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

Australia vs India: Tim Paine responds to the friendly ‘babysitter’ banter

• The third Test, which India won by 137 runs, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was a witness to a couple of hilarious banter between wicketkeepers Tim Paine, also the Australian captain, and Rishabh Pant.
• When the latter came to bat in the visitors’ first innings, Paine called him a ‘babysitter’ and also offered him a deal to play for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League (BBL).
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Faf du Plessis concerned over players taking IPL workload ahead of World Cup

• International cricket schedules are so tight nowadays that even in the run-up to the sport’s biggest event – the World Cup – the players do not get enough rest.
• The year 2019 is set to witness something similar as the quadrennial tournament is scheduled just after the Indian Premier League (IPL) which has put a lot of cricket boards, including the BCCI, to spare a special thought about the well-being of the cricketers before they go to the big event.
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Viv Richards picks Virat Kohli as his favourite batsman; prefers Tendulkar over Lara

• When it comes to asking former cricketers about their best player from cricket these days, Indian captain Virat Kohli is almost a unanimous choice.
• The latest former great to back the ace Indian batsman is Sir Vivian Richards and he said clearly during a recent interview that he is a fan of Kohli and likes the latter’s style and competitiveness and without demeaning the achievements of the Indian’s contemporaries, he would pick him as the best batsman.
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Gautam Gambhir names the long-term openers for India in Tests

• Team India largely struggled with their opening combination during the overseas tours in 2018.
• They travelled to South Africa with Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan as their prime openers but the year has ended with neither of them in the Test team.
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New Zealand vs Sri Lanka: Visitors fined by the ICC for slow over-rate in the first ODI

• Sri Lanka have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate in their 45-run loss against New Zealand in the first One-Day International in Mount Maunganui on Thursday.
• Richie Richardson of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the fine after Lasith Malinga’s side was ruled to be one over short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration.
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Ricky Ponting slams Sydneysiders for booing Virat Kohli calls their act “disgraceful”

• Cricket fans in Sydney faced the anger of Aussie legend Ricky Ponting over their disgraceful behaviour at the ground when Indian captain Virat Kohli was walking back to the pavilion.
• Team India is one step away from registering their first Test series win in Australia. India entered into the Sydney Test with a 2-1 lead in the series, this morning.
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Anil Kumble picks his Indian Test XI of the players who played after 1990

• A lot of players have been making their all-time Playing XI across formats. A team where former Indian skipper Anil Kumble was himself designated as captain, he had to pick his XI amongst players who have played for India after 1990- the year Kumble made his debut.
• He roped in players from his era and also some of the current players who have impressed the legend.
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Cheteshwar Pujara is a batsman for all conditions: Sanjay Manjrekar

• India ended the opening day’s play of the fourth Test against Australia as the front-runners as they managed 304 runs with six wickets remaining in the first innings.
• A chunk of the credit for the same should go to Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored his 18th Test century and ended the day on 130 runs from 250 balls after coming to bat in the second over following KL Rahul’s dismissal.
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Australia vs India: Sachin Tendulkar lends financial help to Sudhir Gautam to attend Sydney Test

• Ever since the maestro Sachin Tendulkar retired from cricket, his special fan has a broken heart.
• Nevertheless, he still makes his presence felt on the stands whenever the Indian team takes the field.
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It is just great to watch him bat from the other end, says Mayank Agarwal on Pujara

• India are on their way to create history it seems as they started the four and final Test in Sydney on a positive note.
• Currently, at 303/4, they are in a position to boss the game and all the credit goes to Cheteshwar Pujara who was once again rock-solid as ever and went on to notch up his third ton of the series.
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Australia vs India: Virat Kohli goes all Pink in Sydney to support McGrath Foundation

• Cricket Australia always picks Sydney to host the New Year Test and it is also termed the ‘Pink Test‘.
• In this game, even the home side wear Pink caps instead of the usual Baggy Greens to lend the support to Glenn McGrath’s foundation to fight against the Breast Cancer.
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Reports: IPL 2019 most likely to be held outside India

• The general elections in the country has led to the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) schedule not being finalised yet.
• The Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) is waiting for the election dates to be announced and are hoping to at least host a part of the tournament in the country.
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