Former Saurashtra player Ambapratasinh Jadeja dies of Covid-19 infection at 69

SA vs IND | 2nd Test, Day 2: Shardul Thakur picks first five-wicket haul to keep India in the game

Just when the unbeaten pair of Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen were looking resolute to make things tough for India, Shardul Thakur put his hands up and rocked the Proteas batting order to bring the men in blue back in the game. He was held back for a long time by the skipper KL Rahul as Elgar and Petersen remained unbeaten till the first hour of the day. The pacer proved his worth straightway with the big wicket of Proteas skipper Elgar by an absolute jaffa that nipped off the seam from the line of the off-stump. At the other end of the pitch, Petersen cashed in on the boundary scoring opportunities by Mohammad Shami, who himself bowled a tremendous spell of bowling towards the end of the session, and reached his first half-century in Test cricket. However, he could not maintain the discipline after reaching the landmark of fifty and played rash shots before edging an away going delivery from Shardul to Mayank Agarwal in the slips. To conclude the session, Shardul got one to seam back at Rassie van der Dussen with bounce and the batsman inside-edged onto his thigh that barely carried to Rishabh Pant. India had their task cut out in the morning session with Mohammad Siraj not bowling full tilt after a leg injury and they would be delighted at Shardul Thakur doing the job with the ball just when they needed it the most.

Ashish Nehra set to become head coach of Ahmedabad IPL team

Former India bowler Ashish Nehra is set to become the head coach of the Ahmedabad IPL franchise for the IPL 2022 edition. Apart from him, former England batter Vikram Solanki is likely to become ‘Director of Cricket’. “As far as I have heard, they have signed Ashish as their head coach and someone who would be in overall charge of the franchise. Solanki will be the ‘Director of Cricket’ and also expected to double up as batting coach and Kirsten will be in a mentorship role,” a senior IPL source told PTI on conditions of anonymity. “The Ahmedabad franchise can’t announce it formally as it is a BCCI diktat and they can only make a formal announcement after they get the LOI. The head honchos of Ahmedabad franchise has already interviewed the trio and short-listed them for the season,” the source said. Nehra has been a part of the coaching staff with the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise team. The left-arm pacer has himself played 88 IPL matches and has bagged 106 wickets at an economy of 7.84.

The Ashes | 4th Test: With nothing to lose, England eye consolation in Sydney

Australia have already taken a 3-0 unassailable lead in the Ashes series against England and the two teams will now lock horns in the fourth Test in Sydney. England have faced some issues with their batting on this tour and in fact have got bundled out for 68 in Melbourne. Moreover, if the numbers are to be believed, only Dawid Malan and captain Joe Root who have shown some resistance. Well, all said and done, the two units have announced their final XI for this penultimate game and surprisingly, the visitors haven’t really made any changes in their batting line. While England have faced struggles on the field, they have been on the back foot off it as well. Four coaches including the head coach Chris Silverwood have been in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. Match Details Match: AUS vs ENG, 4th Test, The Ashes, 2021-22 Date: Wednesday, January 05, 2022 - Sunday, January 09, 2022 Time: 5:00 AM (Jan 05) Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Telecast: Sony Sports Network Pitch Report The track in Sydney is likely to assist the batters but the spinners might also have something on offer on the final two days of the match. So, if you win the toss, elect to bat first and try to pile up a big total. Team News Australia: Usman Khawaja has been included in the XI in place of Travis Head for this encounter. The home side has only made one change as Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson are still recovering from injury. "It's no secret that if Joshy Hazlewood was available then he was going to play," Cummins said. "He's been just a brilliant bowler for us for a long period of time. "We gave Josh every chance we could, just felt like he couldn't bowl at full tilt yesterday. We're still hoping he'll be right for Hobart.” England: England on the other side, have also made one tweak in their bowling department as Stuart Broad has returned and he will replace Ollie Robinson who has been ruled out of the Test match with a shoulder niggle. "We felt like it was too much of a risk to go in with a couple of lads who are carrying niggles," England's assistant coach, Graham Thorpe, said. "So, therefore, it was right to bring Stuart back in." Playing XI Australia: Marcus Harris, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland England: Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson Fantasy XI Jos Buttler, David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Haseeb Hameed, Ben Stokes (VC), Cameron Green, Pat Cummins, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon (C), James Anderson

The Ashes | Australia persist with Scott Boland, replace Head with Usman Khawaja for Sydney Test

Australia have announced their playing XI for the fourth Test of the ongoing Ashes series and have continued to put faith in Scott Boland’s seam bowling abilities. It was being wondered if Bolland will be made a one-Test wonder for his six-wicket haul at the MCG but return to fitness of other pacers such as Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson for the Sydney Test. Hazelwood suffered a side strain in the first Test of the series in Brisbane and continues to be sidelined from the playing XI. Richardson played the second Test of the series at his place and picked a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Day-Night Test. Apart from the third pacer’s slot alongside the skipper Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, Australia have also earmarked Usman Khwaja as the replacement from Travis Head. The South Australian tested positive for Covid-19 in Melbourne and was ruled out of the fourth Test. Australia lead the series 3-0 and have already retained the Ashes while England will be eager to make a strong comeback in the final two Tests of the series and salvage some pride.