Cricket

Debutant Shoaib Bashir, fulfilling his dream, made an impact early on by dismissing the Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, for 14 runs. It was a moment of significance for Bashir, securing his maiden Test wicket with a skillful delivery that outfoxed the experienced batsman.

Typically, a hamstring injury takes around four weeks to heal, which could potentially rule Jadeja out of the entire series. The final Test is scheduled to be held in Dharamsala from March 7-11. In the first Test, despite the injury, Jadeja delivered impressive performances with the ball and contributed significantly with the bat.

On the other side, England introduced Shoaib Bashir, who received his maiden Test cap, in place of the injured Jack Leach. The experienced pacer James Anderson replaced Mark Wood in the playing eleven.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially confirmed Jadeja's absence from the second Test. India, currently trailing 0-1 in the five-match series, is grappling with potential absences of key players, including Virat Kohli, K.L Rahul, and Mohammed Shami.

While the cricketer is reported to be out of danger, he experienced oral irritation and swelling on his lips after drinking the unknown liquid.

Batting first, India posted a total of 295/8 in 50 overs, with Musheer Khan leading the way. New Zealand faced a challenging target of 296 runs, but their innings derailed against the Indian bowling attack. Saumy Pandey's impressive spell restricted New Zealand to just 81 runs in 28.1 overs, securing a comprehensive victory for India.

In the pursuit of 231 for victory in the fourth innings, India was dismissed for 202 in the first Test in Hyderabad, with England's Tom Hartley (7/62) playing a pivotal role in causing the batting collapse. This rare home defeat pushed Rohit Sharma's team down to the fifth spot in the latest WTC rankings, which is currently led by Australia with 55 percentage points. India now holds 43.33 percentage points.

To bolster the squad, the men's selection committee has added Sarfaraz Khan, a right-handed batter, left-arm spinner Sourabh Kumar, and off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar for the Visakhapatnam Test.

Despite concerns about his toe injury, Shamar Joseph led the West Indies bowling attack. On the fourth day, Australia resumed at 60/2, and Shamar broke the crucial partnership between Cameron Green and Steve Smith, dismissing Green just short of a half-century.

Employing the sweep effectively, Pope aggressively dismantled the Indian spinners, amassing 21 boundaries during his resilient 278-ball stay at the crease. He forged pivotal partnerships of 112, 64, and 80 with Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, and Tom Hartley, respectively.