SPORTS

Lightning never strikes twice in the same place! Try telling this to Steve Smith. On the same ground, against the same opponents, two days apart, Steve Smith produced yet another masterclass as he smashed his second consecutive 62-ball century. With fifties from Aaron Finch, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell, Australia broke their previous record of Friday and notched up a mammoth 389/4 which was the highest against India. Smith, now possessed of qualities that makes him supreme, then took a brilliant catch to end the dangerous partnership between Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. The fielding and the disciplined effort of the Australian bowlers helped the hosts win the match in Sydney by 51 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series heading into Canberra.

This was India’s fifth consecutive loss in ODIs and for the first time in a long time, India will have a negative win-loss ratio in ODIs in 2020, winning just two and losing six so far. It was a repeat of the performance on Friday and this time the lack of bowling penetration led to the capitulation of the team morale.

New Zealand greeted international cricket back in the country with a thrilling five-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 against West Indies on Friday.

Kieron Pollard’s blistering 75 not out powered West Indies to a commanding 180-7 in the Auckland contest which was reduced to 16-overs-a-side following rain interruptions.

New Zealand’s top order let them down but Jimmy Neesham forged important partnerships with debutant Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner to seal victory with four balls to spare.

This was the first international match in New Zealand since the Christchurch test against India that ended on Mar 2.

Indian captain Virat Kohli has said that the entire episode surrounding Rohit Sharma's injury has been "very confusing", exacerbated by a "lot of uncertainty and lack of clarity". Speaking on the eve of India's ODI series opener against Australia, Kohli said that ideally both Rohit and fast bowler Ishant Sharma should have been in Australia to complete recovery from their respective injuries which would have allowed them to play in the Test leg of the tour.

Both players were ruled out of the first two Tests of the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is scheduled to start with the day-night Test in Adelaide on December 17.

Speaking on the situation around Rohit's injury, Kohli said that initially the senior batsman was ruled out when the squads for Australia tour were picked in October.

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has died at the age of 60, his spokesman announced Wednesday. Renowned along with Brazil's Pele as one of the greatest footballers of all time, the Argentine World Cup winning captain died of a heart attack, having undergone brain surgery earlier this month, a member of his entourage told AFP. President Alberto Fernandez immediately announced three days of national mourning in the South American country.

Shortly before the announcement that shocked a nation, Argentine media reported Maradona had suffered a serious health setback on Wednesday and was being treated by doctors at his home north of Buenos Aires.

"There are four ambulances at the door of the residence. They have summoned family members to come. It is serious," an international sports channel reported.

It seems India players are leaving no stones unturned in their preparation for the upcoming limited-overs series against Australia. Even a brief spell of rain in Sydney did not hamper India's training plans on Monday.

In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, pacer Ravindra Jadeja can be seen braving the rain and doing an outdoor fitness routine. Watched on by a member of the support staff, Jadeja performs the drill on a rainy morning in Sydney.

Ravindra Jadeja will be key to India's plans in the upcoming ODI series as the all-rounder will be expected to step up with the bat in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Jadeja was in fine form with the bat for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 as 232 runs at an impressive strike rate of over 170. Jadeja played the finisher's role to perfection, more often than not for CSK, and won rich praise from his captain MS Dhoni.