Welcome to our live report of the third day of the Australia-India Test from Melbourne. Join us for updates, analysis and colour. You can find our traditional ball-by-ball commentary here
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2.00pm: India a bowler down
India’s hopes of pressing home their advantage have taken a blow with Umesh Yadav limping off with what looked like either a calf or ankle injury shortly after dismissing Joe Burns. He pulled up after delivering the third ball of his fourth over with Mohammed Siraj finishing the over. There could be a lot of onus on the spin of R Aswhin and Ravindra Jadeja to fill the void. Depending on how serious Yadav’s problem proves to be, it could be that India are without three of the main quicks alongside Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami.
1.25pm: Another failure for Burns
It did not take long for India to make their first breakthrough when Joe Burns edged a beauty from Umesh Yadav. To compound things he used up a review as well. If David Warner is fit for the third Test Burns’ position looks increasingly vulnerable, although we have been through this only a few weeks ago. To be fair, it was a terrific delivery from Yadav although Burns’ stay had been far from secure.
Joe Burns nearly out 3 ways (edge,bowled & lbw) worst of all takes a review with him! Warner has found his slot if fit. #AUSvIND
1.4 Yadav to Burns, 1 run, off the mark but not without a few flutters, suicidal single. Has to dive full stretch to make his crease. A direct hit from Ashwin at short mid-on and Burns would’ve been gone
2.1 Bumrah to Burns, no run, appeal, appeal, massive. Struck flush on the toe. India like what they see, they’re referring this. Searing yorker, catches Burns on the boot and is caught by surprise by the pace of the delivery. But the ball tracking comes back as ‘umpire’s call’ even though the ball was clipping the leg stump. India don’t lose a review. Burns breathes a huge sigh of relief.
3.1 Yadav to Burns, OUT, what a ball! Burns runs out of luck. Umesh with an absolute peach. India celebrate, Burns reviews as the clock strikes the 15-second mark. Given out caught behind. It’s strange that he consulted his partner, he surely knew? Hotspot says there is a spot so yeah, he’s gone. India strike early. This one was full, pitched on off and left him late as it hit the seam, Burns pushes tentatively and gets a faint edge. Wasted review, very very poor from Burns
12.25pm: Lunch – India 326 all out
India’s first innings has been wrapped up after the lower order was bombarded by short stuff. In all, from the moment Ajinkya Rahane was run out, they lost the last five wickets for 32 which will be something of a disappointment. However, the lead is a very healthy 132. Nathan Lyon helped wrap up a lower order that was softened up by the quicks, having Umesh Yadav edging to slip and Jasprit Bumrah slog sweeping to deep square leg. Australia’s second innings will begin after the interval. They are currently ranked No. 1 in Test cricket but their batting has been poor in this series so far. If it doesn’t lift, this match will be beyond them.
What’s your prediction for the result of the MCG Test? #AUSvIND
India’s lower order is getting a dusting up from Mitchell Starc who has explored the middle of the pitch.
Here’s Sid Monga:
Cricket is a weird sport where you are made to do what you are not good at, and it often involves grave injury risk too. It is down to luck that a lot more tailenders don’t get injured badly by the bouncer. What we have seen in the last 15 minutes or so is a nasty short-ball barrage against tailenders who are not trained and equipped to face this kind of high-pace accurate bouncers. Mitchell Starc has hardly ever bowled these many bouncers in a spell. You wonder two things. One, are Australia just frustrated at being so far behind the game and are trying to take it out on them and possibly injure one of them. Two, have they forgotten that these Indian bowlers will give back as good as they get? I would hate to be an Australian tailender against this attack especially, as it looks more and more likely, if India are in a dominant position when the Australian bowlers come out to bat.
11.55am: Bowling again
India will have a very handy lead however many more the lower order are able to add. Then it’s back to the bowlers…
11.45am: Jadeja the batsman
11.10am: Jadeja runs out the captain
In the first Test, Ajinkya Rahane ran out Virat Kohli and now he has a dose of the same medicine after Ravindra Jadeja called him through for a quick single trying to reach his half century. Rahane was fractionally short, almost a replay of Tim Paine’s non run-out on the first day although this was clearly out, and it was a poor way to end an outstanding century. Australia have managed to dry up Jadeja’s scoring this morning and that may have played a part in him wanting to scamper a single. Paine didn’t actually think he’d got the stumps in time, so it was a bit of a surprise for him.
India’s lead, however, is touch 100 – they have only ever lost one Test from such a position: against Sri Lanka, at Galle, in 2015.
Rahane is “out” by about the same margin Paine was “in” #AusvInd
3.6 Cummins to Shubman Gill, 1 run, dropped by Labuschagne. Was fuller around off and middle, Gill was looking to play on the leg side. Got the outside edge but Labuschagne put it down at third slip. Was a sharp chance, chest-high to the right but should have been taken
12.3 Hazlewood to Shubman Gill, no run, dropped? Length ball starting well outside off and cutting Gill in half, was there an inside edge? Looks like but it swings so much that Paine had to dive it to his left. He gets there alright but cannot hold on to it
55.6 Cummins to Pant, 2 runs, squirted off a thick outside edge, Green gets a hand on it but the ball goes to ground. Would’ve been a stunner had he grabbed that. Looks like he copped it on the wrist while diving low. Came quick and low to his left. Pant and India breathe a sigh of relief
80.3 Starc to Rahane, 1 run, dropped at second slip by Steven Smith! This one burst through his hands. Rahane jams his bat down to squeeze a full delivery through point, the ball flew off the thick edge. How costly will that prove to be? The ball wobbled a great deal as it came quickly towards Smith
91.3 Starc to Rahane, no run, Oh, dear! Another dropped chance. Travis Head puts down the chance diving forward from gully. Snorter of a short ball that pings Rahane on the glove as he looks away, it lobs enough for the fielder to run in and get to the ball, but Head grassed it as his elbows touched the turf. How costly will that prove to be? He was dropped earlier on 74, now on 104
10.00am: Building on Rahane’s brilliance
A magnificent century from India’s captain has put them in control of this Test. Now it’s a question of how far they can extend their advantage. Anything upwards of 150 would make it very difficult for Australia and even where it stands now, at 82, is very handy. There will be huge pressure on the home side’s batting when it comes to their second innings. The pitch continues to offer assistance, especially with the new ball, and there are signs of increasing turn for the spinners.
Badgers’ third period rally falls short against Penn State
After falling behind by three goals in the first period, the Wisconsin Badgers rallied late, but fell short in a 5-4 loss to Penn State on Friday night.
The Badgers pulled within one goal twice in the third, but couldn’t find the equalizer.
Dylan Holloway got the Badgers on the board in the second period, but Penn State restored its three-goal lead, scoring a few minutes later to make it 4-1.
Roman Ahcan scored halfway through the third period and Ty Pelton-Byce brought the Badgers within one at 12:02.
Penn State took advantage of an open net and regained their two-goal lead before Cole Caufield added a goal in the final minute of the game.
Cameron Rowe made 13 saves in net for the Badgers, while Robbie Beydoun, who entered the game in the first period, ended the night with 21 saves.
Men’s Olympic Football Tournament kicks off in exactly six months
We talk to Sylvain Ripoll, coach of France’s Espoirs (U-21) team
“I’m part of a generation that dreamed of going to the Olympics”
This Friday 22 January marks six months to the day before the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament kicks off in Tokyo. The tournament will see France back on the Olympic stage 25 years after reaching the quarter-finals at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
So what has caused such a prolonged absence from the Olympics? “I can’t give you an exact answer, since I wasn’t there,” says Sylvain Ripoll, coach of the France Espoirs (U-21) team since 2017. “Qualification for such a prestigious competition is always on a national federation’s wish-list, but for some reason we’ve been unsuccessful in recent times. In any case, we’re delighted to be back with the French team in a major tournament like the Olympics,” said the 49-year-old strategist.
“I’m part of a generation that dreamed of the Olympics – just talking about it always makes our eyes light up,” says the man who was not yet 13 when Les Bleus won gold at Los Angeles 1984. “And I think it’s the same with my players,” he adds. “It generates so many memories and great moments that just being part of it is bound to be an honour.”
For now, though, it is still too early to be focusing on Tokyo, with tournaments looming before then both for the U-21s and senior team. “We have the EURO (11 June-11 July) taking place shortly before the Olympic Tournament (22 July-7 August), so one event will influence the other. Before that, there’s the European U-21 Championship, which we’ve qualified for, starting in March in Hungary and ending in June. So, the best thing we can do is to deal with those in the order they come.”
There is no point then in Ripoll looking too far ahead or contemplating which three players over the age of 23 he might include in his squad for Japan, as permitted under the rules of men’s tournament. “Logically, the priority will always be the France senior team,” says the Rennes native, who was nevertheless amenable to remarks last year by Kylian Mbappe, who expressed his desire to take part in the Tokyo Olympics. “We can only rejoice that we have a player in France of the calibre of Mbappe who thinks this way.”
An insatiable talent scout, Ripoll carefully monitors a good 60 players, including 20 who play abroad. He works closely with France’s World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps, who is always looking for new blood to energise his squad. “Didier and I talk a lot about the Espoirs’ potential to establish themselves into the senior team. You need to be performing regularly at the highest level for some time to break into the senior side, whereas with the Espoirs, that process can happen much more quickly,” he explains.
“Didier and his staff keep a very close eye on the Espoirs and watch a lot of their matches. We talk a lot about the players’ mentality, commitment and potential,” adds Ripoll, who takes immense pride in seeing one of his young players called up. He also regularly talks with the selectors of the younger age-category teams to try to progress the most promising talents through the ranks.
If we add to the mix the exemption that allows the inclusion of the 1997 generation that was eligible for the postponed Olympics last summer, then there will be a particularly large group to choose from when deciding on the final squad for Tokyo.
For all that, Ripoll already has grounds to be satisfied with his current crop. “This is the second generation I’ve been in charge of since I arrived four years ago. Apart from being gifted, which has been the case for many years in France, given our enormous reservoir of talent, I find them to be very dependable and committed. For now, I feel my players are very focused on their goals, and I hope that remains the case,” says the coach, whose aim is not to assemble only a squad of big names for Tokyo.
“There are a lot of criteria that come into play when you put together a squad for a tournament like this. There are performances, of course, but the priority is to have the best possible squad, which doesn’t always mean you only take the best players. We have to assess how squad members complement each other and perform together.”
Boxing schedule for 2021: Canelo Alvarez vs. Avni Yildirim, Angelo Leo vs. Stephen Fulton on tap
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After a tumultuous 2020 that saw many major fights canceled or postponed, boxing is ready to head into 2021. As many champions and pound-for-pound elites hung on the sidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic, boxing missed out on some big-time fights. However, as the year went out, fighters slowly started to trickle back into the ring, albeit not against the competition we would like to see.
But with guys like Anthony Joshua, Terence Crawford, Errol Spence, Canelo Alvarez and GGG all getting in some tune-up fights, things are looking bright for 2021. And things got rolling with a strong start from Ryan Garcia, who rallied from an early knockdown to stop Luke Campbell and claim the interim WBC lightweight title. Garcia, along with Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney are setting up the prospects of some tasty matchups over the next 12 months in the 135-pound division.
Now as we head into the early part of the year, there’s a plethora of big fights on the books already. IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant is set to take on Caleb Truax at the close of January in his first action in nearly a year. Plus, Canelo Alvarez will make his return to the ring rather quickly when he takes on mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Alvarez is hoping to fight three times this year and could be on a path to facing Plant down the road now that he’s a promotional free agent.
Below is a running list of boxing main events for the 2021 year.
Note: This will be updated constantly with changes and additions.
