India and Pakistan meet in their opening World Cup match at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Ahead of what promises to be a thrilling contest here's a fact-file on the teams.
CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed the game against SRH due to a stiff back but is likely to be back for Sunday's match against Virat Kohli-led RCB.
Gujarat left-arm spinner Akshar Patel was recalled to the Indian squad for the last two One-Day Internationals against West Indies, while senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin continues to be rested.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni revealed on Saturday that Virat Kohli's agreement to drop down the order paid the team rich dividends and the strategy would be followed in the remainder of the One-Day series.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday was ruled out of the ongoing tri-series in the West Indies, due to a hamstring injury.
Suresh Raina has been named captain of the India Blue team for the Duleep Trophy, which will be held in Kanpur and Lucknow from September 7 to 29, providing him a platform to make a return to the Indian team.
Dhoni, on Friday, urged people to refrain from 'criticising individual preferences' with regards to a number of India internationals who have decided to skip this year's Ranji Trophy.
On the wrong side of 30s, Dhoni said he needed to focus on his fitness to bat up the order in the IPL to give himself more time to win matches.
'Kohli is the kind of ethereal athlete who can not only help Elon Musk discover life on Mars, but also test out its gravitational parameters by stroking hundreds in the red dirt.' 'But when playing for India, he needs assistance,' says Dhruv Munjal.
'On one hand he lays the foundation stone to commemorate YSR's death anniversary and on the other he conspires against the same family,' says rebel Congress leader Ambati Rambabu.
The two areas where India's team management and selectors need to do a lot of brainstorming are the No 4 slot and an extra fast bowler.
Images from the Indian Premier League 3 match between the Delhi Daredevils and the Mumbai Indians at Ferozshah Kotla on Wednesday.
Mayank Agarwal could likely to make his ODI debut as the first of the three-match ODI series kicks off in Chennai on Sunday. But all eyes will be trained on under-fire Pant who will have to work to prove his worth in the squad.
Nothing but a win will keep their play-off hopes alive as defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Gujarat Lions in a do-or-die battle, which will be their final IPL league match in Kanpur on Saturday. With seven wins in 13 matches, Mumbai are currently placed fifth, tied on 14 points with Royal Challengers Bangalore (3rd) and Kolkata Knight Riders (4th) -- both having better net run-rate with one match to go. A loss on Saturday will knock them out of the race for play-offs and Mumbai will hope to pull the rug from under the feet of the Lions this time after suffering a defeat during their home leg on April 16.
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Mumbai Indians will look to continue their rampaging run when they take on the formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad.
'All games from here are important for us'
Stepping up attack on the Congress leadership in Andhra Pradesh, a close confidante of Kadapa Member of Parliament Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged on Thursday that there is an attempt to send the young MP out of the party.
'The opening combination should not be tweaked. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are the ideal pair to give India a fast start. But K L Rahul is also there'
Pakistan are favourites in Asia Cup: Manjrekar
An elated Ambati Rayudu on Thursday said his maiden hundred in international cricket, which helped India crush Sri Lanka in the second One-Day International, will certainly be a "special one" as it took a long time to come.
The Indian team has set 16.1 as the Yo-Yo test benchmark for the past couple of years and any player failing to clear the test is not selected.
It was CSK who denied Delhi a top-two spot in the league standings with a crushing 80-run win at Chepauk and the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side stands in their way again, only the stakes are much higher.
West Indies captain Jason Holder said his team did not do justice to their potential in the fourth and penultimate ODI, in Mumbai on Monday, but expressed optimism of bouncing back in the series decider.
Ambati Rayudu slammed his maiden hundred as India produced yet another comprehensive batting performance to ease past Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second One-Day International, in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
Images from Sunday's IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings, in Mohali.
Ambati Rayudu's workman-like unbeaten 29-ball 55 helped Mumbai Indians recover from an early collapse and post a formidable 178 for five and ensured him the man-of-the-match award.
Star attraction Shane Bond claimed three wickets but the day belonged to Mumbaikar Sahil Kukreja (157 not out) and Hyderabad's Ambati Rayudu (133) who hit scintillating centuries on the opening day of the second round league matches of the Buchi Babu Memorial Trophy in Chennai on Wednesday.
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.
India captain Virat Kohli, on Sunday, hailed his deputy Rohit Sharma for his superlative batting display, saying it is easy to chase down any target when the Mumbai batsman is at the other end.
Pushed to the brink before managing a narrow win in the opening One-Day International, India will have to quickly sort out its middle-order batting woes when it takes on a spirited Zimbabwe in the second match in Harare, on Sunday.
A second-string India just about managed to survive an embarrassing defeat at the hands of a fighting Zimbabwe as the visitors huffed and puffed to a narrow four-run win to take 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series in Harare.
India's batting came a cropper in the Hamilton game as they were dismissed for their seventh lowest total of 92.
Stand-in captain Rohit Sharma Tdescribed India's batting performance as 'one of the worst in a long time' after the visitors were shot out for their seventh lowest ODI total in a shocking eight-wicket loss to New Zealand.
The current fiasco now completely established that there is no communication between the selectors and senior players, who decide their own schedule. 'Dhoni feels that it would not be fair for him to join us at this stage, given that the team has done so well and reached the quarter-final stage in his absence. He does not want to upset the team balance'
Mahendra Singh Dhoni knows how to pace his innings according to varied match situations which still makes him an asset for India
Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings will look to complete the double against Kolkata Knight Riders, just like Delhi Capitals did, when the teams clash in Sunday's IPL match in Kolkata. The home side's consistency has suddenly taken a beating after two defeats on the trot, first in Chennai and then against Delhi Capitals on Friday night. Thus, the Knight Riders will be under immense pressure to arrest the slide when they face mighty Chennai.
Table-toppers Mumbai Indians will be itching to avenge their double defeat against Rising Pune Supergiant in the league stage when the two teams face-off in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
Jhye Richardson said Australia were lucky to get Mahendra Singh Dhoni out with a dubious call.
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