Eager to prove a point after his surprising omission from India's ODI squad for the New Zealand series, Maharashtra's run-machine Ruturaj Gaikwad continued his scorching form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
India's young fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy should be persisted with and the cricket fraternity must not rush to pass judgement, former players Aakash Chopra, Robin Uthappa, and Manoj Tiwary said on Thursday.
Ravi Shastri believes India too will "take off" in next month's T20 World Cup if their explosive opener Abhishek Sharma fires, while Kevin Pietersen hailed the lefthander as a "proper star".
For a team that once struggled for basic infrastructure, the T20 World Cup is being viewed as a defining leap rather than just another appearance for Nepal.
With Ishan Kishan breathing down Sanju Samson's neck, the latter will have to pull up his socks and prove his place in the squad.
'They discuss with Gautam the ODI format, the matches that we have and our plans for South Africa.'
Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 50 runs in Women's Premier League match in Navi Mumbai.
Shreyas Iyer's battle against Josh Hazlewood continued on a rain-hit Perth afternoon in the first ODI at the Optus Stadium on Sunday
Football giants Italy begin cricket World Cup's maiden campaign against Scotland
Virat Kohli's stroke-filled 91-ball 93 set up India's win in the series opener against New Zealand.
Having retained the majority of their squad, MI will be the team to beat given their formidable batting, but Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals will be out to spoil their party.
Ishan Kishan's thrill-a-second maiden T20I hundred compensated for Sanju Samson's familiar failure, and the knock in conjunction with Arshdeep Singh's fifer scripted India's 46-run romp over New Zealand in the fifth and final match in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
Defending champions India look to do something they have never done in World Cups and retain the trophy.
UP Warriorz will start with a clear edge when they take on a struggling Gujarat Giants in Vadodara on Thursday, as the race for the remaining two playoff spots in the Women's Premier League heats up.
Suryakumar Yadav, who returned to form with a blazing 82* against New Zealand at Raipur, spoke on how he dealt with his lean patch
Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to book a place in the WPL 2026 playoffs, cruising to a 61-run win over Gujarat Giants at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Monday.
Indian pacer Ishant Sharma recalled scoring his maiden Test half-century against the West Indies back in 2019 at Kingston, Jamaica, and how he faced some teasing from his skipper and childhood friend Virat Kohli, who jokingly asked him to just "play the ball".
Shaw's brief stay ended at 1 off 5 balls, caught by Deepraj Gaonkar off Arjun's bowling.
Vidarbha's batting mainstay Dhruv Shorey equalled N Jagadeesan's record for the most consecutive List A centuries, registering his fifth in a row with an unbeaten 109 off 77 balls against Hyderabad.
Rohit Sharma scored only 61 runs in three innings at an average of 20.33, failing to register a single fifty in the series against New Zealand.
'It could be a slightly unpopular choice because he hasn't scored even 1,000 runs in List A cricket.'
Shami's four-wicket burst sets up Bengal's eight-wicket win over Uttarakhand
'That's the stuff that a lot of people don't see...the work that you put in, away from the shiny lights and the TV, but it's always nice I guess when you get the rewards from that.'
Quinton de Kock seems to have found another gear since his return to cricket and the South African attributed the new-found freedom in his batting to a mind without any 'baggage'.
Group C promises one of the most competitive battles at the T20 World Cup, with former champions England and West Indies joined by ambitious sides Scotland, Nepal and debutants Italy.
Ton-up Desai helps Saurashtra make semis
He was greeted with chants of 'Kohli, Kohli' with fans jostling for selfies and handshakes, as Kohli struggled to make his way through the crowd to his car.
Gujarat's left-arm spinner Vishal Jayswal received a signed match ball from batting great Virat Kohli after taking his wicket during a thrilling Vijay Hazare Trophy match in Bengaluru on Friday.
Sanju Samson boasts of a superb record in T20 Internationals, with 995 runs in 51 matches at a strike rate of 147.40, including three centuries and as many fifties.
US-born Aman Rao underlined his prowess as a big hitter with a scintillating unbeaten double century to propel Hyderabad to a commanding 352 for 5 against Bengal.
The first three matches were low-scoring affairs, but the fourth T20I was a run-fest, with both India and Sri Lanka registering their highest-ever totals in the format.
'His free-spirited character perfectly matches T20 cricket's essence, it's about freedom and expression.'
Former India all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri reflected on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's below-par showing in the first ODI against Australia in Perth.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan has rejected claims that batters have worked him out, saying consistent execution, not new variations, will define his impact at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Mumbai sealed a bonus-point victory with a nine-wicket thrashing of Hyderabad in their Group D Ranji Trophy match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Travis Head said he was loving life as a Test opener after recording his third century of the Ashes series to help put Australia in a strong position after day three of the fifth Test on Tuesday.
Virat Kohli has now amassed 1,091 runs in 300-plus successful chases in ODIs, averaging 121.22 with a strike rate of 125.25, including seven hundreds and two fifties.
Even as the focus remains on the T20 World Cup which is less than a month away, Kohli and Rohit will hog the limelight in the three ODIs over the next seven days.
Devdutt Padikkal slammed his second consecutive ton, while Karun Nair also scored a run-a-ball century to guide defending champions Karnataka to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Kerala.
Delhi Capitals, the losing finalists of the first three seasons, have not made an ideal start under the new leadership of Jemimah Rodrigues. It is still early days but Rodrigues and Co. would be desperate to get their campaign back on track.
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