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The Weekly Wicket: India’s Test Series Sweep over West Indies to Rohit-Kohli Return - This Week in Cricket
From India’s Test sweep over West Indies to setbacks in the Women’s World Cup 2025, Afghanistan’s ODI whitewash of Bangladesh, the Shami-Agarkar spat, and Rohit-Kohli’s quiet comeback — it was a week packed with cricketing headlines.
This Week in Cricket
This week has been quite thrilling and full of action, starting with Team India’s Test series sweep over the West Indies, and then followed by key developments in the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, Afghanistan’s historic ODI series whitewash over Bangladesh, the verbal spat between Mohammed Shami and Ajit Agarkar, and the much-anticipated international comeback of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the first ODI against Australia in Perth.
As the third week of October concludes, let’s take a look at the top cricket highlights of the week that dominated the headlines.
India Sweep West Indies in a 2-Match Test Series
Team India whitewashed West Indies in the two-match Test series with a victory in the second match at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The hosts, led by Shubman Gill, won by an innings and 140 runs in the series opener to take a 1-0 lead. However, in the second Test, Team India had to fight hard for a seven-wicket win by chasing a 121-run target as West Indies fought back in the second innings with centuries from John Campbell and Shai Hope after a follow-on.
With a 2-0 Test series sweep over the West Indies, Team India kicked off their 2025–26 home season on a dominant note before the red-ball series against South Africa, starting on November 14. Moreover, it was the first Test series win for Shubman Gill as a captain after successfully leading Team India to a 2-2 series draw against England in his captaincy debut earlier this year.
Double Setback for Team India in Women’s World Cup 2025
Team India had a great start to their campaign with two successive wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and was on top of the points table. However, the Women in Blue’s campaign had suffered a double setback with two losses on the trot against South Africa. Harmanpreet Kaur-led side’s hopes of an unbeaten run in the tournament came to an end with a three-wicket defeat over the Proteas.
In the following match, Team India registered their second defeat in a row, losing to defending champions Australia by three wickets. Alyssa Healy’s 142-run knock powered Australia to a successful 331-run chase, the highest run chase in the history of Women’s ODI cricket. With two back-to-back losses, Team India is currently in a do-or-die situation against England, who are unbeaten in the tournament and sitting at the third spot on the points table, making the clash crucial for India’s semifinal qualification hopes.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s Big Promotion in Bihar Cricket
The 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who shot to fame with his record-breaking century knock against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025, received a massive promotion in Bihar cricket ahead of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season. Suryavanshi was appointed vice-captain of Bihar, making him the youngster player to get the leadership role in Ranji Trophy history.
The promotion was a reward for his performance in the IPL 2025 and Youth and Test series against England and Australia. In the ODI series against England U-19, Vaibhav was the highest run-getter with 355 runs, including a century and a fifty, at an average of 71.00 and a strike rate of 174.01 in 5 matches. In the first Youth Test against Australia in Brisbane, the 14-year-old hammered an explosive 113 off just 86 balls, turning heads with his fearless strokeplay and further cementing his reputation as a generational talent.
Mohammed Shami vs Ajit Agarkar
Indian veteran pacer Mohammed Shami and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar found themselves embroiled in a public spat after Shami’s omission from India’s squad for the Australia white-ball tour. It all began from Agarkar’s press conference, where he cited that the Indian pacer’s lack of fitness update led to his non-selection for the white-ball tour of Australia. However, Mohammed Shami contradicted the chief selector’s statement, saying, ‘it’s not my job to give updates on my fitness’, adding that he would be at NCA rather than playing Ranji Trophy for Bengal if he had fitness issues.
In response to Shami’s criticism, Ajit Agarkar stated that he might have a call with the veteran Indian pacer to discuss the matter, while emphasizing that fitness is a key factor for Shami’s return to the national side, and mentioned that he has had multiple conversations with him in recent months. However, Mohammed Shami refused to accept Agarkar’s comment, stating ‘let him say whatever he wants.’
Australia Become First to Qualify for Women’s World Cup Semifinal
Alyssa Healy-led Australia’s quest to defend the triumph, which they won in 2022, continues as they became the first team to qualify for the semifinal of the Women’s World Cup 2025. The seven-time champions secured their semifinal berth after defeating Bangladesh, extending their unbeaten run in the tournament.
Australia qualified for the semifinal seventh time in the history of the Women’s ODI World Cup since the knockout stage was introduced in the 1997 edition of the tournament. Alongside Australia, South Africa also qualified for the knockout stage after their fourth successive victory of the tournament against Sri Lanka, and the match between New Zealand and Pakistan was abandoned due to rain in Colombo.
Afghanistan’s ODI Series Whitewash against Bangladesh
Afghanistan showcased their sheer dominance over Bangladesh as the Rashid Khan-led side clinched a historic 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series. Afghanistan already took an unassailable 2-0 series lead following victories in the first two matches at the Sheik Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, and they were aiming for a clean sweep over Bangladesh.
In the third ODI, Afghanistan once again dominated Bangladesh, winning by a commanding margin of 200 runs. Opting to bat first, Afghanistan posted a total of 293/9 in 50 overs, with Ibrahim Zadran contributing a solid 95-run knock and Mohammad Nabi adding an unbeaten quickfire innings of 62 off 37 balls. In response, Bangladesh were bowled out for just 93 in 27.1 overs, with Bilal Sami taking 5 wickets for 33 runs and Rashid Khan supporting with 3 wickets for 12 runs. This marked Afghanistan's fifth ODI series win.
Pakistan’s Win over South Africa in the First Test
Pakistan took a 1-0 series lead with a 93-run victory over the reigning WTC champions South Africa in the first Test of the two matches at Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. On Day 3 of the series opener, Pakistan were bundled out for 167 in the second innings and set a 277-run target for South Africa to chase. At stumps, the Proteas posted a total of 51/2, with Ryan Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi batting on 29 and 16, respectively, and needed 226 runs to win the match.
However, on Day 4, the visitors’ batting collapsed as they were bundled out for 183, despite a half-century by Dewald Brevis, handing Pakistan a crucial 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. Pakistan spinner Noman Ali, who was adjudged Player of the Match, was the star performer as he registered figures of 10/191, including a six-wicket haul in the first innings, at an economy rate of 3.03 in 63 matches.
Not an Ideal Return for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
After a gap of seven months, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made their return to international cricket in the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia in Perth. There was much anticipation and excitement over their comeback, and both received a rousing welcome from the Indian crowd at Optus Stadium.
However, the Indian batting stalwarts could not live up to the expectations of the fans as they both were dismissed cheaply in their comeback match. Rohit Sharma hit a boundary before he was dismissed for just 8 runs off 14 balls by Mitchell Starc. Virat Kohli struggled to get into his rhythm before he was removed by Starc for an 8-ball duck. With two ODIs left in the series. Rohit and Kohli will look to make a comeback at Adelaide and Sydney.