Khawaja Double Ton, Inglis Record And Rinku Singh Fit To Play – January 30 Cricket Highlights
Usman Khawaja and Rinku Singh [Source: AP Photos, @WasimJaffer14/x]
Usman Khawaja notched up his maiden Test double century on Day 2 of the Galle affair against Sri Lanka. Rinku Singh is now fit to play against England in the remaining matches of India’s home series. Furthermore, Indian women’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma followed Mohammed Siraj’s footsteps by joining police ranks.
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 Thursday, January 30.
Usman Khawaja Whacks Maiden Test Double Ton On Day 2
Ageing Australian opener Usman Khawaja converted his overnight score of 147* into his maiden Test double century on Day 2 of the series-opening Galle Test against Sri Lanka. The elegant left-hander composed 232 runs from 352 balls with 16 boundaries and a six, and shared a 146-run partnership with debutant Josh Inglis after his 266-run epic with Steve Smith.
The innings marked the third highest individual score by any Australian cricketer in Asia, and it made him the second oldest Australian batter after late Don Bradman to compile a Test double hundred. Khawaja’s marathon effort fueled Australia’s 600-plus total before interim skipper Steve Smith called for declaration.
Josh Inglis Makes Record Ton On Test Debut
Josh Inglis also piled on Sri Lanka’s misery after hundreds from Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith. Batting at number five, the 29-year-old slapped a 90-ball ton to record Test cricket’s second fastest century on debut after former Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan.
Inglis belted 10 boundaries and a six in his 94-ball knock of 102 runs to set up Australia’s imposing first innings total of 654-6d. In response, hosts Sri Lanka lost three of its top-order batters to Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann to reach 44-3 from 15 overs before stumps on Day 2.
Deepti Sharma Joins UP Police Ranks
Indian women’s all-rounder Deepti Sharma was officially appointed as the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) by the Uttar Pradesh government. The 27-year-old received her DSP uniform during a ceremony in Moradabad. Notably, Indian men’s fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was also named a DSP in Telangana last year.
Apart from becoming a DSP in Uttar Pradesh, Deepti Sharma was also recently selected in the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year 2024 alongside the likes of Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh. The all-rounder took 30 wickets in the year at an exceptional bowling average of 17.80.
Rinku Singh Fit For 4th T20I vs England
India’s middle-order batter Rinku Singh has been declared fit to play the fourth T20I of the five-match series against England at home. The 27-year-old missed the second and third T20I matches of the series due to a lower back spasm.
It remains to be seen if Rinku Singh will be making a cut into the playing XI in the much-awaited penultimate match. Team India won the first two matches of the series with convincing margins to take an unassailable 2-0 lead, before losing to England by 26 runs in Rajkot. The fourth match of the series will be played at Pune’s MCA Stadium on January 31.
MI Buy Oval Invincibles: Reports
According to an ESPNCricinfo report, the Reliance Industries, also the owners of the Mumbai Indians franchise in IPL, has purchased a 49 percent stake of the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. While there has been no official confirmation made either by the ECB or the Mumbai Indians, one can expect a formal announcement to be made after the completion of the entire process next week.
It is worth noting that the Reliance Industries already owns multiple cricket teams in several franchise-based tournaments, including Mumbai Indians Women, MI Cape Town, MI Emirates and MI New York.