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Muzarabani, Ervine and Williams keep Zimbabwe ahead
Zimbabwe took a 86-run first-innings lead and left Afghanistan three down at stumps
Abhimanyu Bose
03-Jan-2025
Afghanistan 157 and 46 for 3 (Rahmat 18*, Muzarabani 2-17) trail Zimbabwe 243 (Ervine 75, Raza 61, Williams 49, Rashid 4-94) by 40 runs
Zimbabwe and Afghanistan wrestled for the advantage on a fast-paced day of Test cricket in Bulawayo, with the hosts only slightly ahead.
Two-hundred-and-eighty-three runs were scored and 13 wickets fell on the second day where the momentum see-sawed between the two teams, leaving the Test delicately poised.
Full postRutherford blitzes Thunder to last-ball win over Scorchers
The match was overshadowed by a horrific on-field collision between Cameron Bancroft and Daniel Sams, which held up play for 20 minutes
Tristan Lavalette
03-Jan-2025
Sydney Thunder 179 for 6 (Warner 49, Gilkes 43, Rutherford 39*, Morris 3-22) beat Perth Scorchers 177 for 4 (Allen 68, Connolly 43*, Green 3-20) by four wickets
Sherfane Rutherford hit a boundary off the last ball as Sydney Thunder edged Perth Scorchers in a thrilling BBL match overshadowed by a horrible on-field collision involving Cameron Bancroft and Daniel Sams.
Needing 15 runs off the last over to chase down 178, Rutherford blasted veteran seamer Andrew Tye for three boundaries including a thick inside edge that raced past short fine-leg for the winning runs. He finished 39 not out from 19 balls and had help from debutant Hugh Weibgen, who came on as a concussion substitute.
Full postSixers stay on top after washout against Heat
Heat, who beat Sixers in last season's final, moved up to fifth with their point
AAP
03-Jan-2025
Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Sixers - match abandoned
Rain was the only winner as the BBL game in Coffs Harbour between top-of-the-table Sydney Sixers and defending champions Brisbane Heat was washed out without any play.
The game was abandoned just over an hour after it was scheduled to start.
Full postRyan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma centuries drive South Africa's day
Epic 235-run stand grinds Pakistan down after three wickets in morning session
Firdose Moonda
03-Jan-2025
South Africa 316 for 4 (Rickelton 176*, Bavuma 106) vs Pakistan
Ryan Rickelton, promoted to open the batting in Tony de Zorzi's injury-enforced absence, and Temba Bavuma, enjoying the form of his career, both scored hundreds on a perfect batting day at Newlands. The pair shared a 235-run stand, the highest fourth-wicket partnership by a South African pair against Pakistan and at Newlands.
The pair played perfectly complementary roles, with Rickelton scoring heavily on the off side (102 of his 176 runs came there) and Bavuma plundering the on-side. Together, they reeled off some exquisite drives and while Rickelton's runs came in the areas straight down the ground, Bavuma was excellent on the flick and pull.
Full postBoland leads the charge as Australia dominate on green pitch
Jasprit Bumrah struck with the last ball of the day after India were bowled out for 185
Deivarayan Muthu
03-Jan-2025
Australia 9 for 1 (Bumrah 1-7) trail India185 (Pant 40, Boland 4-31, Starc 3-49, Cummins 2-37) by 176 runs
Off-field chaos swirled around India in the lead-up to the Sydney Test. Their on-field batting performance on the opening day in Sydney was just as chaotic after Rohit Sharma dropped himself in a nearly unprecedented move in Indian cricket and Jasprit Bumrah took over as captain. After Bumrah chose to bat, India struggled in the face of relentless bowling from Australia and were eventually dismissed for 185, just before close of play.
Bumrah produced the final twist when he got rid of Usman Khawaja off the last ball of the day, and Australia went to stumps on 9 for 1.
Full postChris Lynn's 51-ball 88 seals Strikers' comfortable win
It was Lynn's highest BBL score since the 2019-20 tournament and his first half-century in this campaign
AAP
02-Jan-2025
Adelaide Strikers 143 for 5 (Lynn 88, Zampa 2-29) beat Melbourne Renegades 142 for 9 (Brown 66, Thornton 3-22) by five wickets
Chris Lynn unleashed on Melbourne Renegades, powering Adelaide Strikers to their first BBL win in four games.
Moved up from No.3, Lynn dominated the 104-run opening stand with D'Arcy Short that ensured Adelaide's five-wicket win on Thursday night at Marvel Stadium. Lynn belted 88 from just 51 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes, as Adelaide romped to 143 for 5 in 17.1 overs.
Full postRaza, Nyamhuri take three each to skittle Afghanistan on rain-reduced day
The visitors, who made five changes heading into the Test, were bowled out for 157 on the first evening
Ashish Pant
02-Jan-2025
Zimbabwe 6 for 0 (Gumbie 4*, Curran 1*) trail Afghanistan 157 (Rashid 25, Raza 3-30, Nyamhuri 3-42, Muzarabani 2-56) by 151 runs
It had taken Zimbabwe 197 overs and over two days to take ten Afghanistan wickets in the opening Test. A few days later, at the same venue, Zimbabwe required just 44.3 overs and less than two sessions to bowl Afghanistan out for 157, and take early control of the second Test in Bulawayo.
Newman Nyamhuri and Sikandar Raza picked three wickets apiece while Blessing Muzarabani got two as none of the Afghanistan batters managed to build on starts. In reply, the Zimbabwe openers Ben Curran and Joylord Gumbie had a tricky three overs to face which they eventually survived.
Full postPerera ton gives Sri Lanka consolation win
New Zealand came close in the 219-run chase, but Sri Lanka did enough to get a consolation win
Madushka Balasuriya
02-Jan-2025
Sri Lanka 218 for 5 (Perera 101, Asalanka 46) beat New Zealand 211 for 7 (Ravindra 69, Asalanka 3-50, Hasaranga 2-38) by 7 runs
In the end, Sri Lanka did enough. That's not something you'd expect to say about a team that had racked up 218 runs in their first innings, but it speaks towards just how well New Zealand had set about their chase for most of the innings. It was a victory set up largely by Kusal Perera's maiden T20I ton, the fastest ever by a Sri Lankan, coming off just 44 deliveries.
For about 15 overs of the chase New Zealand were keeping up with the nearly 11-an-over required rate, and when Daryl Mitchell struck Charith Asalanka for four consecutive sixes in a 25-run 15th over they might have even been ahead.
Full postStoinis, Lawrence fifties deliver Stars' first win of the season
The duo helped Stars break a five-game BBL 2025 losing streak while also consigning Heat to a third-straight defeat
AAP
01-Jan-2025
Melbourne Stars 153 for 5 (Lawrence 64*, Stoinis 62, Bartlett 4-10) beat Brisbane Heat 149 for 7 (Bryant 77, Walter 21, Steketee 2-42) by five wickets
Melbourne Stars broke an eight-game BBL losing streak thanks to a Marcus Stoinis batting masterclass and a stunning Glenn Maxwell catch in the outfield.
Stars defeated defending champions Brisbane Heat by five wickets at the Gabba in a breakthrough win after losing their opening five games this season and the final three of last year's campaign.
Full postBird's four-for goes in vain as Hurricanes hand table-toppers Sixers big defeat
For Hurricanes, who were without usual captain Nathan Ellis, Nikhil Chaudhary was the top scorer, while Chris Jordan led a clinical bowling performance
AAP
01-Jan-2025
Hobart Hurricanes 161 for 6 (Chaudhary 42, McDermott 34, Owen 33, Bird 4-16) beat Sydney Sixers 111 (Henriques 22, Jordan 3-22, Stanlake 2-22, Salamkheil 2-22) by 50 runs
Hobart Hurricanes overcame the late withdrawal of captain Nathan Ellis to hand Sydney Sixers their first BBL loss of the season.
Ellis pulled out from Wednesday afternoon's game at Ninja Stadium with illness, but his bowling team-mates stood up against the table-topping Sixers.
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