Top Stories: Things that made news in the cricket world today

Abdominal strain ends Jasprit Bumrah’s Australia sojourn

• Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the fourth and final Test, starting January 15 at The Gabba in Brisbane.
• However, the Ahmedabad-born is set to attain the desired fitness levels for India’s home campaign against England.
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Australia vs India: Tim Paine has Steve Smith’s back after Sydney crease-scuffing story

• Tim Paine, the Australian skipper, has backed Steve Smith after the latter was criticised for scuffing up the batting crease.
• The 36-year-old Paine stated that checking out the batting crease is something Smith has done in a number of Test matches.
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Steve Smith climbs to second in Test batsman’s rankings; leaves behind Virat Kohli

• Captain Kane Williamson’s epic 238 in the second Test against Pakistan in Christchurch has helped him reach the best ever-rating points.
• With 36 Test wickets so far, Jamieson is also fifth among all-rounders after only six Tests.
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Reports: Rajasthan Royals set to release Steve Smith for IPL 2021

• Rajasthan Royals are set to release Steve Smith ahead of the Indian Premier League 2021 auction.
• The right-hander got quite a few scores in the single-digits and ended with 311 runs at an average and strike-rate of 25.91 and 131.22 respectively.
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Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of fourth Test; promises to return with a bang

• Injuries seem to be plaguing the Indian side on their tour to the land of the kangaroos.
• It has now been confirmed that Ravindra Jadeja will play no further part in the series.
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Australia will have edge going into the series decider in Brisbane: Ricky Ponting

• With everything going into the final Test starting later this week in Brisbane, Australia has a slight edge over India.
• So, India will go into the Gabba Test with Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini and one among T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur.
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