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Rodrigues fifty leads India's chase after bowlers set up victory against Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's 121 was a below-par total given dew was only going to increase as temperatures reduced
S Sudarshanan
21-Dec-2025 • Updated 8 hrs ago
India 122 for 2 (Rodrigues 69*, Mandhana 25, Ranaweera 1-17) beat Sri Lanka 121 for 6 (Gunaratne 39, Deepti 1-20, Gaud 1-23, Charani 1-30) by eight wickets
Despite dew being a constant presence on a cool evening, India's spinners rallied to keep Sri Lanka's top order in check, even if they did not pick up wickets in a heap. In the end, Sri Lanka were restricted to 121 for 6. It was a below-par total, given that the dew was only going to increase as the temperatures reduced - something Harmanpreet Kaur had alluded to while choosing to chase at the toss. India made easy work of it, to get home with eight wickets and 32 balls to spare, starting their road to the T20 World Cup 2026 in June on the right note.
Full postSameer Minhas 172 powers Pakistan to Under-19 Asia Cup title
After Suryavanshi was dismissed for 26 off 10, India fell away in the chase to lose by 191 runs
ESPNcricinfo staff
21-Dec-2025 • 12 hrs ago
Pakistan 347 for 8 (Minhas 172, Hussain 56, Devendran 3-83) beat India 156 (Devendran 36, Raza 4-42, Ahsan 2-12) by 191 runs
Opener Sameer Minhas blitzed his way to 172 off 113 balls, setting up Pakistan's demolition of India in the Under-19 Asia Cup final in Dubai. In response to Pakistan's 347 for 8, India folded for 156 in 26.2 overs.
Minhas' knock was the highest individual score for Pakistan, and also, the highest individual score by any batter in a final in Youth ODIs. He hit 17 fours and nine sixes during his stay, and fell in the 43rd over, finishing with a strike rate of 152.21.
Full postJordan four-for, Chaudhary blitz help Hurricanes cruise to victory against Renegades
Renegades were restricted to 145, before Chaudhary bashed 79 off just 38 balls to wrap the chase
AAP
21-Dec-2025 • 13 hrs ago
Hobart Hurricanes 149 for 3 (Chaudhary 79, McDermott 49*, Behrendorff 2-35) beat Melbourne Renegades 145 for 9 (Seifert 34, Rizwan 32, Jordan 4-19) by seven wickets
Nikhil Chaudhary and Chris Jordan had their best BBL games, and Ben McDermott also fired, in Hobart Hurricanes' seven-wicket mauling of Melbourne Renegades. Hurricanes' win in Geelong on Sunday night with 37 balls left took the defending champions to the top of the ladder.
It was the perfect response to last week's loss to Melbourne Stars at the MCG. Hurricanes will end their tricky three-game road trip on Boxing Day against Perth Scorchers.
Full postKing gives WI positive start after Conway, Latham tons set them 462
Conway and Latham became the first pair of openers to score twin tons in the same game in all first-class cricket
Abhimanyu Bose
21-Dec-2025 • 19 hrs ago
West Indies 420 (Hodge 123*, King 63, Duffy 4-86) and 43 for 0 (King 37*, Campbell 2*) need another 419 runs to beat New Zealand 575 for 8 dec and 306 for 2 dec (Latham 101, Conway 100, Hodge 2-80)
It was a sense of deja vu as Devon Conway and Tom Latham seemingly batted West Indies out of the match for the second time in four days' space. But the visiting openers Brandon King and John Campbell once again put on a defiant stand, taking them to stumps without any damage done and 419 runs away from their target.
Conway and Latham, who added 323 runs for the first wicket in the first innings, racked up centuries again as they put on a 192-run opening stand in New Zealand's second dig, helping them set West Indies 462 on a testing pitch with uneven bounce.
Full postNo Christmas miracle for England as Australia make it 3-0 to retain the Ashes in 11 days
A gutsy fight from England's lower order took the match into the afternoon session of the final day, but Australia held their nerve
Andrew Miller
21-Dec-2025 • 21 hrs ago
Australia 371 and 349 (Head 170, Carey 72, Tongue 4-70) beat England 286 and 352 (Crawley 85, Smith 60, Jacks 47, Starc 3-42, Cummins 3-48, Lyon 3-77) by 82 runs
In the third Test, they rose again, but there was to be no Christmas miracle. Despite a gutsy fight from England's lower order that hauled an already lost cause deep into the afternoon session of the final day, Australia held their nerve - and their catches - to seal the 2025-26 Ashes with their third victory in a row on only the 11th day of the series.
The winning moment was delivered by Scott Boland, who induced a thick edge from England's No. 11 Josh Tongue, straight to Marnus Labuschagne at first slip, who swallowed his fourth take of a truly sensational display in the field. That left Brydon Carse high and dry on 39 not out; his efforts, alongside fighting but ultimately thwarted knocks of 60 and 47 from Jamie Smith and Will Jacks, had given England genuine hope that their performances at other key moments of the Test, and the series, simply hadn't warranted.
Full postPhilippe 96, Edwards five-for take Sydney Sixers to first win of the season
Babar Azam also scored his maiden BBL half-century, anchoring the Sixers innings with a 42-ball 58
Tristan Lavalette
20-Dec-2025
Sydney Sixers 198 for 5 (Philippe 96, Babar 58, Topley 3-41) beat Sydney Thunder 151 (Billings 51, Shadab 41, Edwards 5-26) by 47 runs
Babar Azam hit a maiden BBL half-century, and combined superbly with in-form Josh Philippe, as Sixers overwhelmed Thunder to claim the bragging rights in the Sydney Smash.
Sixers produced a vintage performance on a very good batting surface, which notably contrasted to sluggish pitches often seen at Engie Stadium.
Full postLyon, Cummins shut the door on England's slim Ashes hopes
Zak Crawley made a fighting 85, but Australia finished the day on the brink of a decisive 3-0 lead
Alan Gardner
20-Dec-2025
England 286 and 207 for 6 (Crawley 85, Cummins 3-24, Lyon 3-64) need 228 runs to beat Australia 371 and 349 (Head 170, Carey 72, Tongue 4-70)
Australian relentlessness in Adelaide has all but ensured possession of the Ashes for two more years. Set a world-record target of 435 to win the third Test and keep the series alive, England found some belated fibre to their batting, led chiefly by Zak Crawley's 85 - only for the enduring excellence of Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon to emphatically shut the door on them.
Cummins took the first three wickets to fall, including Joe Root for the 13th time in Tests, before Lyon plucked out three more during the final session to break England's resolve. Crawley played admirably but could not convert what would have been a second hundred against Australia, lured from his ground by Lyon with the shadows beginning to lengthen for Alex Carey to complete a quicksilver stumping.
Full postHodge hundred keeps West Indies' fight on
West Indies still trail by 194 and Hope and Roach may not be available to bat
Alagappan Muthu
20-Dec-2025
West Indies 381 for 6 (Hodge 109*, King 63, Duffy 2-79) trail New Zealand 575 for 8 dec (Conway 227, Latham 137, Ravindra 72*, Greaves 2-83) by 194 runs
Slow-burn thrillers aren't for everyone. Mount Maunganui's been screening one for the past three days and just as the draw was starting to turn favourite, things started to happen. "Ooooh my Goooddddd," cried Kavem Hodge rolling around on the floor. Apparently, he was only allowed a second Test match century if he could show he could take a cricket ball to the crown jewels. He did. On 97, he put his agonised body through the trauma of a quickly run two, and on 99, decided running is for losers and whacked a pull shot to the square-leg boundary.
West Indies went to stumps on 381 for 6, and trailing by 194, but there is uncertainty around two of the wickets they have in hand. Shai Hope was holed up in his hotel all of Friday and he hasn't really been seen since. It is reported that he is unwell and as team-mate after team-mate came in ahead of him, it is starting to look serious enough to prevent him from batting. Kemar Roach is down with a hamstring injury he picked up on the first day and his status is unclear as well.
Full postTilak, Hardik, Varun seal T20I series win for India
India took four wickets for 15 to scuttle the chase after a scare from de Kock and Brevis
Sidharth Monga
19-Dec-2025
India 231 for 5 (Tilak 73, Hardik 63, Bosch 2-44) beat South Africa 201 for 8 (De Kock 65, Varun 4-53, Bumrah 2-17) by 30 runs
India took their series-winning streak to ten as they survived a scare when defending 231. Quinton de Kock and Dewald Brevis were dominant in taking South Africa to 118 for 1 in ten overs in the dew, but with a changed drier ball India took four wickets for 15 to scuttle the chase. Jasprit Bumrah was the main difference between the two sides with figures of 4-0-17-2 on a night that 432 runs were scored.
Marco Jansen gave India one final scare on a breakout tour with successive sixes in the 16th over, but the fact that India could be assured of winning only after they had taken their eighth wicket underlines how difficult it is to defend totals in the night in India. Which is what makes the assault from Hardik Pandya - second-quickest T20I fifty for India - and Tilak Varma - 73 off 42 - all the more important as they turned around an innings that had begun to plateau.
Full postMalhotra, George fifties set up India vs Pakistan final
The bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 138 in rain-reduced semi-final, before Malhotra and George added 114*
ESPNcricinfo staff
19-Dec-2025
India 139 for 2 (Malhotra 61*, George 58*, Nimsara 2-31) beat Sri Lanka 138 for 8 (Heenatigala 42, Dinsara 32, Henil 2-31) by eight wickets
Vihaan Malhotra and Aaron George 's patient half-centuries helped India beat Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game and set up an U-19 Asia Cup final with Pakistan.
It was a game where the momentum kept changing hands. India had Sri Lanka at 28 for 3 after opting to bowl. Captain Vimath Dinsara and Chamika Heenatigala hit back with a 45-run stand, but Sri Lanka soon lost 3 for 11. A 62-run stand between Heenatigala and Sethmika Seneviratne followed, but India again turned it around in the final three overs.
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