<p>This week in cricket saw England end a 15-year Test winless streak in Australia amid MCG pitch debate. The Vijay Hazare Trophy shone with Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Karnataka records, Gede Priandana’s T20I feat, Rohit-Kohli’s VHT return and SA20 start.</p><img><p>The penultimate week of December has been quite eventful in the cricketing world, marked by the much-anticipated return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, record-breaking performances by Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Karnataka, England’s first Test win on Australian soil in 15 years, and a historic feat in T20I. The week also had its share of controversies, including England players’ drinking reports in Noosa and the MCG pitch debate.</p><p>As this week of December concludes, let’s take a look at the <strong>top cricket highlights of the week</strong> that grabbed the headlines across the cricketing world.</p><img><p>England finally put an end to their long-standing winless streak of 15 years and 18 Tests to win a Test match in Australia with a thrilling four-wicket win in the Boxing Day Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025 series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The last time England won a Test match on Australian soil was way back in January 2011 at Sydney Cricket Ground.</p><p>England were set a 175-run target to chase after bundling out Australia for 132 in the second innings on Day 2. The visitors managed to wrap the MCG Test by chasing down the target in 32.2 overs, with Jacob Bethell (40), Zak Crawley (37), Ben Duckett (34), and Harry Brook (18*) playing a key role in an aggressive run chase, helping England to a memorable and historic victory, making them just the second team after India to win the Boxing Day Test in Australia.</p><img><p>Following the Adelaide Test defeat and Ashes series loss, the reports emerged that England were engaged in an ‘excessive’ drinking or ‘stag do’ during their short break to Noosa in Queensland. After the second consecutive defeat of the Ashes 2025 in Brisbane, the England squad headed to Noosa for a short break to recover, recharge, and relax ahead of the Adelaide Test. However, what was to be a routine mid-series break turned into controversy after the reports of England players’ excessive drinking during their six-day stay in Noosa.</p><p>To make matters worse, England opener Ben Duckett’s viral video, where he was in an intoxicated state and unable to find his way back to the team hotel, sparked outrage and intense scrutiny, prompting the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to launch an investigation, as confirmed by its managing director, Rob Key. The controversy came when England lost the Ashes series, raising questions about team discipline and professionalism.</p><img><p>Indonesian bowler Gede Priandana scripted a historic feat in the first T20I of the eight-match series against Cambodia in Bali. The pacer became the first-ever bowler to take five wickets in a single over, a rare feat in the history of T20I cricket. In the 16th over of Cambodia’s 168-run chase, needing 62 off 30 balls, Priandana triggered a collapse in their batting line-up by taking a hat-trick of wickets by dismissing Shah Abrar Hussain, Nirmaljit Singh, and Chanthoeun Rathanak before conceding a dot ball.</p><p>Thereafter, the Indonesian pacer removed Mongdara Sok and Pel Vennak to finish the over with five wickets. Gede Priandana bowled a single over and registered figures of 5/1 at an economy rate of 1. Priandana overtook long-standing bowling feats to set a new benchmark, becoming the first bowler in T20I history, men’s or women’s, to take five wickets in a single over.</p><img><p>New Zealand wrapped up the three-match Test series against the West Indies with a dominant 323-run win in the third Test at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. On the final day of the series finale, West Indies were at 43/0 and needed 419 runs to draw the series. However, New Zealand’s bowling attack, led by Jacob Duffy’s five-wicket haul, bundled out the hosts for 138 to secure a commanding victory to finish the series on a high with 2-0.</p><p>After the first Test ended in a draw, New Zealand bounced back to win the next two games convincingly and seal the series 2–0. Devon Conway won the Player of the Match for his record-breaking outing, scoring 227 and 101 in both innings of the third Test, while Jacob Duffy was adjudged Player of the Series as he picked 23 wickets in six innings.</p><img><p>The pitch laid out at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the fourth Ashes 2025 Test between Australia and England came under heavy scrutiny, with the fans and experts questioning the nature of the surface. Across two days of the Boxing Day Test, 36 wickets fell, with 20 wickets falling on the opening day alone, making it extremely challenging for batting as the pacers dominated the proceedings.</p><p>With the MCG Test concluding in just two days, the former England captain Michael Vaughan was critical of the surface provided and remarked that the Ben Stokes-led side should celebrate the victory, but a two-day Test match is not something the game should be proud of. England captain Ben Stokes and Australia stand-in skipper Steve Smith slammed the pitch, stating that the surface was ‘not ideal’ for the marquee Boxing Day Test and suggesting that if such a pitch were produced elsewhere, ‘there would be hell on’.</p><img><p>The two Indian batting stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, returned to the Vijay Hazare Trophy as per the BCCI directive to play at least two matches of the tournament to stay in contention for ODI plans in the build-up to the 2027 World Cup. Rohit marked his return with his blistering match-winning 155-run knock in Mumbai’s opening match against Sikkim in Jaipur. However, in the following match against Uttarakhand, the former India captain was dismissed for a golden duck.</p><p>Virat Kohli, on the other hand, had a more memorable comeback as he played a match-winning innings of 131 off 101 balls in Delhi’s opening match against Andhra at the BCCI CoE in Bengaluru. This was followed by another brilliant innings of 77 off 61 balls in the second match against Gujarat. Rohit and Kohli signed off from VHT after Mumbai and Delhi won both matches of the tournament.</p><img><p>Indian batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi had a record-breaking outing in Bihar’s opening match of the VHT against Arunachal Pradesh in Ranchi. The 14-year-old played a phenomenal knock of 190 off 84 balls, including 16 fours and 15 sixes, at an astonishing strike rate of of 226.19, propelling Bihar to a record total of 574/6 in 50 overs, the highest in the history of List A cricket.</p><p>During his blistering performance, Suryavanshi shattered multiple records, including the youngest List A centurion, the fourth fastest to score a century in VHT history, fastest player to score 150 in the List A cricket (56 balls), first player to score 150+ with a strike rate of over 20 and joint-fourth most boundaries in a single VHT innings, and other milestones that underlined his extraordinary talent at such a young age.</p><img><p>Karnataka scripted a historic feat not only in the Vijay Hazare Trophy but in the history of List A cricket. On the opening day of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, Karnataka recorded the second-highest successful run chase in List A cricket. In the match against Jharkhand, led by Ishan Kishan, Karnataka were handed an arduous task of chasing down the target of 413 runs. No team in the history of VHT chased down the target of 400 or above.</p><p>However, Karnataka rewrote the history by chasing down the massive 413-run target, pulling off the second-highest successful run-chase in List A cricket, after South Africa’s 438-run chase in an ODI match against Australia, Devdutt Padikkal was the architect of Karnataka’s successful run chase as he played a brilliant knock of 147 off 118 balls, including 10 fours and 7 sixes, guiding his side to a memorable victory,</p><img><p>The Women in Blue, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, took an unassailable lead 3-0 in the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka after an eight-wicket win at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Team India won the first two matches of the series in Vishakapatnam before landing in Thiruvananthapuram for the remainder of the series.</p><p>In the third T20I, India were set a modest 113-run target, which was successfully chased down in 13.2 overs. Opener Shafali Verma was the star performer with the bat as she played an unbeaten knock of 79 off 42 balls, including 11 fours and 3 sixes, at a strike rate of 188.10, guiding India to a dominant victory and helping the hosts seal the T20I series with two matches still left to play.</p><img><p>The BCCI Junior Selection Committee announced the 15-member India squad for the upcoming edition of the U19 World Cup on Saturday, December 27. The tournament will take place from January 15 to February 6, co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia, with 16 teams vying for the prestigious title.</p><p>India, led by Ayush Mhatre, will head into the tournament as one of the favourites to win the title. The Boys in Blue hold the record for winning the most titles (5) in the history of the U19 Men’s World Cup. India is clubbed in Group A alongside Bangladesh, the United States of America (USA), and New Zealand. The Indian Colts will kick-start their title quest against the USA at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.</p><img><p>The fourth edition of the SA20 League has kick-started on December 26, with the defending champions MI Cape Town locking horns with Durban Super Giants in the season opener. A total of six teams, including Cape Town, Durban, Joburg Super Kings, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals, and Sunrisers Eastern Cape, will vie for the coveted title.</p><p>Durban Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, and Sunrisers Eastern Cape kicked off their campaigns on winning notes. Paarl Royals recorded the lowest total in the history of the SA20 League when they were bundled out for 49 against Sunrisers. In the SA20 League 2026, 29 matches will be played in the league stage, followed by knockout rounds, which include two Qualifiers and an Eliminator before the Final in Cape Town.</p>
