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The Men in Blue will kick off their tour of South Africa on Sunday at the Kingsmead in Durban. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side will take on Aiden Markram's Proteas men in a three-match T20I series, across three different venues. On the other hand, the Women in Blue will also play the final T20I after losing the second on Saturday, 9 December in Mumbai. Apart from this, the WPL 2024 Auction was the key event which saw some big names like Chamari Athapaththu, Deandra Dottin and several others being unsold while India's uncapped player, Kashvee Gautam was among the top buys, bagging INR 200 Lakh.
Here in this article, we’ll look at all the big news that took place on Saturday, December 9, but before that, let's check the matches scheduled for the day.
Today’s match preview:
South Africa vs India 1st T20I: South Africa are set to host India in the first of three-match T20I series at the Kingsmead in Durban to kick-off their home summer of cricket. Just prior to the first match, the Indian cricket team comprehensively defeated Australia by 4-1 in the five-match series at home, while the Proteas haven’t played much cricket with their recent outing being the ODI World Cup 2023 early last month. Despite the lack of game time in the build-up, South Africa is expected to pose a tough challenge in front of the high-flying Indians on December 10.
India Women vs England Women 3rd T20I: The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will take on Heather Knight's England Women at the Wankhede Stadium in the third and final T20I of the three-match series. The visitors have already clinched the series, registering wins in the first as well as second T20I by 38 runs and four wickets respectively, the Women in Blue will aim to get a consolation win tonight.
Big Bash League 2023-24:
- Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers: Melbourne Renegades are scheduled to square off against the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League 2023-24 on Sunday. The match is scheduled to take place at the Simonds Stadium in Geelong at 01:45 p.m. IST. While the Renegades will aim to get back to winning ways after losing their opener against Sydney Sixers at the SCG, the defending champions will aim to start strong.
Major cricket events that happened on December 9
BBL 2023-24: Adelaide Strikers vs Brisbane Heat - Match Abandoned
The match between Matthew Short's Adelaide Strikers and Colin Munro-led Brisbane Heat in the BBL 2023-24 was abandoned without toss due to persistent rain in Adelaide. Notably, the teams earned a point each after the umpires called off the match. After match number 3 of the BBL 2023-24, Brisbane Heat comfortably sit at the top of the points table with three points, Adelaide Strikers are third with just one point.
Abu Dhabi T10 League 2023: New York Strikers beat Deccan Gladiators to lift the title
The Kieron Pollard-led New York Strikers beat the Nicholas Pooran's Deccan Gladiators, ending their hope of a hat-trick of title wins by registering a comfortable even-wicket win in the grand finale of the Abu Dhabi T10 League 2023 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Saturday, 9 December. After being invited to bat first, the Gladiators could only post 91 runs on the board, which was successfully chased by the Strikers in 9.2 overs on the back of an unbeaten knock (48 off 25) from Asif Ali.
Legends League Cricket 2023: Manipal Tigers beat Urbanrisers Hyderabad to clinch LLC title
The Harbhajan Singh-led Manipal Tigers beat the Suresh Raina's Urbanrisers Hyderabad by five wickets at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium in Surat on Saturday, 9 December to clinch the LLC 2023 title. After winning the toss, the Tigers invited the Urbanrisers to put the score first on the board. However, they posted 187/5 in the 20 overs, the total was comfortably chased by the Tigers with six balls to be spared. Asela Gunaratne was the star player of the evening, coring a crucial unbeaten 50 for the winning side, while Pankaj Singh scalped two wickets in his four-over spell.
Lungi Ngidi ruled out of T20I series against India; replacement announced
Just a day ahead of the South Africa versus India T20I series, the Proteas Men have been handed a major blow as their star pacer Lungi Ngidi will miss the T20I series after he sustained a left lateral ankle sprain. The 27-year-old has been released from the side with Beuran Hendricks being named his replacement for the three-match T20I series.
WPL 2024 Auction: Kashvee Gautam becomes most expensive uncapped player in WPL history
Kashvee Gautam was picked up for a whopping INR 2 Crore final bid by the Gujarat Giants in the Women's Premier League 2024 auction. The Giants paid big bucks for the Chandigarh pacer, who grabbed headlines for her ten-wicket haul which included a hattrick in a one-day game against Arunachal Pradesh at the women's domestic Under-19 competition in 2020. Annabel Sutherland was also among the top buys, attracting INR 2 Crore.
Hardik Pandya could be fit before Afghanistan series, says Jay Shah
Jay Shah, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), shared the latest update on Hardik Pandya’s ankle injury, stating that he could be fit before India plays the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in January 2024. The 35-year-old also spoke about how the Indian all-rounder is working hard at the NCA to make a swift recovery.
Rahul Dravid's role as India coach uncertain for T20 World Cup 2024
The Secretary of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), Jay Shah has shared a major update on the future of Indian men's team head coach Rahul Dravid. Speaking on the sidelines of the WPL 2024 Auction, Shah said, "We have given the extension but we are yet to finalise the contract. We did not get time at all, they finished (with the World Cup), I had a meeting with them and we agreed mutually that they would continue. We will sit down and decide once they return from South Africa.”
