SPORTS

Shreyas Iyer's half-century followed by a three-wicket haul from Mukesh Kumar, guided India to a thrilling six-run victory over Australia in the fifth T20I on Sunday. With this win, India have claimed the five-match series with 4-1 scoreline. Chasing 161, Australia managed 154/8 in 20 overs with Kumar returning 4-0-32-3 and leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi producing a fine 4-0-29-2. Axar Patel also produced an all-round show, taking 1/14 from his four overs after making a vital 31 with the bat. For Australia, Ben McDermott hit 54 off 36 balls and Travis Head made 28 in just 15 balls. Earlier, Shreyas Iyer's half-century helped India post 160/8 in 20 overs.  

Dominica will not host any games of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2024. Dominica's administration made the decision due to the country's incapacity to finish work on practice and match grounds before the event began.

"The Ministry of Culture, Youth, Sports, and Community Development in Dominica confirmed that, despite the country's eagerness to host matches and tangible efforts to date, they have evaluated proposed timelines after consultation with their contractors. After careful consideration, it was determined that there will not be adequate time to fulfil all the obligations outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding between CWI and the Government of Dominica," a statement from Cricket West Indies read.

After the conclusion of the ongoing five-match T20I series at home against Australia, India will travel to South Africa to take on the Temba Bavuma-led side in a three-match T20I series. The shortest format overseas series will start on December 10 in Durban, and the next two matches are scheduled to take place on December 12 in Gqeberha and December 14 in Johannesburg. The BCCI on Thursday (November 30) announced India’s squad for the T20I series and sprung quite a few surprises. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and batting superstar Virat Kohli were the notable absentees, along with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and KL Rahul. All of them were on fire in the ODI World Cup 2023.

Virat Kohli has reportedly informed the BCCI that he would not be available for selection in white-ball matches for an indefinite period. This effectively rules him out of the white-ball leg of India's upcoming tour to South Africa and the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in January. A BCCI source told The Indian Express that Kohli has decided to concentrate on Test cricket as of now and will play the two Tests in South Africa.

But as things stand now, it seems unlikely that Rohit and Kohli will feature in T20Is anymore. In fact, their future in ODIs also looks bleak. India, anyway, don't have much white-ball action lined up till the T20 World Cup.

Australia captain Pat Cummins empathised with his teammates who are set to return from India midway through a T20I series, saying that the players needed some time off the game after the grueling, yet rewarding World Cup campaign in India. 7 members of the World Cup-winning team stayed back in India for a 5-match T20I series against a second-string Indian side, led by Suryakumar Yadav. The T20I series began just 4 days after the World Cup final in Ahmedabad and it was understandable that Australia rested most of their World Cup stars for the series opener in Visakhapatnam.