded up the nominations for their stellar performances throughout the past 12 months.

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