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Virat Kohli's Failure, Williamson Classic And Raza Fined – December 16 Cricket Highlights

Aakash Saini

Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson [Source: AP]Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson [Source: AP]

Team India continued to struggle against Australia as evidenced by their dismal show on a rain-marred Day 3 of the Brisbane Test. Hamilton’s Seddon Park witnessed New Zealand’s resurgence against England after the series defeat, while BBL 2024-25 action continued on Day 2 of the competition at the SCG.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest news that emerged out of Monday, December 16.

India Lose 4 On Rain-Marred Day 3

Jasprit Bumrah took his sixth wicket of the first Australian innings early on Day 3 by getting rid of overnight batter Mitchell Starc. Alex Carey raced to his ninth Test half-century before Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep enveloped the Australian innings for 445 in 117.1 overs.

In response, Team India lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in just the second ball, and number three Shubman Gill for a single, both within the first two overs of Mitchell Starc’s new ball assault. Virat Kohli perished to his off-stump obsession once again, this time nicking towards Alex Carey off Josh Hazlewood for a sluggish three. Australian skipper Pat Cummins removed dangerman Rishabh Pant as India reached 51-4 in 17 overs by stumps. With only 33 overs of play possible throughout the day, the Indian innings will now resume on Day 4 as they find themselves another 394 runs away from the hosts.

Williamson Classic Sets Up Big Target For England

While England’s ‘BazBall’ routine has helped them pull off some miraculous run-chases in its heyday, New Zealand went a step further to set up a staggering 658-run mountain for the visitors on Day 3 of the Hamilton Test. Emboldened with a 204-run lead at the halfway stage of the match, the ‘Black Caps’ hauled 453 runs in their second innings at a breakneck pace of 4.45 runs per over.

Former skipper Kane Williamson carted 156 runs from 204 balls, while captain Will Young and Daryl Mitchell chipped in with identical 60s. For England, Jacob Bethell took three wickets in the high-scoring innings, and Ben Stokes landed the prized scalps of Young and William O’Rourke in quick succession. Chasing 658, England lost both openers in the six overs of play before stumps to reach 18-2. Bethell will now resume the English response alongside Joe Root, as they need another 640 runs to complete a 3-0 sweep.

Zimbabwe Fined For Slow Over Rate Vs Afghanistan

The Zimbabwean cricket team was slapped with a 10 percent fine of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate against Afghanistan in the series-deciding third T20I match at Harare on December 14. As per the match official, Zimbabwe fell two overs short of the deadline, even after factoring in time allowance.

The hosts also lost the match in contention by three wickets in a topsy-turvy final over to concede the three-match T20I series by a 1-2 margin.

Sydney Sixers Upstage Renegades With Ease

Sydney Sixers won their opening match of the BBL 2024-25 by defeating Melbourne Renegades at the SCG. After bowlers Ben Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott kept the Renegades down to 169-7 from 20 overs, opener James Vince and number three Jack Edwards cracked a scintillating powerplay start for the hosts.

Captain Moises Henriques marched on with a clobbering 53* from just 27 balls to steer the Sixers past the finishing line with five wickets and nine balls to spare. The victory took them to number two position on the BBL 2024-25 points table.

Jason Gillespie Exposes PCB After Resignation

Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie revealed why he stepped down as the Test coach of the Pakistan cricket team. Gillespie alleged ‘unclear communication’ on PCB’s part, and cited Tim Nielsen’s dismissal as high-performance coach by the board as one of the reasons behind his exit.

Notably, Gillespie’s resignation occurred mere months after former South African cricketer and India’s World Cup winning coach Gary Kirsten stepped down as Pakistan’s white-ball guide.