NEW DELHI: “Apne ghar walon ke saamne khelne ka maza kuch aur hi hoga [Playing in front of my family members will be a completely different feeling]” — India spinner Ravi Bishnoi is relishing the prospect of playing in front of his home crowd next IPL season. Bishnoi, who was part of the Lucknow Super Giants squad last season and was released ahead of the IPL 2026 Auction, was bought for Rs 7.2 crore at the IPL mini-auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Bishnoi appeared to be firmly on Rajasthan Royals’ radar from the outset. As soon as auctioneer Mallika Sagar announced his name with a base price of Rs 2 crore, the Royals opened the bidding straightaway.

Chennai Super Kings soon entered the fray, intensifying the contest. After CSK took the bid up to Rs 4.2 crore, Rajasthan Royals stayed aggressive in their pursuit of the leg-spinner. The bidding eventually concluded at Rs 7.2 crore, with Rajasthan Royals emerging successful in securing Bishnoi’s services.Bishnoi is all smiles and says it feels like a ‘ghar wapsi’ for him.“Excited to be back home. Ghar wapsi hai meri. I started as a net bowler from here and life has come a long way. I always dreamt of playing for my home franchise, and now that dream has come true. I am very excited for the new journey with Rajasthan Royals. My family is very happy. I am waiting for home support. I want to give them good memories this season with wickets and wins for my team,” Bishnoi told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.The 25-year-old has played for two IPL teams — Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings, and has featured in 77 games, bagging 72 wickets.

“Life has come a long way. I have played for two teams so far — Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants. KL Rahul bhai at Punjab Kings supported me a lot and gave me a lot of freedom. I was grateful to play under Rishabh Pant bhai at Lucknow Super Giants. The best part of playing under both — Pant and KL Rahul — was that they always gave me liberty and freedom on the field. I have learnt a lot from KL Rahul. He has an abundance of knowledge,” he said.“KL Rahul bhai and Rishabh Pant bhai always said, ‘Jo karna hai kar, apni field laga. I trust you.’ The best thing was that they both were keepers, and a lot of guidance and tips came from behind the wickets whenever I was bowling. Pant bhai also emphasised fielding,” the spinner added.Bishnoi was retained by Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction for Rs 11 crore, but after managing just nine wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 10.83, he was released by LSG following a four-year stint with the franchise.

“The price tag is nothing in front of playing in front of your home crowd. I am thankful to Rajasthan Royals and really excited to play this season for them,” Bishnoi said.Now, Bishnoi will be sharing the ball with another Ravi — experienced spinner Ravindra Jadeja.“I am really excited for that deadly combo. I am eager to share the ball with him from the other end. He has got a lot of experience. He has played for this team in the past. His experience will matter a lot in IPL 2026,” he said.“Googly is my main weapon. But with age, I have worked on my variations. Finger movement has helped me a lot. There is a lot of competition, so you need to keep improving. I spend a lot of time in the nets and keep bowling the same delivery until I get the desired results. If you want to play for long, whether for a franchise or India, you need to practise again and again. You need to grind really hard to stay in contention. You need to keep improving day by day and bring something new in terms of bowling and deliveries. You need to develop your game sense. The harder you grind, the better you become,” Bishnoi said.“All I want is to hear cheers from my home fans. I am really eager to go out in the middle and play in front of my home crowd,” the spinner signed off.

Glenn McGrath (Video grabs)

Nathan Lyon‘s place in Ashes folklore was sealed not just by the wickets he claimed on Thursday, but by the priceless reaction he triggered off the field. As the off-spinner surpassed Glenn McGrath on Australia’s all-time Test wicket list, television cameras cut to the former fast-bowling great in the commentary box — pretending to hurl a chair in mock frustration. Within minutes, the clip was everywhere.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Lyon struck twice in his very first over on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test, turning the match sharply Australia’s way and etching his name above McGrath in the record books. England, who had reached 37 without loss, suddenly slid to 42 for three as Lyon removed Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett in a devastating burst.

The milestone moment came when Pope played forward to a ball that turned just enough, edging a sharp catch to a diving Josh Inglis at midwicket. That wicket took Lyon level with McGrath’s 563 Test scalps. Four balls later, the off-spinner went one better, luring Duckett into misjudging a drifting delivery that crashed into off stump.As the crowd roared, broadcasters showed McGrath’s tongue-in-cheek response — theatrically pretending to throw a chair before breaking into a grin — a gesture that perfectly captured the good-natured passing of the baton.WATCH: McGrath’s reaction to Lyon’s achievementOnly Shane Warne, with 708 wickets, now sits above Lyon on Australia’s all-time list. The achievement marked a triumphant return for the 38-year-old, who was left out of the second Test in Brisbane but reminded everyone of his enduring value on a wearing Adelaide surface.Earlier, Australia were bowled out for 371 after resuming at 326 for eight, with Jofra Archer completing a five-wicket haul that included the prized scalp of Mitchell Starc for a well-made 54. Archer finished with figures of 5 for 53.

Hardik Pandya at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: The fourth T20I between India and South Africa in Lucknow on Wednesday was abandoned without a single ball being bowled due to “excessive fog,” a scenario that triggered widespread outrage among fans and renewed discussions on air quality and scheduling. Images of India all-rounder Hardik Pandya wearing a mask while warming up amid the dense smog went viral, highlighting the severity of the conditions. Fans at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium demanded refunds from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as the match was finally called off at 9:25 pm after six separate inspections.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!While frustrating for spectators, such fog-induced abandonments are extremely rare in international cricket. The majority of matches are delayed or abandoned due to rain or wet outfields, making fog-caused cancellations an unusual occurrence.

Interestingly, the Lucknow T20I was not the first international match abandoned due to fog. In December 1998, the third Test between Pakistan and Zimbabwe at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad faced a similar fate. Scheduled from December 17 to 21, the match saw no play across all five days. Thick fog enveloped the city, drastically reducing visibility and making batting, bowling, and fielding impossible.The umpires for that match, Saleem Badar from Pakistan and Doug Cowie from New Zealand, were left in a procedural bind. Cowie explained in an interview with The Dawn that the decision to abandon the match rested with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Zimbabwe Cricket, while the umpires continued inspections daily to assess the ground.

In a desperate bid to start the game, organisers even transported a super sopper from Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium to Faisalabad to prepare the field quickly in case the fog lifted, but it never did. The match was ultimately abandoned without a ball being bowled, and Zimbabwe went on to win the three-match series 1-0 — their first-ever series victory.Both the Faisalabad Test and the Lucknow T20I underscore just how rare fog-induced abandonments are in cricket. While mist, fog, or low visibility may cause delays or interruptions, matches called off entirely due to fog remain anomalies in international cricket history.