The big news: England-India heading for a draw

Ravichandran Ashwin’s knock of 70 proved crucial as India were bowled out for 488 on the fourth day of the first Test at Rajkot. Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli were supposed to carry the India innings ahead but, the duo were dismissed with Kohli out “hit wicket”. Ashwin, then, carried the Indian innings ahead and was the last batsman to be dismissed.

England came out to bat with Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed taking England to 114/0 at the end of Saturday’s play. With one day’s play left, a draw seems to be the likely result. Hameed scored his maiden test fifty as England’s search for Cook’s partner seems to have finally come to an end.

Other top stories:

  1. An Australian collapse is not really rare anymore and South Africa continued the trend, as they bowled them out for 85 on the first day of the second Test in Hobart. South Africa opted to field first and Vernon Philander (5/21) ran through the Aussie batting line-up. South Africa also had a stumbling start with Mitchell Starc (3/49) being the chief wrecker, but Hashim Amla (47) took his side to safety as the Proteas ended at 171/5 with a 86-run lead. The second day on Sunday was washed out owing to rain without a ball being bowled.
  2. Cricket South Africa charged former South Africa opener Alviro Petersen for breaching the anti-corruption code relating to attempts to fix matches during the 2015 Ram Slam competition. Petersen, who has been provisionally suspended from all cricket activities, denied any involvement in fixing earlier this year.
  3.  The West Indies Cricket Board has replaced batsman Darren Bravo for the one-day tri-series in Zimbabwe with Jason Mohammed. The announcement came a day after Bravo reacted on Twitter to WICB chairman Dave Cameron’s interview, where he had said Bravo was offered a grade C contract due to his slipping batting average. 
  4. With the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Justice Lodha committee failing to find common ground, the Rajasthan U-19 women’s team landed in Indore for a tournament without a single penny to spend for their personal expenses, according to a Times of India report. The Rajasthan side were asked to shell out money from their own pockets for more than a month, the report said.