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India’s Test team appear vulnerable at home | The Express Tribune
NOT GOING IN THEIR FAVOUR: India’s Rishabh Pant in action. Photo: Reuters
INDIA:
The thought of playing a test series in India once struck fear into the hearts of touring sides, but with their fortress now breached twice in the last 12 months local cricket fans know the team’s aura of invincibility on home soil has been shattered.
India did not lose a home test series for 12 years until New Zealand whitewashed them 3-0 late last year, and while the reverberations from that stunning defeat had grown faint, South Africa’s 2-0 victory has delivered another almighty shock to home fans.
“There was an aura around the Indian team when playing in India. You can see it disappearing in the distance,” commentator Harsha Bhogle wrote on X after India suffered their heaviest defeat in terms of runs in the second test on Wednesday.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir was even booed in Guwahati after overseeing India’s fifth defeat in their last seven home tests.
“Once lions at home, now lambs to the slaughter,” read a headline in the Indian Express newspaper.
For a generation India had remained, in former Australia captain Steve Waugh’s words, the “final frontier”, where home spinners routinely dismantled touring teams on turning tracks.
“Teams used to be scared to come to India to play test cricket,” player-turned-commentator Dinesh Karthik said on social media. “Now they must be licking their lips.
“These are tough times for India in test cricket and tough decisions might have to be taken.”
India appear to be going through a tough transition phase in the wake of batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin ending their test careers.
One of India’s biggest concerns is how spin is being used as a weapon against them instead of a weakness for them to exploit in other teams.
The once familiar sight of nimble-footed, whippy‑wristed Indian batters dominating spin looks a distant memory, replaced by the horror of watching South Africa off-spinner Simon Harmer wreak havoc by taking 17 wickets over the two tests.
The 201 runs India managed in Guwahati was their highest innings total in the series, and only two local batters – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja – managed a fifty in their four innings.
India played four spinners in the first test and three in the second but were unable to unsettle the South Africa batters, who had both the plan and the skill to master turn.
However, captain Shubman Gill, who missed the second test after suffering a neck injury in the opener, said India would be stronger for the setbacks.
“Calm seas don’t teach you how to steer, it’s the storm that forges steady hands,” he wrote on social media. “We’ll continue to believe in each other, fight for each other, and move forward – rising stronger.”
Twenty men have been charged in a point-shaving scheme involving more than 39 college basketball players on more than 17 NCAA Division I teams, leading to more than 29 games being fixed, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Fifteen of the defendants played college basketball during the 2023-24 and/or 2024-25 seasons, according to the indictment. Some have played this season. Two of the players named in the indictment, Cedquavious Hunter and Dyquavian Short, were sanctioned in November by the NCAA for fixing New Orleans games.
At least two of the defendants, Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley, were also charged in a federal indictment in the Eastern District of New York centered on gambling schemes in the NBA.
Former NBA player Antonio Blakeney was named but not charged in the indictment. The indictment describes Blakeney as being “charged elsewhere.”
The scheme, according to the indictment, began around September 2022 and initially was focused on fixing games in the Chinese Basketball Association. The group later targeted college basketball games, offering bribes to college players ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to compromise games for betting purposes, according to the indictment.
“In placing these wagers on games they had fixed, the defendants defrauded sportsbooks, as well as individual sports bettors, who were all unaware that the defendants had corruptly manipulated the outcome of these games that should have been decided fairly, based on genuine competition and the best efforts of the players,” the indictment said.
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USAA on Thursday announced the three finalists for the NFL’s Salute to Service Award, and a dynasty in San Francisco could be on the rise.
After 49ers star George Kittle took home the award last year, Christian McCaffrey is among three finalists for the league’s award, along with Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson and Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones as the finalists — Jones was a finalist last year, as well.
“The finalists for the 15th Annual Salute to Service Award presented by USAA have used their platforms to be exceptional advocates for the military community, reminding us that service doesn’t stop when the uniform comes off,” Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Bob Whittle, Senior Vice President and Head of Military Affairs at USAA, said in a release.
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Christian McCaffrey, Jake Ferguson and Aaron Jones are this year’s Salute to Service Award finalists. (, G Fiume, and John Fisher/Getty Images)
“The NFL and USAA applaud Jake Ferguson, Aaron Jones, and Christian McCaffrey as deserving finalists who have demonstrated exactly what the award stands for — using the power of football to connect with, empower, appreciate and uplift our service members, veterans and their families.”
McCaffrey launched 23 and Troops in 2021 to focus on post-traumatic stress and athlete-level care for veterans. The foundation has raised $700,000 for military support and paid off holiday layaway for 515 military families.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) celebrates his touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Ferguson has partnered with USAA to visit local military bases and supported the National Medal of Honor Museum, including an event in 2024 in which 900 students joined in person and thousands more virtually.
Jones grew up in a military household. His father, Alvin, served 29 years in the Army, while his mother, Vurgess, served for 27. Jones’ older brother, Xavier, serves in the Air Force. Jones and his twin brother, Alvin Jr., founded the A&A All the Way Foundation in 2020 to support the youth of military families.
The winner will be announced at NFL Honors in San Francisco on Feb. 5, the same night the MVP, Offensive and Defensive Players and Rookies, and Coach of the Year will be crowned.
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a touchdown with Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter in the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 10, 2023, in Santa Clara, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
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Whittle and Kittle will be among those on the judging panel for the award.
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Monday night’s game featuring hometown Miami and championship-starved Indiana is one of the toughest tickets in sports.
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