With the pitch showing no signs of aiding the bowlers, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is pinning his hopes on the second new ball to give India breakthroughs on the fourth day of the second Test against Sri Lanka.
South Africa batted cautiously to reach 98 for three as they try to preserve their 1-0 lead in the series in the second Test and final against Sri Lanka on Friday.
As the beleaguered Indian cricket team start picking up pieces after a forgettable first Test, the spotlight is firmly fixed on team's senior-most pro Harbhajan Singh whose unimpressive show in the 63-run defeat has raised question marks about his future.
'No, you don't require tantrums, or beating a tattoo on the helmet or rude and hostile gestures to make a point.' 'A true fast bowler lets the ball do the talking as it crashes into the stumps,' says veteran sports commentator Kishore Bhimani.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights the six top performances by Indian spinners in Tests abroad since the 2000s began.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that developing close relations with India's neighbours is a key priority of his government, ahead of his planned visit to Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon to attend the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Summit.
'I would have loved to win a 50-over World Cup. We had two chances, but we didn't convert them.' 'There are regrets, but not regrets that I will be thinking about for years and years.'
South Africa made a sedate start to their second innings after conceding a 78-run first innings lead to a spirited Bangladesh on day three of the opening Test at Chittagong on Thursday.
Amit Mishra was the only Indian bowler to make an impact on an unresponsive wicket at St Kitts in the first practice game against West Indies President's XI. The leg-spinner, who is making a comeback into the national side, picked four vital wickets and also broke a 122-run stand for the second wicket in the second innings of the Caribbean side.
Sangakkara, who has scored more than 26,500 runs for his country, had already retired from One-Day Internationals and is currently playing his 132nd Test against Pakistan in Colombo.
'Even before the series started, we all knew that there was going to be some experiments from us going ahead over the next 18 months. It has been a great learning.'
From Novak Djokovic's top performances to Australia's ICC World Cup victory and Sania Mirza's fabulous run, we have these and many more scintillating moments frozen in time and presented to you in this special photo-feature...
Mahela Jayawardene scored four streaky runs in his last Test, as Pakistan's bowlers dismantled Sri Lanka's first innings on the opening day of the second and final match, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Having made a remarkable return to the cricket field for his Ranji side Baroda, India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that rather than speaking about international comeback he would let his performance do the talking.
Kumar Sangakkara remained unbeaten after a sparkling half-century as Sri Lanka responded well to the challenge of scoring 370 runs in four sessions in order to win the first Test against South Africa on Saturday.
Rain and an on-field injury which prevented South African opener Hashim Amla from batting spurred Sri Lanka to a 17-run win under the Duckworth-Lewis method in the second One-dayer in Colombo on Tuesday.
Wary of the threat posed by Kuldeep Yadav, Australian captain Steve Smith on Saturday said the Indian left-arm wrist spinner is difficult to pick and his side has put in extra effort at the nets to prepare for him.
At least three people were killed and nearly 100 others injured when communal clashes broke out in a popular Sri Lankan tourist region, even as President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday warned rioters against taking law into their own hands in curfew-bound areas.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne missed out on a maiden double hundred but his 238-run stand with fellow centurion Dinesh Chandimal set up Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 484 on day two against West Indies in the opening test at Galle on Thursday.
India's middle-order batsman Manish Pandey said his main aim is to keep scoring runs whenever he gets an opportunity and push for a permanent berth in the playing eleven.
India captain Virat Kohli wants specific roles for certain players keeping a two-year time frame leading upto the 2019 World Cup in mind.
In a Sri Lankan House of 225 members, the cut-off figure comes to 113. With Wickremesinghe side touching 102 and Rajapaksa's team at 101, the three-party Tamil National Alliance with 16 members and the left-leaning Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna with 6 members hold the key. But with the latter declaring that they will not support either formation in a vote count,that leaves the TNA as the deciding factor, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has hit out at the India's Team Director Ravi Shastri and Test captain Virat Kohli questioning their philosophy of aggression after Ishant Sharma incident resulted in a one-Test ban for the lanky Delhi fast bowler.
Injuries have forced India to make changes to their winning combination. With Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha returning home, the visitors are likely to field a new combination.
Looking to set a 350-plus target for Sri Lanka, says Amit Mishra.
India head coach Ravi Shastri on Friday dispelled doubts about Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future, stating that the stalwart is not even "half finished yet" and is very much in the scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup in England.
In this exclusive conversation with Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma, exiled opposition leader Ahmed Naseem explains why the world should care about democracy in Maldives.
Tillakaratne Dilshan outshone Hashim Amla's 14th One-Day International century to steer Sri Lanka to a series-levelling 87-run win over South Africa in the second match at Pallekele Stadium on Wednesday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
The trouble-prone Pakistan cricket team dressing room was once again witness to some drama and it took PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan's intervention to diffuse the controversy generated by Misbah-ul-Haq's decision to rest from the third ODI against Australia.
Kohli's support is a massive confidence booster: KL Rahul
Suryakumar Yadav has been reported for a suspect illegal bowling action, becoming the fifth bowler to be called in the just concluded Champions League Twenty20 tournament.
Sohaib Maqsood and Fawad Alam struck quick-fire fifties and combined in a record 147-run sixth wicket stand as Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets with one ball remaining in the first one-day international at Hambantota on Saturday.
Pakistan's experienced batsman Younis Khan dug deep for his 24th Test century and his seventh against Sri Lanka to rescue his struggling side who closed on 261-4 on the opening day of the first Test on Wednesday.
South Africa lost the wicket of opener Alviro Petersen for a duck as they chased 369 runs for victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
The best they can do, in the event they defeat Australia and line up for the semi-final in Sydney, is summon spinner Saeed Ajmal.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews weathered a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling from Dayle Steyn to take his team past the follow-on mark on the third day of the first Test against South Africa on Friday.
Former India speedster Venkatesh Prasad says Ishant Sharma needs to focus on his skill and focus on getting the batsman out rather than getting over-aggressive.
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