India rule white ball amid geopolitical issues and South Africa lift WTC mace

NEW DELHI: India owned white-ball cricket while South Africa shed their ‘bridesmaids’ tag but the spectre of geopolitics loomed large over the game in a tumultuous 2025.

The already-soured relations between bitter rivals India and Pakistan reached a new low when the nuclear-armed neighbour engaged in a military conflict in May that nearly snowballed into a full-fledged war.

It disrupted the Indian Premier League and the bad blood was evident in the subsequent 20-overs Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates, where India refused to accept the winner’s trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistan’s interior minister.

India beat Pakistan three times during the politically charged tournament and refused to shake hands with them either at the toss or after the match.

Players from both sides made provocative gestures, which invited sanctions from the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).

Earlier in March, India lifted the Champions Trophy in a perfect culmination of their unbeaten run in the 50-overs tournament.

It was the first ICC tournament held in Pakistan in nearly three decades but India played all their matches in Dubai, which many saw as an advantage for them.

Similarly, Pakistan played all their matches in Sri Lanka when India hosted the 50-overs Women’s World Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates ended India’s agonising wait for a maiden Women’s World Cup title with Jemimah Rodrigues smashing a sensational hundred to upset defending champions Australia in the October 30 semi-final in Navi Mumbai.

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South Africa also ended decades of hurt and won the World Test Championship (WTC) beating Australia in the final at Lord’s.

For a team often ridiculed for their tendency to bottle it during the knockout stages of ICC tournaments, Temba Bavuma and his men carried no past baggage.

Opener Aiden Markram’s fourth-innings hundred secured their five-wicket victory, ending a long-standing jinx.

“We came in with a lot of belief and a lot of doubters,” Bavuma said after claiming the WTC mace.

“We got ourselves into the final, there were doubters as to the route we took.

This win squashes that. Here’s an opportunity for us as a nation, divided as we are, to unite.“

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South Africa went on to register their first test series victory in India in 25 years with a 2-0 sweep, proving their WTC success was far from a fluke.

India could not replicate their white-ball success in test cricket and appear in the throes of a tricky transition after stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma quit the format earlier this year.

In England’s case, the issue was not personnel but philosophy.

Their high-risk ‘Bazball’ approach, built around swashbuckling batting, failed to deliver in Perth and Brisbane, leaving their Ashes campaign in disarray.