Pratika Rawal and Jasprit Bumrah [Source: @BCCIWomen, @HBJ3221/x]
The Indian women’s team completed a 3-0 routing of Ireland, and shattered some big records while doing so. Sarfaraz Khan reportedly turned out to be the leak in India’s dressing room, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has seemingly expressed his readiness for the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy.
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 15.
Team India Rout Ireland To Clinch Series 3-0
The Indian women’s team annihilated their Irish counterparts by 304 runs to complete a 3-0 sweep in the three-match ODI series. A century from Smriti Mandhana, also India’s fastest in women’s history, and that from young Pratika Rawal boosted India to a colossal 435-5 from 50 overs, their highest-ever ODI total.
Later during the Ireland run-chase, senior Indian spinner Deepti Sharma picked up three wickets after the opening breakthroughs from Titas Sadhu and Sayali Satghare. Folding up the visitors for just 131 in 31.4 overs, the Indian women’s team recorded its biggest-ever margin of victory in ODIs.
Jasprit Bumrah Squashes Fake Injury Reports
Jasprit Bumrah, who ruled himself out from the second half of India’s SCG Test against Australia earlier this month owing to visible pain, has seemingly signaled his readiness for the impending 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan and in the UAE. The legendary Indian fast bowler took to X and squashed reports of his absence from the upcoming tournament, after a leading publication had indicated that the cricketer has been advised bed rest for the next few weeks.
It is worth noting that the Indian team is set to launch its 2025 Champions Trophy campaign with a match against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai.
Karnataka Qualifies For Vijay Hazare Final
Karnataka knocked out defending champions Haryana from the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 season by defeating them in the first semifinal. After Abhilash Shetty (4-34) and Shreyas Gopal (2-36) restricted Haryana to 237-9 from 50 overs, opening batter Devdutt Padikkal (86 off 113) and number four Ravichandran Smaran (76 off 94) listed majestic half-centuries to steer Karnataka to an easy five-wicket victory in the 48th over of the run-chase.
Karnataka will now face either Vidarbha or Maharashtra in the final of the tournament on Saturday, January 18.
Anrich Nortje Ruled Out Of Champions Trophy 2025
Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of South Africa’s squad from the 2025 Champions Trophy due to a back injury. The speedster has not played a single international match for South Africa since the conclusion of the 2024 T20 World Cup back in June last year.
As per reports, Gerald Coeztee and Ottinel Baartam have emerged as frontrunners to replace Nortje in the South African line-up for the upcoming eight-team event in Pakistan and in the UAE. The tournament is slated to commence from February 19 with a match between New Zealand and hosts Pakistan.
Sarfaraz Khan Leaked News Of Rohit And Gambhir Rift: Report
Sarfaraz Khan has reportedly turned out to be the leak from the Indian dressing room, who first revealed a possible rift between national head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma following India’s crushing Test series defeat in Australia. According to TV9 Bharatvarsh report, Sarfaraz allegedly spilled the news to the media, and his name was recently revealed in the BCCI review meeting by Gambhir.