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The Men in Blue will take on the Proteas Men in the final Test of the two-match series at the Newlands in Cape Town. The Rohit Sharma-led side lost the first match by a margin of an inning and 32 runs, registering their worst defeat on the South African soil. On the other hand, the Pat Cummins-led side are taking on the Men in Green in the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Notably, this is also David Warner's final match in the longest format of the game.
Here in this article, we’ll look at all the big news that took place on Tuesday, January 2, but before that, let's check the matches scheduled for the day.
Today’s match preview:
South Africa vs India 2nd Test:
In the second and the final Test of the series, South Africa will lock horns against India at the Newlands in Cape Town. Following a comprehensive win in the first Test match against the Indians in the Highveld, the South Africans will head to the coast with all the confidence to boss their upcoming contest. For India, it will be important to address the issues surrounding their batting and bowling side of things if they want to compete well against South Africa in the second Test match.
Australia vs Pakistan 3rd Test:
Australia will take on Pakistan in the third and final Test match of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney. After defeating the Pakistan cricket team in the first two Tests, the Australians will be confident about inflicting yet another whitewash in a series on their visitors. For Pakistan, it is vital to improve on their performance in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which could be a template for them to register a win in the longest format in Australia in nearly 30 years.
BBL 2023-24: Sydney Sixers vs Brisbane Heat
Moises Henriques-led Sydney Sixers are scheduled to face Colin Munro's Brisbane Heat in the 24th match of the BBL 2023-24. The match between the Sixers and the Heat will take place at the International Sports Stadium in Coffs Harbour on Wednesday at 12:35 p.m. IST. While the Heat are comfortably sitting at the top of the table with ten points and having won four games, the Sixers have won three matches and are placed second in the standings.
BBL 2023-24: Perth Scorchers vs Adelaide Strikers
Aaron Hardie-led Perth Scorchers are scheduled to face Matthew Short's Adelaide Strikers in the 25th match of the BBL 2023-24. The match between the two sides will take place at the Perth Stadium in Perth on Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. IST. While the Scorchers are placed fourth of the standings with three wins from four games, the Strikers are sixth having won only one game in five games o far in the tournament.
Major cricket events that happened on January 2
Melbourne Stars jump to third place after win over Renegades in rain-interrupted match
The Melbourne Stars continued their winning streak as they beat the Melbourne Renegades by eight wickets in the Melbourne derby in the BBL 2023-24 standings. With rain coming into play, the match was reduced to 14-overs per side game with the Renegades posting 97 runs. However, on the back of Thomas Roger and Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten knocks helped the side beat the Renegades in 12.1 overs.
BCCI to pick India’s T20 WC 2024 squad on basis of IPL: Reports
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will reportedly pick the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 based on player form and fitness during the first month of IPL. It has also been revealed that they are going to monitor around 30 players during the IPL 2024 to finalise the Indian T20 WC squad.
Australia Women clinch series 3-0 as Litchfield stars in 190-run win over India
Australia registered a dominant 190-run win in the 3rd ODI to complete a whitewash over India in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. On the back of Phoebe Litchfield's 119 and Alyssa Healy's 82, Australia posted a massive 338-run total. Then with the ball, the Southern Stars showcased their class to bundle out the hosts for 148 with Georgia Wareham picking up 3-23.
WATCH: Hardik Pandya posts training video before Afghanistan T20Is
On Tuesday, January 2, the Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya sent out a video on his official Instagram account, sweating it out in training after suffering an ankle injury that ruled him out midway from the CWC 2023. The training video of the 30-year-old came out just before the start of the three-match T20I series for India against Afghanistan at home.
Sri Lanka Cricket to bring new law to curb political interference
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is going to introduce a new law, aiming to curb meddling from influential people holding power after they were suspended for “political interference” by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had appointed a cabinet sub-committee in November, reported back to him with necessary recommendations on Monday, January 1.
Pakistan rest Shaheen Shah Afridi and Imam-ul-Haq from third Test against Australia
Pakistan have announced their playing XI for the third and final Test of the series against Australia, resting the experienced duo of Shaheen Afridi and Imam-ul-Haq. After losing the first two Test matches, the Pakistan team management have decided to bring in Saim Ayub on debut and Sajid Khan in their playing XI at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Melbourne Renegades remove Mujeeb Ur Rahman from BBL 2023-24 squad
Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Melbourne Renegades have removed Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman from their squad following sanctions imposed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). The Afghan spinner will miss the next fixture for the Renegades, which is scheduled to be played on Tuesday, 2 January at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against the Glenn Maxwell-led Stars.
WATCH: David Warner loses “baggy green” ahead of final Test
Just a day after announcing retirement from one-day internationals, Australian opener David Warner was in news after he lost his baggy green ahead of the final Test in Sydney. Taking to social media, Warner shared a heartfelt message and pleaded to return his lost baggy green. “Inside this backpack was my Baggy Green. It’s sentimental to me,” Warner pleaded.
