THE fifth and final Twenty20 be
tween India and Australia was aban
doned due to rain at Brisbane’s Gabba
on November 8, handing Suryakumar
Yadav’s India a 2-1 series victory.
India made a promising start after be
ing asked to bat first, reaching 52 without
loss in just under five overs before light
ning stopped play. Shubman Gill led the
charge with six boundaries in his un
beaten 29, while Abhishek Sharma re
mained 23 not out after being dropped
twice — first by Glenn Maxwell and then
by Ben Dwarshuis.
A sellout crowd waited hopefully for
play to resume, but persistent rain forced
the umpires to call off the game two-and-
a-half hours after it began.
The series began with a washout in
Canberra, followed by Australia’s four-
wicket win in Melbourne, powered by
pacer Josh Hazlewood’s bowling. India
then bounced back to win the next two
matches — by five wickets in Hobart and
by 48 runs on the Gold Coast — to clinch
the series.
Abhishek Sharma was named Player of
the Series for his consistent performance,
scoring 163 runs at an average of 40.75.
“The way everybody chipped in every
game and we came back from being one
match down, I think credit goes to all the
boys — a complete team effort,” captain
Yadav said.
Australia’s skipper Mitch Marsh con
gratulated India, saying, “I thought all in
all it was a good series, two teams really
going at it. India won the games when it
mattered, so congratulations to them.”
India, who top the ICC T20 rankings,
will now return home with renewed con
fidence ahead of defending their T20
World Cup title next year.
Earlier, Australia sealed the three-
match ODI series 2-0 after defeating India
by two wickets in the second game last
month. India captain Rohit Sharma’s grit
ty 73 off 97 balls went in vain as India’s
total of 264 for nine proved short on a
challenging pitch.
Australia recovered from early strug
gles against Indian spinners, with Cooper
Connolly (61 not out off 53 balls) and
Mitchell Owen (36 off 23) guiding them to
victory in 46.2 overs. Their 59-run stand
ended Australia’s three-series losing
streak in the format.
Connolly’s composed finish drew com
parisons to former Australian great Mi
chael Bevan. His innings exposed India’s
struggle with bowling balance, particu
larly the decision to leave out wrist-spin
ner Kuldeep Yadav.
Rohit’s team felt the absence of a spe
cialist match-winner as Nitish Reddy,
playing as an all-rounder, managed only 8
runs and conceded 24 runs in three overs.
Axar Patel dropped a crucial catch off
Matthew Short (74), who anchored Aus
tralia’s chase.
Axar later bowled Matt Renshaw (30)
but finished with figures of 1 for 52 in 10
overs. India’s experiment with multiple
all-rounders backfired as Australia took
an unassailable 2-0 lead before the final
ODI in Canberra.
Despite the ODI loss, India’s T20
triumph capped their tour on a high
note, offering depth and momentum
heading into the 2025 T20 World Cup on
home soil.
Rain ends decider as
India seal T20 series 2-1
ABHISHEK’S STANDOUT RUN EARNS HIM TOP HONOUR FOR TOUR
THE owner of Indian Premier
League (IPL) champions Royal
Challengers Bengaluru is con
sidering selling the franchise,
which could be valued at up to
$2 billion, according to a com
pany filing and media reports.
United Spirits Ltd (USL), the
Indian arm of global beverage
company Diageo, informed the
Mumbai Stock Exchange that it
has begun a “strategic review
of the investment” in Royal
Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Praveen Someshwar, CEO of
United Spirits, said the team
“has been a valuable and strate
gic asset” but added that it is
“non-core to our alcobev busi
ness.” In a letter, he said the
move “reinforces USL’s and Dia
geo’s commitment to continue
reviewing its India enterprise
portfolio,” while ensuring RCB’s
“best interest is kept in mind.”
The review, which covers
Royal Challengers Sports Pvt
Ltd — owner of both the men’s
and women’s RCB teams — is
expected to conclude by March
next year.
RCB won their first IPL title
in June, defeating Rajasthan in
the final of the T20 tournament
founded in 2008. Bloomberg
News later reported that the
owners were “weighing possibil
ities including a sale of part or
all of the club” and could seek a
valuation of up to $2 billion.
However, celebrations
turned tragic during RCB’s
homecoming parade in Bengal
uru when 11 fans were killed
and more than 50 injured in a
stampede outside the Chinnas
wamy Stadium. (With inputs
from AFP)
AKASH CHOUDHARY made cricket
history on November 9, hitting eight
consecutive sixes on his way to a re
cord-breaking 11-ball half-century for
Meghalaya in the Ranji Trophy.
The four-day match against
Arunachal Pradesh was being played
in Surat, Gujarat.
Choudhary, primarily known as a
seam bowler, came in to bat at num
ber eight with Meghalaya already at
576 for six in their first innings. After
failing to score off his first ball and
taking two singles, he faced spinner
Limar Dabi — and then launched six
sixes in a row, matching a feat previ
ously achieved in first-class cricket
only by West Indies legend Garry So
bers and India’s Ravi Shastri.
South Africa’s Mike Procter had also
hit six consecutive sixes, though spread
across two overs. In limited-overs
cricket, Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard,
and Herschelle Gibbs are among those
to have hit 36 runs off an over.
Back on strike in the next over,
Choudhary smashed two more sixes
off off-spinner TNR Mohith to reach
his 50 in just 11 balls — the fastest in
first-class cricket history.
He reached the milestone in nine
minutes, surpassing the previous
12-ball record set by Leicestershire’s
Wayne White in 2012.
After a few dot balls, Meghalaya de
clared their innings.
RCB owners consider sale valuing team near $2bn
Choudhary joins elite list with eight consecutive sixes
THE Bangladesh Cricket
Board (BCB) has laun-
ched an investigation
after former women’s
team captain Jahanara
Alam accused former
and current officials of
sexual harassment.
In an interview on a
YouTube channel, the
32-year-old pacer al
leged that officials, in
cluding then selector
and manager Manjurul
Islam, sexually harassed
her during the 2022
Women’s World Cup in
South Africa.
Manjurul, who is cur
rently in China, denied
the accusations, calling
them “baseless.” Jahan-
ara claimed Manjurul
“made inappropriate
physical contact,” saying
he “often hugged or pre-
ssed female players to
his chest” under the pre
text of encouragement.
“You can ask other
girls in the team,” Man
jurul said. “This is all
false.” Manjurul, 46, a
former left-arm seamer,
played 12 Tests and 34
ODIs for Bangladesh
from 1999 to 2004 be
fore taking up coaching
and managerial roles.
Jahanara, who has tak
en 48 wickets in ODIs
and 60 in T20s across
135 matches, said she
had previously written to
the BCB but no action
was taken.
The BCB said a com
mittee would report its
findings within 15 work
ing days. “We have to
investigate this since it’s
a serious matter,” BCB
vice-president Shakha
wat Hossain said, add
ing that the board re
mains committed to a
“safe, respectful, and
professional environ
ment.” (With inputs from
agencies)
Sport
www.indiaweekly.biz • November 2025
24
STRONG FINISH: India’s
team celebrate their
series victory
© Getty Images
QUICKFIRE:
Akash Choudhary
© X
BIG DEAL: Royal Challengers
Bengaluru player Virat Kohli
stands with former teammates
AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle
© Getty Images
Abuse
allegations
trigger inquiry
SAFETY FIRST:
Jahanara Alam
© Getty Images