“I had a little chat after the game telling him that I idolise him, and it’s obviously a huge honour playing against him,” Konstas said in a conversation with CODE Sports.

“When I did verse him, I was like, ‘wow, Virat Kohli is batting.’ He just had that presence about him, all the Indian crowd getting amongst it. Chanting his name. It was quite surreal,” he added

“He was very down to earth. A lovely person and just wishing me all the best saying hopefully I go well on the tour of Sri Lanka he said if I’m in,” he further added.

“My whole family loves Virat. I’ve idolised him from a young age and he’s a legend of the game,” he concluded.

The 19-year-old made his debut in Test cricket in Melbourne, and further went on and scored a half-century. and is one of the batters whom Cricket Australia has given the allowance to play in a few Big Bash league (BBL) games before heading to UAE for a predatory camp.

The post ‘Had a little chat after the game…’: Sam Konstas opens up on his conversation with Virat Kohli after Border-Gavaskar Trophy appeared first on Cricket Country.

Now the Indian team is not only on the brink of losing the coveted Border-Gavaskar series, but is also on the verge of losing out on making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Following the defeat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Gambhir is said to have lost his cool at a few top Indian stars who ‘went their own way’ in the 4th Test and ended up throwing their wicket away.

“Bahut ho gaya (I’ve had enough),” Gambhir told the Indian team after they returned to the dressing room as per Indian Express.

The India head coach was reportedly annoyed with the way certain players conducted themselves on the field. Gambhir reportedly also told the team that he gave them 6 months to play their way, but it all ends now. From now onwards, the players who don’t play according to his plans will be shown the exit door.

The fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and will commence from December 3.

The post ‘I’ve had enough’: Gautam Gambhir rips into India stars following Melbourne Test defeat appeared first on Cricket Country.

According to The Times of India, rumors are floating around the BCCI’s top-brass and selectors about Rohit’s place in the team. The report also stated that with India’s chances of making it to the WTC final looking really slim following their defeat in Melbourne, the Sydney Test is expected to be Rohit’s last match in the format.

The report came immediately after India’s embarrassing 184-run loss at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the fourth Test. The defeat saw Rohit increase his winless record as the skipper. In the last 6 Tests under Rohit’s leadership, India have drawn 1 and lost 5.

Following the end of the second session on the final day of the Melbourne Test, India had only lost 3 wickets and with the duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant looking set on the crease, it looked as if the match would end in a draw. However, India suffered a batting collapse in the third session which saw them lose all of their remaining 7 wickets and go behind in the series 2-1.

The loss also means that India now needs to win the Sydney Test and hope that Australia don’t win either of the two Tests in Sri Lanka that’ll follow this series, to qualify for the WTC final. On the other hand, Australia need just 1 win in their remaining 3 Tests to make it to their second consecutive WTC final.

The post Rohit Sharma to retire from red-ball cricket after Sydney Test? Report makes MASSIVE claim appeared first on Cricket Country.

Chasing a target of 340 runs, the Men in Blue gave another highly disappointing performance and eventually ended up succumbing to the Baggy Greens, who put immense pressure on the visitors and looked really hungry to bag the victory.

The post BREAKING: Australia beat India by 184 runs in Melbourne Test, go 2-1 up in the series appeared first on Cricket Country.

Kohli’s wife Anushka Sharma was sitting in the stands at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and her reaction to the batter’s dismissal went viral on social media.

Sitting alongside Anushka was KL Rahul’s wife Athiya Shetty, who also looked very disappointed seeing Kohli get dismissed cheaply during the final day o the Melbourne Test.

Chasing 340, India had an extremely watchful start as Australia’s bowlers beat them consistently with great deliveries. They put immense pressure on the India batters and got their reward as skipper Rohit Sharma was only able to score 9 runs before getting dismissed.

Then, KL Rahul went on to lose his wicket for a 5-ball duck before Kohli also departed for cheap. It looked as if India would succumb to the massive pressure, however the duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant steadied their sinking ship.

The post Anushka Sharma left disappointed after Virat Kohli fails to deliver in Melbourne Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

The game-changing partnership for the 8th wicket was of 127 runs, which was not fazed by the massive stockpile of runs in front of them. They worked together and helped India escape the follow-on and reduced a massive amount of the enormous first-inning deficit. As early stumps were called on Day 3 with India closing on 358/9, the team also got some benefit from rain and poor lighting.

Fans are tensed that the weather might ruin the remaining two days, especially after rain disrupted play on day three. In the surprise of the fans, there is very little danger of rain on Day 4. According to weather.com, the chance of precipitation is at 5% after an hour of the day’s play.

There are no strong chance of heavy rain for the day. However, it does go up to 10% by 2:00 PM local time. As a result, spectators might expect continuous game throughout the day as the players provide the fans the value for their money.

The post Will rain Spoil the Day 4 of MCG Test? Melbourne weather for December 29 appeared first on Cricket Country.

Nitish’s mother could not hold her tears as she embraced her son. His father, Mutayala Reddy gave Nitish a warm hug, and his sister praised his willpower. It was clear from the deep emotions that this was more than a game’s achievement, but a result of years of sacrifice and preservance.

Mutayala Reddy, who had resigned from his job at Hindustan Zinc in 2016 in order to help Nitish pursue his goal of playing cricket, thought back about the hardships that the family had to face. “Nitish played really well today. I am very proud. We have struggled a lot. We are thankful to the Indian team,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
“It was not an easy journey for him. All I can say is we are very proud and very happy. He said it, and he did it,” he added.

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.

The Reddy family has been a bundle of emotions today. Witness the magical moment as they embrace Nitish after he wowed the world with his extraordinary maiden Test century at the MCG.

A day etched in memories… pic.twitter.com/uz9mrASuRm

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 28, 2024

Nitish Kumar Reddy is the third-youngest batter from India after Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant to have scored a Test century in Australia. He is also the first Indian to bat at no. 8 and hit a Test century on Australian soil.

The post WATCH- Nitish Reddy gets Emotional after meeting his Family following maiden Test century appeared first on Cricket Country.

Nitish scoring his maiden Test century became the most popular topic to talk at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He completed his everlasting dream of making his father proud.

The moment could not have been any more special for Reddy, as he smashed his first Test century in front of his father who was present in the stands. He got visibly emotional as his son reached such a massive milestone. The whole stadium erupted in applauds as the people praised Reddy’s fantastic performance.

Reddy went to his social media account, and dedicated his maiden Test century to his father on Instagram. He shared an image of his father, who was visibly in tears, along with a caption that read “This one’s for you.”

Nitish Kumar Reddy dedicated the Hundred to his father. 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/iQRBVdXTTp

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 28, 2024

As the final wicket remains for the team, Reddy will come up to the pitch on Day 4 and aim to take India’s total to as close as possible to Australia’s first innings score of 474.

The post Nitish Kumar Reddy’s wholesome Instagram story goes viral after his match-turning century in MCG Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

India was at 164/5 by the end of day 2, trailing Australia by 310 runs. In order to avoid a follow-on, Indian team must be cautious and post such a score that would make Australia bat their second innings.

The boat lies on the shoulders of Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja, who were standing strong on the ground by the end of Day 2. Their game in the morning session of 3rd day is going to be an important factor in determining whether India can avoid the follow-on or not.

According to article 14.1.1 of the MCG’s law of cricket, if a team establish a lead of at least 200 runs, the team which is batting first has the option to enforce the follow-on in a two-innings match of five days or more. In this case, since Australia has scored 474 in their first innings, they will have the option to enforce follow-on if India posts a total of 274 or less in their first innings.

On the other hand, if India posts 275 or more run in their first innings, Australia will lost the right to enforce the follow-on and will be needed to bat first in their second innings. This decision to enforce a follow-on rests on the captain of the team that was batting first.

The minimum lead needed to post a follow-on may change depending on the number of days remaining in a Test. If the first day of the play is lost, the needed lead is adjusted accordingly. Let’s say, in a four-day match, the team batting first must have a lead of 150 runs to enforce a follow-on.

The post Explained: How many runs India needs to Avoid follow-on in Boxing-Day Test against Australia appeared first on Cricket Country.