Australia’s Steve Smith, center, watches a deliver from England’s Brydon Carse, left, on Day 2 of their Ashes cricket test match in Melbourne, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo)

The ICC on Monday rated the pitch used for the fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as unsatisfactory and handed the venue one demerit point. The decision followed match referee Jeff Crowe’s assessment that the pitch was “too much in favour of the bowlers”.England won the Test by four wickets, with the match finishing inside two days. Twenty wickets fell on the opening day of the Test.

“The pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the venue for the fourth Ashes Test, has been deemed ‘Unsatisfactory’ with the venue handed one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process,” the ICC said in a statement.Crowe explained the reasoning behind the rating in his report.“The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers. With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was ‘Unsatisfactory’ as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point,” he said.

What does it mean?

Under ICC rules, pitches are rated as very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory or unfit. If a venue accumulates six demerit points within a rolling five-year period, it faces a 12-month ban from hosting international matches.An unsatisfactory rating is the third level in the ICC’s four-tier system and applies to a pitch that “does not allow an even contest between bat and ball… by favouring the bowlers too much, with too many wicket-taking opportunities for either seam or spin”. The MCG had received a “very good” rating for the previous three Boxing Day Tests.The first Test of the series in Perth, which also ended in two days, received a “very good” rating despite Australia winning that match.The Melbourne pitch drew criticism during the Test, with England captain Ben Stokes saying it was not good for the game. Cricket Australia said it was bad for business.Across the match, 36 wickets fell in 142 overs, with no batter reaching fifty. England’s win reduced the series deficit to 3-1 with one Test remaining.The early finish is expected to impact Cricket Australia financially. A sell-out crowd of more than 90,000 was expected on day three, and the lack of play is likely to lead to refunds and losses in merchandise, food and beverage sales.The final Test of the series will be played in Sydney, starting on January 4.

NEW DELHI: A thick blanket of fog enveloped the city on Tuesday morning, sharply reducing visibility and disrupting road traffic.The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 390 in the morning, placing it in the ‘very poor’ range, according to Central Pollution Control Board. According to the IMD, moderate to dense fog is expected to persist through Tuesday and Wednesday.

In a forecast bulletin, the department said very dense to dense fog conditions are likely to continue during night and morning hours over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and western Uttar Pradesh until 31 December, and over eastern Uttar Pradesh until 1 January, before gradually easing.Weather experts attributed the prolonged fog to a combination of calm winds, high humidity and clear skies. Mahesh Palawat, vice-chairman of private weather agency Skymet, said fog intensity had eased slightly but would continue for several days. “Moderate to dense fog will persist at least until January 1. Travel on highways will remain risky from late night until around 10am due to light winds, high humidity, low temperatures and clear skies,” he said.On Monday, the minimum temperature was recorded at 8.3°C, about two degrees above normal, while the maximum temperature reached 20.3°C. The IMD said minimum temperatures are likely to remain near normal over the next three days and may rise slightly from January 1. Daytime temperatures are expected to stay above normal, with light rain forecast on January 1.Air quality deteriorated further as the day progressed, slipping into the severe category by evening. The AQI touched 401 at 4pm, up from 390 the previous day. Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, Rohini and Anand Vihar were among the most polluted areas, recording AQI levels above 450.With foggy conditions set to continue, authorities expect air quality to remain in the very poor to severe range over the coming days, with January 1 likely to see another spell of severe pollution.

Varun Dhawan has lost his fur baby, Angel. Grieving the loss, he thanked Angle for being an amazing pet and also a good sister to their other fur friend, Joey. Varun took to his official social media handle and dropped a video compilation of some precious moments with Angel over the years.The ‘October’ actor also penned a heartfelt goodbye note saying, “Rip angel. Today heaven gained another angel. Think u for being a wonderful pup and an amazing sister to joey we will miss u. See u down the road.”Reacting to the unfortunate news, actress Mouni Roy commented, “Im so terribly sorry”.Mrunal Thakur added, “WHAT”.Varun has always been vocal about his love for his pets.During his recent appearance on the celebrity chat show, ‘Two Much With Kajol and Twinkle”‘ alongside Alia Bhatt he disclosed that he has the same love for his dog and daughter Lara.As Varun shared that he can do anything for his pet Joey, host Twinkle Khanna asked him, “What about Lara?”To this, Varun reacted by saying, “To be honest, and I am not just saying this because we are on camera to sound cool, I don’t differentiate between both of them. I can’t. It’s the first time I have had a puppy, so the bond I have with him is on another level. I don’t think I can have it with another living being.”Varun further shed light on the impact that the arrival of his pet Joey has had on him as a person.“I personally changed a lot when I got Joey, my dog, my puppy. When I got him, I changed,” he said.Learning this, a confused Twinkle asked, “One second, you didn’t change when you had a baby, but you changed for the puppy.”At this, Alia clarified, saying, “Joey came first!.”

MUMBAI: In a renewed push to contain fraud and improve customer safeguards, RBI has asked banks to clear the growing backlog in KYC updates and warned against the routine rejection of applications. Lapses in KYC, the central bank said, weaken defences against fraud and exclusion, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. Alongside fraud, RBI has flagged mis-selling as a persistent conduct risk and has said that it will come out with new guidelines.In a report, RBI said banks should “organise camps and launch intensive campaigns” to deal with delays in periodic KYC updates, with a focus on smaller branches. It also cautioned lenders against mechanical rejections, stressing that onboarding or KYC-updation requests should not be turned down without due consideration and that reasons for rejection must be properly recorded. The regulator noted that it had itself been involved in a nationwide re-KYC drive at the gram panchayat level between July and Oct 2025.

New age threats

The emphasis on KYC forms part of a broader attempt to curb fraud at a time when financial crime is becoming more sophisticated. The report warned that cyber and operational incidents pose a growing threat to financial stability. To counter this, RBI said it is working closely with other authorities, including the ministry of home affairs, to develop and operationalise measures aimed at curbing digital and cyber-enabled fraud while strengthening customer protection.Technology is central to this effort. Recent initiatives include MuleHunter.ai, a system designed to identify and flag mule accounts through system-wide learning, and a digital payments intelligence platform that uses AI to detect risky transactions and share intelligence across the system. Banks have also been advised to use the mobile number revocation list available on the telecommunications department’s digital intelligence platform to clean customer databases and prevent fraud carried out through voice calls and SMS. The regulator has asked lenders to tighten internal controls, ensure adequate grievance-redress officers at all levels and invest in digital financial literacy.The report said mis-selling of financial products by regulated entities has “significant consequences” for customers and for the financial system more broadly. In response, RBI plans to issue comprehensive instructions covering advertising, marketing and sales practices across different categories of regulated entities, with the explicit aim of preventing mis-selling.

Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan took part in the popular This or That challenge in the “who is the better batter” category. The right-handed batter ignored legendary batters like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, and Saeed Anwar, and instead picked out-of-favour Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad as his choice.

Sahibzada is currently playing for Dhaka Capitals in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The opener has scored 20 runs in two matches at an average of 10 and a strike rate of 100, including a golden duck. However, he will miss some part of the ongoing BPL season after being named in Pakistan’s T20I squad.

Watch: Sahibzada Farhan Ignores Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma to Pick Ahmed Shehzad

Sahibzada Farhan recently participated in a This or That challenge, where he was asked to choose between cricket’s all-time greats in a “winner stays on” format.

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Farhan paused for a few seconds when asked to pick between Saeed Anwar and Ahmed Shehzad. He chose Shehzad over Anwar and moved on to the next round. The opener then continued to pick Shehzad over Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma.

In the final round, the 34-year-old batter was asked to choose between Sachin Tendulkar and Shehzad. After a brief pause, Farhan named Shehzad the winner of the This or That challenge. However, he added that Sachin Tendulkar is his favourite cricketer.

Here is a video of the same on X (formerly known as Twitter):

No way he chose Ahmed Shehzad over Saeed Anwar and Sachin Tendulkar 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ChdDBC7zVT

— Maaz (@IsThatMaaz) December 29, 2025

Sahibzada Farhan Looks to Regain Form Ahead of Sri Lanka T20Is

Sahibzada Farhan caught attention earlier this year during the Asia Cup. He smashed several sixes against Jasprit Bumrah and was one of Pakistan’s most consistent batters in the tournament, even though Pakistan lost the final.

After the Asia Cup, Sahibzada Farhan continued his good form in the home T20I tri-series. He scored 191 runs in the series at an average of 47.75.

However, the start of the Bangladesh Premier League 2025-26 season has been difficult for him. Farhan has scored only 20 runs in two innings so far. In the first match, he made 20 runs off 19 balls, and in the next game, he was dismissed for a golden duck.

With Pakistan preparing for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, Farhan will be eager to find form again in the remaining BPL matches and regain his confidence before international duties.

Ahmed Shehzad Out of National Setup Since 2019

Ahmed Shehzad has been out of the national setup since 2019, and a return now appears unlikely. The right-handed batter has featured in 13 Tests, 81 ODIs, and 59 T20Is for the Pakistan national team.

Shehzad has scored 982 runs in Tests at an average of 40.91, including three centuries and four half-centuries. He has amassed 2,605 runs in ODIs at an average of 32.56, while he made 1,471 runs in T20Is at an average of 25.80. He has been out of favour for the past five years due to inconsistency.

Shehzad last appeared in the Pakistan Super League in 2020 for Quetta Gladiators. He was part of their title-winning squad in 2019. However, he scored just 61 runs in seven innings during the 2020 season, further dimming his chances of a comeback at the top level.

Also read: PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi sides with India, endorses no-handshake policy

Mumbai: Congress announced its first list of 87 candidates for the 150 BMC seats it plans to contest, amid fears of rebellion after denial of tickets. The list includes several former corporators and their kin, Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh’s son, sister, and nephew; and Rajya Sabha member Chandrakant Handore’s daughter. Mumbai Congress spokesperson Sureshchandra Rajhans will contest from the Magathane area.Many former corporators managed to get the seats they demanded for their kin or spouse, but a few of them were denied tickets, along with other party loyalists, which created unrest.At Bandra West, ex-corporator Asif Zakaria was unable to contest as his seat was reserved for women, and he refused to field a female family member as they were not active in politics. Instead, he suggested the name of a long-time party worker, but Congress was reluctant. The party did not announce a candidate until late on Monday.The party also kept some seats on hold, as it expects rebellion in ruling parties and MVA alliance partners and expects their disgruntled leaders to join Congress seeking tickets.Congress, which is part of the MVA, has decided to go solo for the BMC polls and formed an alliance with smaller parties, including Prakash Ambedkar-led VBA, which has been allocated 62 seats, Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and CPI.AICC secretary Sachin Sawant and party leaders continued discussions with the smaller parties until late Monday, even as they kept a close watch on the activities in BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.A Congress leader said, “The party is no longer willing to remain a passive participant in broader coalitions (MVA). Instead, it will try to cover the possible political space by reshaping its role and alliance partners.”

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Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) distributed AB forms to 102 candidates for the BMC polls late on Sunday till Monday 3am. The party neither declared its formal seat-sharing formula with MNS nor its candidate list.Aspirants were called to Matoshree, the Thackerays’ residence in Bandra (East), late on Sunday where party president Uddhav Thackeray handed out the forms. Among the candidates who were directed to file their nominations on Monday were Roshni Gaikwad (Ward No. 3), Ankit Prabhu (Ward No. 54), Meghana Mane (Ward No. 60), Zeeshan Changez Multani (Ward No. 62), Prasad Ayre (Ward No. 65), Suprada Fatarphekar (Ward No. 150) and Ramakant Rahate (Ward No. 208). Mane said, “I will fight with all my might and win. The Sena (UBT) and MNS alliance will win the BMC polls.“

Former mayor Kishori Pednekar got an AB form from Ward No. 199 and former corporator Vishakha Raut from Ward No. 191. “Today, at Matoshree, I received the party’s official ‘AB Form’ from the hands of party chief Uddhav Thackeray. This strength is given by Matoshree and your support. Now, victory is certain,” said Vishakha Raut in a post on X.Till Monday evening, Sena (UBT) did not give AB forms in Worli, which is the constituency of party MLA Aaditya Thackeray. However, Worli shakha pramukh Suryakant Koli resigned after Hemangi Worlikar was said to be given a ticket from Ward No. 193.Sources claimed that there was a face-off between party functionaries Anil Parab and Varun Sardesai over ticket distribution, especially in Bandra (W) from where the latter is a sitting MLA. Parab reportedly walked out of a meeting from Matoshree. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, however, denied that there was any such spat. Sardesai said: “If there is any unhappiness we will talk to people and resolve those differences. These are rumours and there is no substance in the reports of any spat between us. Parab is taking decisions based on responsibilities assigned to him. There is no substance in the reports.”Aspirants Anjali and Chetan Suryawanshi staged a sit-in protest outside Matoshree demanding a ticket for Anjali Suryawanshi. Several also raised slogans in protest after they didn’t get a ticket.