Riding high on an unbeaten half-century from Vijay Shankar, Tamil Nadu managed to score 192/3 on the opening day of their semi-final against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy match in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Whether it is by choice or compulsion of injuries, Kohli's fetish for tinkering with playing XI is well documented -- something that wasn't questioned till the South African debacle happened.
Brought into the squad only after first-choice opener Murali Vijay was ruled out due to injury, Dhawan made full use of the opportunity and played an entertaining 168-ball innings that was studded with 31 fours. This was his fifth Test hundred.
India return to place from where journey to glory began.
With only 17 ODIs left for India before the World Cup, senior pros like Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin will aim to remain relevant in the 50-overs format in the forthcoming Deodhar Trophy.
Should left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav make his Test debut? Or must India retain the winning Bengaluru side?
'I think they're feeling the pressure a little bit to be honest'
Delhi missed a golden opportunity to register an outright win as Assam managed to sneak home with a point defending a target of 79 in 14 overs during final hour of play, on Monday.
Saurashtra seamers Jaydev Unadkat, Shaurya Sanandia and Chirag Jani shared seven wickets among them to bundle out Haryana for 140 in their second innings and lift their team to an innings and 31-run victory on the third day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match, on Sunday.
Wriddhiman Saha struck timely form with an attacking century and also put on a fighting, 203-run unbroken partnership with captain Cheteshwar Pujara to push Rest of India firmly towards the winning target on day four of the Irani Cup game against Gujarat on Monday.
India captain Virat Kohli has confirmed that fit-again opening batsman KL Rahul will return to the side for the second test against Sri Lanka, with Abhinav Mukund appearing the player most likely to lose his spot.
India have the option of playing all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
A round-up of final day of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
Keeping a lid on emotion will be nearly as important as executing gameplans for both India and Australia when the world's top two teams continue their captivating series with the third Test in Ranchi on Thursday.
In the presence of three selectors, U-19 star Gill hit an unbeaten 106 off 111 balls.
Spoilt for choice with a pool of top quality performers in their ranks, formidable India are overwhelming favourites against minnows Bangladesh in a proverbial 'David vs Goliath' one-off cricket Test that starts in Hyderabad on Thursday.
'We are an experienced team now, we played good cricket. All bases were covered and I'm really happy with the way things went in this Test'
Failing to put up any fight against a rampaging Australia A, India A suffered a 10-wicket loss in the second unofficial Test to go down 0-1 in the two-match series on Saturday.
Ajinkya Rahane was chosen as captain of the depleted Indian team for the limited overs tour to Zimbabwe next month as the selectors decided to rest several seniors including Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
An incisive spell of seam bowling by Karnataka's Abhimanyu Mithun helped South Zone reduce Central Zone to 123 for five on a rain curtailed first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Chennai.
Dhawan, Pujara, Ashwin, Jadeja shone, but Pandya is the standout performer in the Sri Lanka series for Rediff.com's Harish Kotian.
Cheteshwar Pujara waged a lone battle with a fighting 86 but Rest of India's batting line-up floundered against Gujarat's bowling attack and were pushed against the ropes by the newly-crowned Ranji Trophy champions.
All the Indian batsmen and bowlers will get a look in and skipper Virat Kohli is expected to decide his best possible combination for the playing eleven for the first Test depending on their performances in the coming two days.
Prithvi Shaw hit a century on debut as Mumbai crushed Tamil Nadu by six wickets to storm into the final of the Ranji Trophy, in Rajkot, on Thursday.
A summary of Wednesday's action in Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday.
The Power Bat is a visiting-card sized sticker on the shoulder of the bat that captures the speed of impact, quality of the shot and other parameters when the batsman hits the ball.
Ravichandran Ashwin has taken a dig at Steve Smith's controversial move to seek dressing room advice for a DRS referral.
India might have levelled the series against Australia with a dramatic 75-run win in the second Test in Bengaluru but the hosts will head off to Ranchi knowing their recent batting woes have not gone away.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane shared an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 93 to keep alive India's hopes of a series-levelling win over Australia, giving the hosts a lead of 126 on a see-saw third day of the second Test in Bengaluru on Monday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Wednesday
Delhi survived a mighty scare before their lower order, led by Nitish Rana and Sumit Narwal, saved the day with some gritty batting as they beat Rajasthan by two wickets in their Group B Ranji Trophy match in Wayanad on Thursday. Resuming the final day on 51 for 3, needing 102 runs more to win, Delhi suffered a batting collapse but finally crossed the target of 153 with Rana (31) and Narwal (27 not out) playing some sensible cricket to take their side home at the Krishnagiri Stadium. The day's start for Delhi was a horrible one with overnight batsman Vikas Tokas (10) being bowled by Pankaj Singh in the fifth over of the day with the addition of just five runs to his individual overnight score. The score was 62 for 4 at that stage.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played across India on Saturday.
Ravindra Jadeja spiced up an otherwise uneventful final day with another lethal spell of left-arm spin as India Blue notched a crushing 355-run victory over India Red to win the inaugural day-night Duleep Trophy tournament, in Greater Noida, on Wednesday evening.
Ashwin, Jadeja likely to be rested; Team selection on Aug 13
The home team was comfortably placed at 139 for one, thanks to the second wicket stand from opener Danushka Gunathilaka (74) and Lahiru Thirimanne (59) before collapsing to 187 all out.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday.
Abhinav Mukund and skipper Ambati Rayudu struck half-centuries as India A gained a slight edge, reaching 342 for six against South Africa A, thereby taking a 82-run lead at stumps on the second day of the second and final unofficial 'Test'.
Chasing a mammoth victory target of 444, the hosts battled to 309 for four before the umpires decided to call off the match after consulting the two captains, Ambati Rayudu and Dane Vilas.
A round up of the second day's play from the Ranji Trophy games being played across the country.
