by Tanish Prabhu
Kuldeep, Kohli draw first blood in a clinical win in Kerela:
West Indies started beautifully, but Kuldeep Yadav’s magical spell changed the game for India, restricting the West Indies to 295 in their allotted 50 overs. Justin Greaves scored his first One Day hundred, and the tourists were cruising comfortably. Chasing 296, Virat Kohli once again stepped up and played another match winning innings. Well supported by captain Shubman Gill, who made 110, India won the game by two wickets in Kerela.
At 37 years of age, Virat Kohli continues to deliver for India when needed and when it matters. It was a sublime innings [ 139 not out] and from the very beginning, he went out to bat with the intention of playing aggressive. He never let the bowlers settle, hit a six to bring up a hundred and two sixes to seal the match. It was a vintage Virat Kohli innings, and it just shows that he can still anchor the innings and chase down the score even at the end of his career. He is still the fittest and best player in the world. Kohli has already confirmed that this will be his last World Cup and that he intends to play freely. He wants to give it everything he can and win the World Cup, which wasn’t to be in 2023. However, one problem for India is their bowling attack. The likes of Gurnoor Brar and Prasidh Krishna are not ready for the 2023 World Cup and selectors have made it clear that Mohammed Shami and Bhuveneshwar Kumar will not return to the team. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are in Japan for the Asian Games, and their services could have been used for an important series ahead of the World Cup. Mohammed Siraj was benched for the first ODI, which probably means he might be overlooked for the World Cup because he has been rested too much and has not played any professional cricket since the IPL Final. Ravindra Jadeja has finally returned to the One Day set up, but he didn’t take a wicket and struggled to dot up the pressure on the West Indian batters, while Kuldeep Yadav brought India back in the game with four wickets. India just need to pick the right bowlers to take wickets and put pressure on the opponents, or winning the World Cup will be a difficult task.
South Africa claim home series win against Australia:
It was another difficult outing for Australia with the ball as captain Temba Bavuma and David Miller both scored hundreds in the Pink Day game, followed by a cameo from Marco Jansen to take the Proteas to 366.
Having sent the home side in to bat, the pitch was flat and the Australian bowlers struggled to find any rhythm. Nathan Ellis went down with an injury while Adam Zampa and the rest of the bowlers were taken down all over the ground by some excellent batting by David Miller and Temba Bavuma. Australia started beautifully and at one point it looked like the openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head were going to take Australia home, but another collapse, like in the first ODI, saw Australia down and out once again. Not even Xavier Bartlett’s 50 could do the job and were short by 32 runs in the end.
Australia’s chances at the World Cup next year look grim. The retirements of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell have left a hole in this One-Day team, and selectors are looking for the perfect team to defend the World Cup, but that is looking unlikely. Captain Pat Cummins rested himself again for the second ODI to save himself for the test series against South Africa and Mitchell Starc also did not play. South Africa prior to the series had lost Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Kewan Makpaha and Ottniel Bartmann to injuries, and it looked hard from there to win a home series against Australia. But Keshav Maharaj once again stepped up and delivered like he did in Australia last year. His bowling has been lethal, and Australia continue to struggle to spin bowling, which has cost them their wickets cheaply and lack of runs. Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly have been inconsistent with the bat, two players who are the future of Australian cricket. With one more game to play, Australia won’t be looking to play for pride, but to win and boost their confidence with their World Cup preparations.
England demolish Sri Lanka to finish the perfect home summer:
A summer full of drama and ecstasy for England Cricket, but they finished with a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka without any issues. Tom Banton scored a hundred in the final ODI, with the help from captain Harry Brook, who, as usual, played freely. Brook and coach Brendan MccCullum have turned this England White Ball team into a much stronger and undefeatable side from where they were in 2023. From batting to bowling, their team will be hard to beat in Australia later this year in the shorter formats and in the World Cup. A team that would be massively favored alongside hosts South Africa.
Sri Lanka’s cricketing woes continue and despite a win in the second ODI, they seem to have a lot of all-round issues overall. They struggled in the Super 8s in the T20 World Cup and could not get going after beating Australia in the group stages. It has been a tough year of cricket and there needs to be decisions made on their future in the game.
Japan give India a scare in only T20 Game, losing by only 2 runs:
Nobody thought Japan would be the better side in a losing cause against India’s T20 side at Sanko International Stadium. Prior to the Asian Games, the two teams went head-to-head in a rain affected game that saw the teams play out 5 overs, but Japan put on a clinical bowling performance dominated by spinners, which gave the Indian batters a massive headache on their shot selections.
No top order batter got going apart from captain Shreyas Iyer, who won man of the match for his 16 runs. India managed to defend 32 against Japan, but it was by 2 runs only and ideally the result shouldn’t have gone India’s way. This is a clear message that India’s T20 team need to play more games on rank turners rather than on flat pitches only. The pitch at Sanko stadium had flight and turn, and the batters went after everything. Given it was 5 overs, you must go after every ball, but the top order batters could not find the answers to Japan’s spin bowling, and that is a worry on what will happen in future games. Japan’s main goal was to stand tall and play competitive cricket against a better team like India and they showed courage and grit.
In the Asian Games, India automatically qualified into the Semi Finals after the match was washed out against Afghanistan.
Russell wins Azerbaijan GP:
It was race week once again, but the race started on Saturday, and George Russell won the Baku GP. It wasn’t, however, without late drama with Max Verstappen in the final seconds of the last lap where Russell went head-to-head for first place and he was successful, forcing the Dutch to come second.
Australian Oscar Piastri had a great start to his race, but one small falter saw him go down 10 places after he was looking good in P3. Piastri’s season continues to be a forgettable one and sliding of the track and onto the grass just makes it worse, similar to Melbourne 2025. The drama continued with both Alphine drivers crashing into each other with Lando Norris, forcing all three drivers to end their race early.
Isak Hadjar returned from injury and no problems whatsoever, as he came third in the race and did not disappoint. But for Aston Martin, 44-year-old Fernando Alonso had more car troubles. The Spaniard has no intentions to retire, but his future is not too bright, with drivers in F2 looking promising. He hasn’t been consistent with points for the last two years and his goal to win one last World Drivers Championship has already faded. Despite all that, Kimi Antonelli still sits 81 points ahead and if he wins the next three races, he will be declared a World Drivers Champion long before the season ends.
FIFA International Football friendlies:
The September international football window has produced a series of closely contested friendlies, with Australia coming within minutes of a famous victory over Brazil while New Zealand and the United States also recorded notable results.
The Socceroos were held to a 1-1 draw by Brazil in Townsville on Friday, with Australia surrendering the lead deep into stoppage time. Nestory Irankunda put the hosts ahead in the 68th minute with a superb free-kick, giving Australia the opportunity to claim only its secondever victory over Brazil. However, Brazilian substitute Rayan rescued his side in the fifth minute of added time, heading home a late equaliser. The result extended Brazil’s unbeaten record against Australia in their recent meetings and denied Tony Popovic’s side a landmark result on home soil. The Socceroos will get another opportunity against Brazil when the sides meet at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Tuesday, September 29. The two-match series is part of Australia’s preparations following the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Elsewhere, New Zealand produced one of the strongest results of the weekend, defeating China 3-0 in Chongqing on Sunday. Tyler Bindon, Ben Waine and Owen Parker-Price were all on the scoresheet as the All Whites secured their first victory since their 4-1 win over Chile in March. India and Panama played out a 1-1 draw on September 25 at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. Ryan Williams scored a brilliant opener in the 41st minute to put India ahead. Panama equalised via Omar Valencia in the 68th minute with a magnificent long-range strike.
The United States recorded a convincing 4-1 victory over Peru on Saturday. The result continued the Americans’ post-World Cup schedule as they begin preparing for the next stage of their international cycle. Japan also entered the international window with an impressive result, defeating Uruguay 3-1 on September 24. Japan scored through Koki Matsuki, Shuto Shiogai and Ayase Ueda, while Uruguay’s goal came from Ronald Araújo. Japan then faced Venezuela on September 28 in another friendly.
The results underline the purpose of the international friendly window, with national teams using the matches to test players, formations and combinations outside competitive tournaments. For Australia in particular, the two-match Brazil series provides an important opportunity to assess the Socceroos against one of international football’s most prominent nations. After coming so close to victory in Townsville, the Brisbane meeting will provide another test for Popovic’s squad as preparations continue for the next phase of the international cycle.
