Cricket news round-up – January 18: Bapu Nadkarni passes away, India level series, South Africa under pressure

Bapu Nadkarni passed away at 86; India beat Australia by 36 runs at Rajkot to level the 3-match ODI series 1-1; South Africa finished Day 2 at Port Elizabeth on 60/2 even as Kagiso Rabada earned a 1-Test suspension; Afghanistan thrashed South Africa in the opening match of the Under-19 World Cup; and Mushfiqur Rahim has declined to tour Pakistan for the upcoming T20I series.

Nadkarni passes away at 86

Former Indian all-rounder Bapu Nadkarni passed away at Mumbai. He was 86. Nadkarni had played 41 Tests between 1955-56 and 1967-68, scoring 1,414 runs at 25.70 and picking up 88 wickets at 29.07, and played a key role in India’s first overseas series win, in New Zealand in 1967-68.

Nadkarni was renowned for his metronomic precision. With a 500-over cut-off, his economy rate of 1.67 is the second-best in Test cricket history. He also holds the world record for most consecutive maidens in a Test innings (21) during a spell of 32-27-5-0 at Madras in 1964-65.

A legend in the Bombay cricket circuit, Nadkarni had an illustrious First-Class career with 8,880 runs (14 hundreds) and 500 wickets (19 five-wicket hauls).

India draw level

India beat Australia by 36 runs to level the ODI series 1-1. The decider will be played at Bengaluru on January 19.

Asked to bat, India amassed 340/6 thanks to some uninhibited strokeplay from Rohit Sharma (42 in 44), Shikhar Dhawan (96 in 90 balls), Virat Kohli (78 in 76), and KL Rahul (80 in 52). Adam Zampa finished with 3/50.

Steven Smith (98 in 102) and Marnus Labuschagne (46 in 47) then took Australia to 178/2 in the 31st over. At 220/3 in the 38th over they were still in it before Kuldeep Yadav (2/65) struck twice in 4 balls to derail the chase. All five Indian bowlers picked up at least one wicket.

Stokes, Pope slam hundreds, Bess strikes

A characteristically belligerent 120 from Ben Stokes (120) and a maiden Test hundred from Ollie Pope (135*) helped England declare on 499/9 in the third Test, at Port Elizabeth. The pair added 203 for the fifth wicket. Sam Curran (44) and Mark Wood (40) later hit around, adding 73 for the ninth wicket in just 46 balls.

The dry wicket deteriorated over the course of the day, and Keshav Maharaj finished with 5/180. Dom Bess (2/12) found turn too, taking out Pieter Malan and Zubayr Hamza before stumps as South Africa finished on 60/2.

Rabada suspended for Johannesburg Test

ICC has suspended Kagiso Rabada for the fourth Test against England, to be played at Johannesburg. Rabada was charged under Article 2.5 of the ICC CoC, for his animated celebrations when he bowled Joe Root on Day 1.

Rabada, who took 2/97 in the first innings, had accumulated 7 demerit points before this.

Afghanistan Under-19s fell South Africa

Afghanistan beat South Africa by 7 wickets in the opening match of the Under-19 World Cup, at Kimberley. The entire match lasted just 54.1 overs.

Batting first, South Africa were 62/2 in the 13th over with Bryce Parsons (40) and Luke Beaufort (25) going strong. Then they collapsed to 129 against the leg-breaks and googlies of Shafiqullah Ghafari (6/15). Even that seemed unlikely at one point, at 90/8, had Gerald Coetzee (38 in 23 balls) not got going.

Afghanistan barely broke a sweat during the chase, what with Ibrahim Zadran (52) and Imran Mir (57 in 48) adding 90 for the second wicket.

No Mushfiqur on Pakistan tour

Mushfiqur Rahim has declined to tour Pakistan for the 3 T20Is, starting January 24. He has updated chief selector Minhajul Abedin on the same.

“Mushfiqur rang me today to inform me that he will not go to Pakistan. We are now awaiting his formal letter. Once he does that, we will leave him out of the series,” Minhajul told AFP.