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He will be Australia’s surprise weapon against India in the Test Series

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He is Victoria’s rising star Todd Murphy, who has made a sudden entry into Australia’s Test squad for the Qantas Tour of India.

Murphy will be joining Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson as potential spinning partners for Nathan Lyon.

Swepson, who played four of Australia’s five Tests on the subcontinent last year and had a return of 10 wickets at 45, was favored over white-ball leg-spinner Adam Zampa.

National selectors have confirmed an 18-player squad for the four-Test Border-Gavaskar series.

Victoria captain Peter Handscomb is also in line for a Test recall for the first time since January 2019 and will join Matthew Renshaw as the reserve batters in the touring party.

Murphy, who had played just one first-class match prior to 2022, has bolted into the Test squad following his strong performances for Victoria, Australia A and the Prime Minister’s XI over the past 12 months.

He is viewed as a potential long-term successor to Lyon. The 22-year-old has the lowest average of any spin bowler in the Marsh Sheffield Shield season to date with 14 wickets at 17.71 in just three matches.

He showcased his match-winning ability by bowling Victoria to a final-day victory over NSW in the last match before the KFC BBL break.

“Todd Murphy has progressed quickly having impressed in domestic cricket and recently with Australia A. With those performances Todd has emerged as a strong spin option,” Selection Chair George Bailey said.

“Selection in this squad also provides another opportunity to spend time alongside Nathan Lyon and assistant coach Daniel Vettori in India which will be invaluable to his development.”

Opener Marcus Harris, who spent the summer travelling with the Australian squad before being released to the Melbourne Renegades during the New Year’s Test after Renshaw was recalled, has been omitted.

Uncapped quick Lance Morris, the 2022-23 Shield leading wicket-taker after six rounds, retains his place in the squad and could be a chance for an international debut with confirmation that Mitchell Starc would not join the squad until after the first Test in Nagpur as he recovers from tendon damage to his left middle finger.

Allrounder Cameron Green is also in a race against time to be fit for the opening Test after he fractured his right index finger during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa.

The inclusion of Agar and Murphy confirms the preference of finger spin for touring teams in India while Swepson, the only frontline wrist-spinner in the touring squad, offers variety.

It is understood that Australia’s premier white-ball spinner in Zampa was seriously considered after playing his first red-ball match in three years in early December to show that he was “keen” to play a role on the seven-week India tour if an opportunity arose.

Agar went wicketless in his Test return last week in Sydney but with the likelihood of India fielding an XI of almost entirely right-handers (with Rishabh Pant in severe doubt for the series due to injuries suffered in a car accident last month), he and Swepson will offer a point of difference to Lyon with their ability to spin the ball away.

“Ashton Agar continues to impress following his comeback in Sydney and we believe left-arm finger spin will play an important role in Indian conditions,” Bailey confirmed.

Australia and India will play four Tests in less than five weeks in Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad.

Australia Test squad for tour of India:

Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024

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Smriti Mandhana and Alyssa Healy (Source - X)

RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.

Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.

It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.

Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain

Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.

It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.

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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window

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Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.

It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.

Watch the viral video here –

Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.

RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief

As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.

On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.

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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy

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Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.

Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.

The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).

‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar

“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.

Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.

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