IND vs AUS: Smith & Labuschagne Holds Fort As Fourth Test Ends Up In A Stalemate

 Beginning on 158 after Tea for the loss of two wickets for visiting Australian side with two stalwarts Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne batting till the end of the next session.

Australia were already 67 runs ahead of the Indian side going into the final session of the final Test of the series as they were looking to close out play.

The duo of Smith and Labuschagne batted the next 14.1 overs to ensure that they play it safe for their side. The resilience while facing the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel was good enough to end the Test in a draw.

With not much happening in the final session, skipper Rohit Sharma was hoping to call it even, one over before drinks but opponent's skipper Smith insisted that they wanted to bat a few more overs where they scored just 17 runs in the final session of play.

However, it didn't take much after that as just 4.1 overs were bowled after that before they eventually were on the same page.

More so, Sharma even brought Shubman Gill and veteran Cheteshwar Pujara to try their arms before the series was eventually given to India 2-1.

After two tough pitches in form of Delhi and Indore, Ahmedabad proved to be heaven for the batters with 1226 runs being scored during the five days here.

Winning in this one became less important for India after New Zealand triumphed over Sri Lanka in a last-ball classic, today morning.

This draw didn't have much impact on the standings and India's chances as they won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy along with booking their place for the World Test Championship Final against the very same opposition to be played in June.

Brief Scores:

India: 571-10 (178.5 Overs)

Virat Kohli 186 (364), Shubman Gill 128 (235);

Todd Murphy 3/113, Nathan Lyon 3/151

Australia: 175/2-dec (78.1 Overs)

Travis Head 90 (163), Marnus Labuschagne 63* (213);

Axar Patel 1/36 (19), Ravichandran Ashwin 1/58 (24)

Result: Match drawn

Dhoni to Play, Kohli vs Sharma: CEO Raman Raheja Reveals Big Future Plans

 After two successful runs, Legends League Cricket (LLC) is all set to begin its third edition in Qatar from 10 March at the Asia Town Cricket Stadium in Doha. It is the second most followed league in the entire world after the Indian Premier League and promises to introduce some of the biggest players of the sport for the upcoming season, including MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and even Rohit Sharma. 

In an exclusive piece with Hindustan Times, LLC CEO Raman Raheja revealed the leagues big plans and ideas for this season, the big MS Dhoni plan for the future, and how they aim to compete with other established top leagues in the world.

When asked about the concept of the league and how it is different from the existing leagues he expressed how cricket is religiously followed by numerous people in the world and that the league aims to act as a second innings for the players.

"A similar concept was tried in 2015 by Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar. The core difference is that we have been able to create a tournament where cricketers are similarly aged and have almost the same fitness so that there is good quality cricket," Raheja was quoted in the interview.

Regarding the future of the franchise Raheja talked about how they aim to create more events and improving the player pool with the best of the legends.

"In terms of the franchise model, we will add two more teams. We are also looking to create more events, maybe not like the franchise model which is kind of a three-weeks event, but more on the grounds of bilateral series comprising these legends. 

"For that, the player pool needs to be really good. My future plan is to position this as a second innings for players. And I would love to have MS Dhoni come and play sometime. Or may, all we know, five years later we have a Kohli vs Rohit take place."

Amidst all the matches and with the upcoming IPL season, cricket fans will be able to watch the legends take over the field at the LLC 2023 from March 10 to March 23.

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SA vs WI: Aiden Markram To Lead South Africa in T20Is; Temba Bavuma To Continue as ODI Captain

 In significant developments, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced three squads for two white-ball series against a West Indies outfit. Aiden Markram has been named the latest T20I skipper of the Proteas, while Temba Bavuma has been dropped from the shortest format. Legendary former cricketer JP Duminy will be batting coach for both their white-ball teams.

Bavuma, who replaced Dean Elgar as Test captain, will be leading the team in the ODI series. However, the national board has cooked too much with the teams.

Anrich Nortje, who sustained a groin injury on Monday, has been named in the T20I squad. 

After a dashing SA20 season, Tristain Stubbs has retained his spot after last playing for the national team in the T20 World Cup 2022. Another notable inclusion has been Bjorn Fortuin, who has been picked over Keshav Maharaj.

For the ODI fold of the series, the national selectors have picked two squads for a three-match series. They have covered all the bases in their ODI squad; however, five more individuals have been named for the last game of the series.

Four uncapped players - Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton - have gotten a chance, apart from David Miller getting a go for the final ODI. Although the pace dual of Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have also been given a much-needed break for the series.

The white-ball leg between South Africa and West Indies will begin with the ODI, starting on March 16, before the caravan shifts to the shortest format to be played between March 25-28.