Cricket news round-up – December 2: Australia eye win, England on top at Hamilton, Karnataka win Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

The Hamilton Test took an interesting turn; Australia are to set to win the series against Pakistan despite Yasir Shah’s maiden hundred; and Karnataka won a nerve-wrecking final in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Root takes charge at Hamilton

The Hamilton Test saw Joe Root and Rory Burns guide England to a solid position on day 3. They stitched 177 together before Burns left for 101. Even after Burns’ dismissal Root kept batting and utilized this opportunity to shut the critics. He stayed in the middle till the end of the day to come back on Day 4 and guide the lower order to take England home.

The day ended with Root (114) and Ollie Pope (4) unbeaten on the crease For England. For New Zealand, Tim Southee took two wickets and was supported well by others, especially Mitchell Santner.

Australia on driving seat

Babar Azam and Yasir Shah had a steep climb ahead of them as Pakistan started with 96/6, requiring another 194 avoid the follow on. Babar looked his usual self, playing some excellent strokes before falling 3 short of his second century of series of the series. Then Yasir took charge. He added 87 with Mohammad Abbas and went on to score his maiden Test hundred.

But none of this was enough, as Pakistan finished 287 behind. Mitchell Starc picked up 6 for 66 and Pat Cummins 3 for 83.

Tim Paine enforced the follow-on and the ended with Pakistan struggling with 39/3. A late evening rain saved Pakistan from further embarrassment on day 3.

Karnataka win Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

A tight Final in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy saw Karnataka winning by only one run against Tamil Nadu. Dinesh Karthik sent Karnataka to bat after winning the toss and the opponent skipper Manish Pandey led his team from the front. He remained unbeaten on 60 and managed to take Karnataka to 180/5 from 39/2.

Tamil Nadu started to lose wickets at regular intervals during their chase. In the middle order Baba Aparajith (40) and Vijay Shankar (44) provided some stability, but neither of them could find the boundary consistently.

Krishnappa Gowtham needed to defend 13 in the last over. R Ashwin hit the first two balls for four each, but Tamil Nadu eventually fell short.

Kristen Beams retires

Kristen Beams retired from all forms of the game. The leg-spinner represented Australia in one Test, 30 ODIs, and 18 T20Is and had 62 wickets across formats since her debut in August 2014. The only Test she played was in the 2015 Ashes.

Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts said,  “She’s been a wonderful ambassador of the game, always willing to go the extra mile to inspire the next generation of cricketers as well as having had a significant impact in the all abilities space. Kristen has held a number of off-field roles within cricket and we hope to see her face around the game for years to come.”