India’s Shreyas Iyer bats during the one day international cricket match between Australia and India in Adelaide, Australia, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

In a major setback for India, ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer’s return to competitive cricket has been delayed after the batter failed to receive the required clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE). As per the original plan, Iyer was expected to check out of the facility on December 30 but will now be spending at least a week more to get the Return to Play (RTP). While he continues to bat without any discomfort, the rapid weight loss due to the abdominal injury has pushed his strength below the optimum levels and a lot of attention will be paid on that in the coming week.Iyer has lost around 6 kgs due to the injury and while he has regained some of it, the drop in muscle mass has pushed his strength below optimum levels.“There is no problem with his batting but he lost around six kgs after the injury in Australia. While he has regained some weight, there has been a drop in muscle mass which has further affected his optimum strength levels. The medical team will not be taking any chances because he is a very important player in the ODI set up and his complete recovery is of utmost importance right now. The selectors and management will be conveyed about his present situation before they meet to pick team for New Zealand ODIs,” a BCCI official tells TimesofIndia.com.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!As TimesofIndia.com had earlier reported, the right-hander was set to feature in the games on January 3 and 6 before the start of three-match ODI series in Vadodara on January 11 but there will be a late alteration as the right-hander is now expected to get the necessary clearances only by January 9 – two days before the New Zealand series starts and three days before knockouts of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. “There were a lot of positive developments as he batted in Mumbai, went to CoE and was pushing himself to feature in the New Zealand ODIs. There were indications of him playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches on January 3 and 6 too but we have now been told that he needs more time and will only be available from the knockout stages of the tournament,” a MCA official tracking developments tells TimesofIndia.com.

Iyer had already resumed training and regular gym work, and even had a hit in the nets a day before heading to the CoE on December 25. He spent six days undergoing numerous fielding, batting and fitness drills at the facility, and will continue to be there for more fitness work.The Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts are scheduled from January 12 – a day after India play the first ODI vs New Zealand – and Iyer is now unlikely to make the cut for the last ODI bilateral before focus shifts to the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in the months of February and March.

Abhigyan Kundu (ACC Photo)

MUMBAI: He is yet to play a game for the Mumbai senior team, but 17-year-old Navi Mumbai boy Abhigyan Kundu has already made heads turn with his exploits for the India Under-19 team. In May, Kundu was named vice-captain of India’s Under-19 team for the tour of England, with Mumbai opener Ayush Mhatre being the captain of the side.

During the tour, the talented young keeper-bat scored a 34-ball 45 not out to help India beat England by six wickets in the first Youth ODI. He then stroked a 95-ball 90 in the first Youth Test against England at Beckenham and 65 off just 46 balls in the second Test at Chelmsford to help India wrest a fighting draw. In September, Kundu helped India blank Australia 3-0 in the Youth ODI series at Brisbane, scoring 158 runs in two matches at an average of 158.00 and a strike rate of 114.49, with scores of 87 not out off 74 balls and 71 off 64 balls. His tally would have been more, but he was rested for the third and final match of the series. In November, Kundu was named ‘Player of the Series’ after scoring two centuries in the Under-19 Challengers Trophy in Lucknow. Those who have seen Kundu bat have noticed shades of former India and Mumbai batting stalwart Vinod Kambli in his batting style. Like Kambli, who was a stylish left-hander and played 17 Tests and 104 ODIs for India, Kundu too is a southpaw. During the Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai recently, Kundu smashed a record-breaking double century (209 not out off 125 balls, including nine sixes and 17 fours) against Malaysia. The talented teenager thus became the first Indian and only the second player in the world to score a double century in Youth ODIs. However, Kundu would have liked to do better in the other games in the tournament—he made scores of 32 not out, 22 and 13 in the final against Pakistan. Beaming with pride after his son shot into the limelight with that double hundred, Abhigyan’s father Abhishek Kundu told TOI on Tuesday: “We were very happy. It was a great moment for all of us. We were awaiting such a performance from him for a long time. He has scored 125 centuries so far, which includes tons in the Harris Shield, Giles Shield, MCA and BCCI tournaments. He scored a double century in the Giles and Harris Shield and for the Mumbai Under-16 team against Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Merchant Trophy.” The teenaged wicketkeeper-batter will be under the spotlight during the upcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup, which will be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia. After touring South Africa to play three one-day matches, India will launch their campaign in the Under-19 World Cup on January 15 against the USA at Harare. “It’s the proudest moment of our family. We all are very happy that he’s playing for the country (at the India Under-19 level). It’s definitely a big moment for him because he has trained hard and now he’s getting a chance to represent his country at Under-19 level and fulfill his dream,” Abhishek said. Kundu is preparing for the tournament by following a strict schedule provided to him by the BCCI, which he has to adhere to on and off the field. Abhishek revealed that Abhigyan began his cricketing journey at an age of five, adding, “He used to play well downstairs. We got him enrolled for professional coaching under Chetan Jadhav, whose coaching centre is near our house in Vashi, when he was just five. Jadhav told us that he has potential and we needed to put in more effort for him. We got him some concessions from the school (St. Mary’s School in Koparkhairane, Navi Mumbai) regarding his attendance, so that he could spend more time coaching under Jadhav.” Abhigyan’s intense practice routine often involved facing as many as 5,000 balls a day. With an eye on playing competitive cricket at the junior level, Abhigyan shifted to Anjuman Islam School, which has a traditionally strong cricket team. “The reason we moved to Anjuman Islam was because that school actively participates in major inter-school tournaments in Mumbai. Both his schools played a supportive role in his cricketing journey,” Abhishek said. “We don’t have a cricketing background. I am an engineer and work for TCS, so it was a slightly tough decision for us to allow him to pursue a professional sporting career. However, as he picked up the game and started to show dedication and commitment, practising without fail every day, we were confident that Abhigyan could make a career in cricket,” Abhishek said. Growing up, Abhigyan, inspired by his childhood coach Chetan Jadhav, who too was a wicketkeeper, took a liking for the wicketkeeping gloves. Like many young Indian cricketers, he drew inspiration from the legends of the game. “He has watched a lot of MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. He met Tendulkar briefly during a coaching session in Navi Mumbai,” concluded father Abhishek.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. relish their big moment with the trophy (Pic credit: BCCI)

In a year that was awash with sporting achievement, if there was one that captured resilience, redemption and resolve in equal measure, look no further than the Indian women’s cricket team’s ICC World Cup triumph.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Harmanpreet Kaur‘s girls did not begin the year as favourites, nor did they enter the World Cup at home with the aura of inevitability that often surrounds champions like Australia.A sputtering start — three consecutive defeats in the league stage, against biggies South Africa, Australia and England — only reinforced old doubts about consistency, composure and whether this group really had it in them to finally cross the line.

Yet, by the time Harmanpreet lifted the trophy in Navi Mumbai on Nov 2, those doubts felt like relics from another time. And in one fell swoop, it changed the narrative that has surrounded Indian women’s cricket for the past so many years — that of the nearly women who always tend to stumble at the last. What a story it was!The league phase, to make the eventual title win sweeter, exposed India at their most vulnerable.Dropped catches, missed stumpings, sloppy overthrows and erratic fielding threatened to derail the campaign early. At the top of the order, stability was fleeting.But beneath the visible flaws lay a quieter, sturdier undercurrent — a belief that this episode unfolding before a fervently expectant home crowd was still theirs to shape.

The turnaround started on Oct 23 at the DY Patil Stadium. Against New Zealand, with elimination looming, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana stitched together a monumental 212-run opening stand. Rawal’s 122 and Mandhana’s 109 powered India to a 53-run win but more importantly, reignited a campaign that had seemed on the brink. Twelve days later, at the same venue, Harmanpreet would lift the World Cup.From that point, India played with freedom and ferocity, a newly-forged belief. Contributions flowed from across the XI and beyond. The fielding unit, once hesitant, transformed into a side willing to dive, chase and scrap. Even adversity, in the form of Pratika Rawal’s injury, became an opportunity. Shafali Verma, short on confidence and coming off a stint on the sidelines, returned to the squad.Her semifinal numbers against Australia were a poor 10, but her presence reflected a team backing belief over fear, which yielded results in the final in the form of a defining 87 and two crucial wickets from the 21-year-old.

But the defining chapter of the year would come in the semifinal against Australia.Jemimah Rodrigues, who shuffled in and out of the setup over the past three years, delivered a career-defining unbeaten 127. Calm under pressure, fluent yet unhurried, she anchored India through their toughest examination, as Australia — the benchmark in women’s cricket — were finally subdued.If the batters set the tone, the bowlers ensured India never lost control. Spinner Deepti Sharma’s experience anchored the attack while the emergence of Sree Charani added freshness and bite. Medium-pacer Renuka Singh’s discipline with the new ball applied early pressure. Together, they transformed India into a side capable of defending totals and dictating terms.

The five-wicket semifinal win over Australia instilled conviction in a group that was already discovering its strength. In the final, India were assured and authoritative, outplaying South Africa to clinch the title by 52 runs — a performance befitting of champions.In a year that featured several standout Indian sporting moments, the women’s World Cup triumph stood apart not merely for the trophy but for what it represented.The title arrived nearly 47 years after India played their first One-Day International — against England at the Eden Gardens on Jan 1, 1978 — which also marked their maiden World Cup appearance. It crowned a journey that began long before global tournaments and prime-time broadcasts.

Indian women’s cricket has long been a story of perseverance. Played as early as 1913, the sport survived decades of neglect, limited funding, years without international matches and social resistance, with players often mocked for embracing a gentleman’s game. What carried them through was collective conviction — that their moment would come.That moment has been shaped by structural change: the BCCI merger, improved infrastructure, financial security, increased international exposure and the advent of the Women’s Premier League.Yet even in 2025, comparisons with the men’s game persist, often overshadowing achievement.On that winter night in Navi Mumbai, such comparisons felt unnecessary.Coming after heartbreak in the 2005 and 2017 World Cup finals, this time India’s women did more than win a World Cup. They authored the defining Indian sporting story of 2025 — one of belief rewarded, patience vindicated and a long, arduous journey finally illuminated. Something tells us, there’s more to come.

THE OTHER CONTENDERS

— By Sabi HussainSheetal Devi‘s journey from a remote village to a global sporting icon — overcoming congenital phocomelia — makes her a powerful symbol of courage and determination. Calling her the ‘wonder woman’ of Indian archery isn’t an exaggeration. The country’s youngest Paralympic medallist and a World and Asian Para Games champion, she has defied conventional logic — and the usual science of archery — by mastering a unique technique that uses her legs, shoulder and jaw to shoot from a seated position with world-class precision. Born without arms due to the rare condition, the 18-year-old from Loidhar village in Jammu’s Kishtwar district trailblazed her way to glory in 2025 with breathtaking, record-breaking highs.Sheetal became the first female armless world champion in paraarchery by winning gold in the women’s compound open event at the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, defeating Paralympic champion Oznur Cure Girdi of Turkiye in Sept. She also secured a team silver and a mixed team bronze at the same competition.Later, she became the first Indian para-athlete selected for an able-bodied international team, qualifying for the Asia Cup Stage 3 in Jeddah after finishing third in national trials against able-bodied archers. She has now set her sights on winning medals at events for able-bodied athletes next year.

— By Amit KarmarkarYoung Divya Deshmukh made a telling statement on the board. The Nagpur girl, now 20, managed to achieve a remarkable first in Indian chess when she won the knockout Women’s World Cup in Georgia in July. Though the World Cup is Fide’s third-ranked women’s event, after the World Championship and Candidates, winning the tournament against an elite field — and clinching the GM title with it — makes Divya a contender for India’s Sportsperson of the Year.A hint of Divya’s real prowess showed in 2024 — not through the individual and team golds in the Women’s Olympiad, or the Asian women’s titles earlier, but in the Abu Dhabi meet. She drew with Yagiz Kaan and M Pranesh and defeated L Srihari in an open field. As she touched the Elo 2500 mark for the first time during that phase, a breakthrough in 2025 felt inevitable. Though Divya had a modest series in the FIDE Women’s GP, her preparation, daring approach and modern perspective kept her in a good space.Her World Cup scalps included the Chinese Zhu Jiner, Tan Zhongyi and Indians D Harika and K Humpy, three of them via faster tiebreaks. With that, she clinched a Women’s Candidates spot — a stepping stone to dethroning Ju Wenjun. Divya also rubbed shoulders with men over 11 classical rounds of the Fide Grand Swiss.

— By Sabi HussainFor a full year after the Paris Olympic heartbreak, wrestler Antim Panghal endured a range of emotions. She suffered a disappointing exit in the opening bout of the women’s 53kg category in Paris and was later deported from the French capital for trying to get her sister Nisha entry into the athletes’ village using her accreditation card. The 21-year-old two-time junior world champion suffered a mental breakdown and seriously contemplated quitting the sport as she confined herself to her home in Bhagana village in Haryana’s Hisar district and stopped all social interactions.“It was a tough period. I wasn’t quite myself. That one bout in Paris changed everything for me,” she had told this newspaper.With encouragement from her parents and friends, Antim chose to bury the Paris chapter once and for all. She returned to training under coach Siyanand Dahiya and won bronze at the Asian Championships in March besides securing gold at the Ulaanbaatar Ranking Series meet and the Polyák Imre and Varga János Memorial.Her big moment arrived in Sept this year when she won her second consecutive bronze at the World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb. “My next goal is to secure gold at the Asian Games in 2026. My preparations have already started,” she said.

India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur with teammates. (PTI Photo)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India’s women swept Sri Lanka 4–0 with the authority of a team several rungs above their opponents. Runs flowed freely, wickets fell on demand, and results were rarely in doubt. Yet, amid the boundary avalanches and wicket flurries, a familiar gremlin kept tugging at the hem of a dominant campaign: The fielding.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Head coach Amol Muzumdar will look at this series where India bossed the big moments but fumbled the basics.

With little at stake in terms of results, India will head into the final match of the series in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday with plenty to fine-tune before bigger challenges loom. The errors on the field were not half-chances or acrobatic near-misses. They were the kind that make coaches wince. In one telling moment in the 4th T20, a mistimed swing ballooned off the stumps and floated gently towards long-on. Smriti Mandhana was perfectly placed. The catch was regulation. And yet, it went down.If that felt like an aberration, Deepti Sharma’s night confirmed it wasn’t. A shin-high full toss on off stump lacked timing, and was hit straight to her at long-on. Deepti went reverse-cupped, and spilled it. Worse still, the ball trickled away for four. What should have been a dot, or a wicket-ending moment, became another footnote of carelessness.

This wasn’t an isolated incident. India dropped five catches in the series opener in Visakhapatnam alone, three of them straightforward. Across the series, the pattern repeated: clean dominance punctured by sloppy fielding.And yet, India’s batting depth and bowling discipline ensured the missed chances did not alter the outcomes. That, perhaps, is the most worrying part. When errors don’t hurt, urgency tends to fade.Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh was quick to offer perspective. “We had an off day in the field. It’s understandable, but everyone in this team is working really hard on their fielding drills. I won’t say anything about the fielding for this one game,” she said after the 4th T20.One game doesn’t define a team. But a series leaves markers.This Indian side is evolving into a formidable unit. The batting is fearless, the bowling increasingly clinical. Which makes the fielding stand out even more sharply. At the highest level, championships are not won only by sixes and spells; they are secured by catches and sharp ground work.India may have cruised past Sri Lanka in this series, but stronger opponents will not be as forgiving. With the T20 World Cup barely six months away, this is an area India would dearly like to rectify.

Arjun Erigaisi (Image credit: X)

NAGPUR: Hope. Heartbreak. Repeat. That has long defined Arjun Erigaisi’s relationship with world championships. For eight years, the script barely changed: promise gave way to disappointment and near-misses piled up into a quiet burden. Until Sunday night, when Arjun finally caught a break, secured a podium finish in the Open section of the World Rapid Championship and became only the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to do so.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In 2017 — the year Anand won his last world rapid title — Arjun finished runner-up in the U-14 World Youth Championship. Since then, a world-championship podium had remained a so-near-yet-so-far affair.

The wonder boy from Warangal has collected records across a 14-year journey: titles in international rated events, an Olympiad gold and a rise to India’s No. 1 in ratings. Despite having the strength of a Super GM, luck often played hide-andseek with him — in world titles as well as Candidates qualification. In Oct last year, Arjun became the 16th player in history to cross the 2800 mark in live ratings, only the second Indian to do so after Anand.In Doha, Arjun began brightly at the World Rapid Championship, sharing the lead with world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. In the last round on Day One, he held Carlsen — who had two extra pawns — to a draw in a marathon 101-move game to stay in touch with the lead.

Day Two brought his first defeat, followed by a couple of draws against lower-ranked opponents. Still, Arjun stayed joint 2nd. On the final day, just when was going great guns, he was stunned by 14-year-old and 156th-ranked Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and nearly slipped out of medal contention. He kept fighting, however, and won the last two rounds.As it turned out, Carlsen took a clear one-point lead and was just a draw away from regaining the title. The joint second-placed players drew and Arjun sneaked onto the podium — by half a point on tie-breaks. In the previous three World Rapid C’ships, he had missed bronze by the same margin.Overshadowed by Gukesh, Pragg’s world titlesIn 2018, Arjun became a GM as a 14-year-old, within four months. Post-pandemic, from 2021 onwards, he played nonstop and registered his first Elo surge, climbing 230 places from 359th to 129th in the world. By 2022, he made a jump from 134th to 21st, placing himself firmly among the new generation of Indian stars alongside Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa.Between Nov 2023 and July 2024, Arjun outpaced the global elite to add 66 points for a rating of 2778, rising from 30th to fourth in the world. Yet, despite his consistency, he was often overshadowed by world champion Gukesh and Pragg, a twice Candidates winner and World Cup finalist. When he was eliminated in the Goa World Cup, Arjun was heartbroken. But he came back stronger in Doha.

NEW DELHI: Indian selectors sent out a blunt message ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup in February, dropping Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill from the squad after a prolonged slump in the shortest format. The call, announced on December 20, underlined India’s uncompromising approach as they look to defend the title at home.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Gill, 26, has scored only 291 runs in his last 15 T20 matches at an average of 24.25, numbers that ultimately worked against him despite his stature across formats. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar was direct in his assessment. “Shubman Gill is short of runs at the moment,” he said while addressing the media in Mumbai.

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, however, was quick to put the omission in perspective, stressing that it should not be read as a demotion. “No, it’s not a signal to Gill, you know, that he wasn’t really taking his place as granted. But the competition is so much and they’ve got, you know, too many players at the present scenario who can fill the slot and can do well for the team,” Harbhajan said.He added that Gill’s journey with the national side was far from over. “And this is not the end of the road for Gill. He’s a great, great player with beautiful technique. I think he will make a brilliant comeback. And not to forget, he’s still a Test captain for India.”In contrast to Gill’s exclusion, Suryakumar Yadav was retained as captain despite his own struggles with form. A T20 specialist, Suryakumar has managed just 244 runs in his last 22 innings without a single fifty. Agarkar backed him strongly, saying, “We have full faith in our captain to deliver during the World Cup.” Suryakumar himself admitted his “rough patch” had lasted too long but sounded confident about turning it around.Harbhajan echoed the selectors’ logic, pointing to team balance over individual profiles. “I was listening to Ajit [Agarkar] and Surya [Suryakumar Yadav], they were looking at the combination of the team, which will be best in the format. So I think giving that, those conditions and combinations, that respect. They chose this team. So Gill is a class player, there’s no doubt about it, and he’ll make a great comeback.”Axar Patel was named vice-captain, while Ishan Kishan earned a recall on the back of strong domestic form. India will fine-tune preparations during a five-match home T20I series against New Zealand from January 21, their final assignment before the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka and feature 20 teams.

India squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Indian women cricket team’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said focusing on the World Cup win will not help the team prepare for the next one and added that the side still has areas to work on ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled next year.Mandhana returned to form in the fourth T20I against Sri Lanka in Trivandrum on Sunday after low scores in the first three matches. She scored 80 off 48 balls and also crossed 10,000 international runs during the knock. She became the fastest female cricketer to reach the mark and only the fourth overall after Charlotte Edwards, Mithali Raj and Suzie Bates.

“In cricket, you have to start from zero. The scoreboard is always zero for zero. It’s never what you’ve done in the last match or previous series as well. Internal expectations for me in all three formats are very different. Of course, T20 is slightly in a way where you can’t be extremely hard on yourself after getting out because you’re playing at a pace where there are days when it’ll come off. There are days when it won’t.““I’m really tough on myself with one-day cricket and test cricket because, of course, you have a lot of time. If you get out there, it feels like a sin for me. But there are days when you win the match for the country, but there are days when you won’t be able to get runs. But you have to take both things at your stride because you can’t overthink. It’s just quick turnover,” Mandhana said in a video shared by the BCCI.She said the team remains a work in progress and that thinking too much about the recent ODI World Cup win will not help future results.“Like, if I had thought a lot about the first three matches, we only had one day before this one. So it’s about just prepping your mind around how you want to go about your cricket. The One Day World Cup was the biggest thing for women’s cricket. And we did take off that one. So it’s a big, big win. But again, you know, you can’t be thinking about only successes.”“We’ve had times when we could have won matches, but we couldn’t this year. And again, this team being this young, we are always a work in progress. There’s going to be a World Cup, but it’s a work in progress. If you keep thinking about the World Cup, the next one won’t come. If I had to review it more critically, I would give it 7 out of 10. We have many areas to improve as a team,” she said.Mandhana also thanked the fans for their support during the ODI World Cup and said the team hopes to keep earning their backing.“We keep talking about it in terms of where we want to see ourselves fitness-wise, feeling-wise, and running-wise. And then, of course, power hitting now with T20s. So yeah, I mean, all in those things, execution of bowling plans. I had spoken about bowlers. But I feel as an Indian team, all the fans who’ve supported us throughout the year, especially the One Day World Cup and post that kind of support we’ve got, I feel, I mean, it’s just been a fantastic year for women’s cricket. And I hope we just keep making them proud, and I hope they keep turning up and support us,” she said.

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.