Abhishek's record surge, Smith's catching landmark, and Litton's stand-out ton

Abhishek's record, India's ruthless defence turn Indore series

Abhishek Sharma became the fastest batter to 2,000 runs in men's T20I cricket by balls faced, reaching the milestone in 1,024 deliveries as he overtook Suryakumar Yadav's previous mark of 1,164 balls, with Aaron Finch now third at 1,283. He marked the record with a 69 off 30 that underpinned India's 223 in Indore and helped secure a 14-run victory over West Indies that put India 2-1 ahead in the five-match T20I series.

India's bowlers then delivered on a clear plan to stay "ruthless" after being taken for 250 in the previous game. Abhishek said the huddles focused on not letting West Indies "off the hook" or giving them "even a single chance" to come back, mindful that "whichever batter walks in" could change the game even from 50 for 5 on these pitches. That urgency was justified when Shamar Springer's unbeaten 35 off 11 suddenly made 223 look vulnerable, but Arshdeep Singh's three wickets, including Shai Hope for 5 after his heavy scoring earlier in the series, and support from Naman Dhir and Prince Yadav meant India finally closed out a chase in this series.

Prince Yadav's short burst at the end of India's innings added crucial separation. Coming in for the final over, he scored 13 off 6 balls with three fours off Shamar Joseph to lift India to 223 for 5, then conceded only 20 in two death overs when West Indies needed more than 15 per over. After the match he revealed he had used Abhishek's bat for the cameo, having been told "don't embarrass the bat," while Abhishek highlighted Prince's power-hitting roots in Delhi's one-on-one "single phatti" games and suggested more of his batting is still to come.

Litton's hundred and record behind the stumps put Bangladesh in control

Bangladesh moved to the brink of victory in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, declaring their second innings at 372 for 7 after Litton Das's 102 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz's 52 not out in a 149-run seventh-wicket stand set a target of 479. Litton's hundred, his seventh in Tests, came after Bangladesh had already earned a 106-run first-innings lead, and Afghanistan closed day four at 132 for 3 with Sediqullah Atal and Hashmatullah Shahidi unbeaten.

With the ball, Ebadot Hossain and Hasan Mahmud shared the wickets on the fourth evening as Afghanistan tried to resist on a wearing pitch. Rahmat Shah followed his first-innings century with a fighting 51 in the chase before edging Hossain to Litton, who claimed his eighth dismissal of the match to set a new Bangladesh record for a wicketkeeper after surpassing Khaled Mashud's previous mark of seven.

Smith's four catches and Lyon's praise as Australia seize Durban advantage

Steve Smith produced a slip-catching exhibition in Durban, taking four grabs in South Africa's first innings to move past Joe Root and set a new all-time record for Test catches by a non-wicketkeeper. Smith's haul, which lifted him to 223 catches ahead of Root on 220, came in a South African total of 284 that gave Australia a 106-run first-innings lead after their 390.

Standing at slip to Nathan Lyon with South Africa repeatedly attempting the reverse sweep, Smith anticipated the shot to remove captain Temba Bavuma in front of his chest, then later Kyle Verreynne with a one-handed take that even Ashwell Prince picked out for its anticipation. Between those dismissals he dived in front of first slip to grab David Bedingham off Pat Cummins and finished the innings by holding Anrich Nortje off Beau Webster, leading Lyon to call him "an absolute freak" and to hail the way he premeditates for such chances. Australia pressed their advantage to 33 without loss by stumps, extending the lead and leaving South Africa under pressure.

Pant ruled out, Kushagra steps in for India A's New Zealand tour

Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the first two unofficial Tests on India A's red-ball tour of New Zealand after suffering a left-side strain while captaining Rest of India in the Irani Cup. The BCCI said he remains under the medical team's care and is "recovering well," with a decision on his availability for the third game to be taken later.

Kumar Kushagra has been added to the India A squad as wicketkeeper-batter cover for those opening matches, joining captain Dhruv Jurel, who also keeps. India A will play three multi-day games against New Zealand A: from October 24 to 27 in Lincoln, October 31 to November 3 in Christchurch, and November 7 to 10 back in Lincoln, with senior names including Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar providing experience around the younger group.

Kaif flags bowling as India's 2027 World Cup priority

Mohammad Kaif believes India's focus for the next ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia must be on assembling a strong bowling unit for what he expects will be bat-friendly pitches. He said Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should be fine but argued that India must sort out their bowling and fielding, particularly identifying who backs up Jasprit Bumrah.

Pointing to Bhuvneshwar Kumar's recall as a sign that selectors are again looking at experience, Kaif argued that someone like Mohammed Shami, with 55 wickets across three World Cups and a major impact in 2023, is precisely the type of skilful, seasoned seamer India will need on flat southern African surfaces. He framed Shami as an "ICC event bowler" whose track record fits the demands of the tournament.

Tara Norris trade gives Mumbai Indians extra WPL flexibility

Mumbai Indians completed their first-ever Women's Premier League trade by bringing in USA left-arm quick Tara Norris from UP Warriorz at her existing 10 lakh rupee fee, filling all of their overseas slots ahead of the October 28 mini auction. Norris was the first Associate-nation player picked at a WPL auction and became the league's first bowler to take a five-wicket haul, finishing that opening season with seven wickets in five innings for Delhi Capitals.

Her Associate status also matters under WPL regulations: teams can field up to five overseas players in their XI if one is from an Associate nation, meaning Mumbai can now use that option with Norris in 2027.

BCCI shuts down talk of shifting India-Sri Lanka ODI opener

The BCCI has firmly denied reports that the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka will be moved from Delhi to Ahmedabad. Secretary Devajit Saikia issued an official statement saying there has been "no such decision" to relocate the December 13 fixture from the Arun Jaitley Stadium and described suggestions of a shift as inaccurate.

Citing the existing schedule, Saikia underlined that Delhi is still listed to host the opener on December 13, with Ahmedabad due to stage the third ODI on December 19, and reminded that bilateral matches are allotted under a standard policy. He urged media outlets to rely on official BCCI communications for any updates to the calendar, using the episode to reinforce how venue decisions are made.