India beat SA in shortest ever test, draws series

Capetown, Jan. 5: India beat South Africa by seven wickets in the shortest test match in cricket history on Thursday.

India crossed the finish line 12 overs after lunch on day two. Chasing 79, it scored 80-3.

Only 642 legitimate deliveries were bowled across four-plus sessions. The previous shortest test — 656 balls— was in 1932 at Melbourne between Australia and South Africa.

Jasprit Bumrah’s 6-61 helped to negate Aiden Markram’s brilliant 106 to bowl out South Africa out for 176 runs in its second innings by lunch. That gave India a chase of 79, though tricky on a pitch of variable bounce.

Opener Yashaswi Jaiswal scored a quickfire 28 off 23 balls, with six boundaries. He was caught at long leg off Nandre Burger. Rohit Sharma survived two dropped catches, and was unbeaten in the end with 17 not out.

Kagiso Rabada bowled Shubman Gill for 10, and finished the short series with 11 wickets.

Marco Jansen nicked off Virat Kohli for 12 runs when India was four runs from victory. India became the first team from Asia to win in Cape Town and at Newlands. Overall, it was India’s fifth win on South African soil.

Warner out for 34 

Pakistan captured the key wickets of Australia openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja before rain washed out the second day’s play in the third Test in Sydney on Thursday.

Marnus Labuschagne was on 23 and Steve Smith six in their team’s 116 for two before play was ended by bad light and rain before tea.

The hosts trailed by 197 runs on a day where Warner was denied a crack at a cherished century in his 112th and final Test match.

Warner was dismissed for 34 and looked annoyed as he left the Sydney Cricket Ground to a standing ovation from 

his home crowd.

The 37-year-old opener, known in cricket as ‘the Bull’, was beaten by the extra bounce and turn out of the rough by offspinner Agha Salman to edge off to a delighted Babar Azam at slip.

“I always love batting with Davey (Warner), and it’s nice to see him leave on a high,” said his long-time friend and opening partner Khawaja.

“He just got a ripper of a ball.

“It’s really good to watch that people are getting around him because I believe he deserves it. It’s nice to see people give him the accolades he deserves and going out on a high.”

Warner, who still has a potential second innings to bat in his last Test, has now scored 8,729 Test runs since his 2011 debut at an average of 44.53 

with 26 centuries.