India were set a tricky target of 176 runs to win the first Test against Sri Lanka after Dinesh Chandimal produced a counter-attacking unbeaten 162 to lead a spirited fightback for the hosts in Galle.
Daredevils once again had a stop-start campaign in the ongoing IPL and are standing on the verge of yet another early elimination.
Ravindra Jadeja on Thursday stood firmly behind under-fire spinner Ravichandran Ashwin stating that it's not the responsibility alone of the Tamil Nadu tweaker to get England to get all the wickets. - Scorecard On first two days, there wasn't great help for the spinners from the SCA Stadium track. Ashwin went for 167 runs from 46 overs with only two wickets to show for his efforts as England scored 537 with help of centuries from Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes.
Indian spinners were taken to the cleaners by the English batsmen as the visitors posted a mammoth 537 on the second day of the opening cricket Test in Rajkot on Thursday. - Scorecard India made a cautious start reaching 63 for no loss with openers Murali Vijay (25 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (28 not out) at the crease. England's first innings total was their third-highest ever in this country, showing their batsmen were in total control against Indian spinners especially Ravichandran Ashwin, who conceded 167 runs in 46 overs taking only two wickets.
Pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was promoted to Grade A, but Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir, who have lost favour with the selectors, were dropped from the list of BCCI's contracted players for 2014-15.
Skipper Dinesh Karthik will face a big test when a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with a resurgent Delhi Daredevils, led by double title winning former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, in a much-anticipated IPL clash, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership as well as finishing skills will be put through a stern test when an inconsistent India take on a rejuvenated New Zealand in the series-deciding fifth and final cricket ODI in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. With the series locked at 2-2, Dhoni and his men will be eager to clinch the issue while history beckons Kane Williamson's men as they have a glorious opportunity to taste their maiden success in a bilateral ODI rubber. The only thing that can play spoilsport is the cyclone threat which can lead to complete washout.
Shikhar Dhawan scoring 12 runs from Pakistan's ace spinner Saeed Ajmal's first over was the turning point in India run-chase in the WT20 match in Mirpur on Friday. The bowler was immediately taken off and by the time he returned for another spell India were well on the way to victory.
Opener KL Rahul blasted his way to a fastest ever half-century in Indian Premier League as a new-look Kings XI Punjab started their campaign on a resounding note defeating Delhi Daredevils by six wickets, in Mohali on Sunday.
Aaron Finch (69 off 39) stitched a 92-run stand with Dinesh Karthik (40 off 28) to lead Lions to 195 for five.
Ajinkya Rahane and Prithvi Shaw faltered yet again as Karnataka pacers wreaked a havoc and bundled out Mumbai for a paltry 194 on the opening day of their Elite Ranji Trophy match in Mumbai. Services bowled out Maharashtra for 44 with medium pacer P S Poonia picking up 5/11 in their Ranji Trophy match in New Delhi
Chasing 209 for victory, Pant and Sanju Samson (61 off 31) joined forces to help Delhi go past the massive target.
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.
Images from the Indian Premier League 10 match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils on Wednesday
After making impressive debuts in their respective openers, Rising Pune Supergiants and GujaratLions will test each others' strengths when the two new entrants clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in Rajkot on Thursday. The two teams feature a lot of faces from the suspended Chennai Super Kings and at least six players, who played in the same side till last year, will now be in opposite camps. Close friends and CSK teammates Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will now be devising strategies as rival captains. Both have admitted that playing in a jersey other than 'yellow' has been very "emotional" but have promised to give their all for their new teams. The Dhoni-led Pune Supergiants were very convincing and dominant when they handed defending champions Mumbai Indians a nine-wicket drubbing. They did not even require their middle order, packed with Dhoni himself and players such as Steven Smith, to come out with the top-order delivering it for them comfortably.
Sanju Samson hit the first century in this season's Indian Premier League to help Delhi Daredevils demolish Rising Pune Supergiant by 97 runs in Pune on Tuesday.
Robin Uthappa roared back into form with a century, while Karun Nair also cracked a brilliant hundred as the two overcame early jitters to help Karnataka reach 297 for five against Uttar Pradesh on the opening day of their quarter-final Ranji Trophy match.
After putting a stop to their prolonged losing streak, Delhi Daredevils will look to carry forward the momentum when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League encounter in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
Outwitted in both the T20 and the ODI series, India will seek redemption in the Test format by trying to spin a web around the formidable South Africans in the four-match series starting in Mohali, on Thursday.
South Africans take the top 3 slots in Most Valuable Player Index.
Out of favour because of poor form and injury, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh are hoping for a good showing with Delhi Daredevils this IPL season to return to the Indian team.
West Indies are reeling at 90 for the loss of three wickets at lunch on day 3, as India extended their advantage in the first Test at Antigua on Saturday. Pacer Mohammed Shami bagged his second wicket of the innings after dismissing Darren Bravo (11) at the stroke of lunch.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed five for 52 as Indian bowlers dominated the proceedings to bowl out West Indies for a meagre 196 on Day 1 of the second Test in Jamaica.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players in the IPL at the end of Match 59.
Check out detailed statistics of the Indian team for South Africa ODIs.
Pleased with his world record feat of eight catches in a Test match, Ajinkya Rahane credited former India captain Rahul Dravid for guiding him on slip catching and overall fielding.
India are in sight of their first series triumph on Sri Lankan soil in 22 years, having reduced the hosts to 67 for 3 after setting them a daunting target of 386 in the third and final Test in Colombo on Friday.
Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said the franchise based league will have teams from top cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town and that they are looking at potential Indian investors.
Impressed with India's aggressive brand of cricket in the two Tests so far, former Sri Lanka pacer Chaminda Vaas on Tuesday said that the five-bowler theory is reaping rich results for the young visiting side.
The Virat Kohli-led team must take inspiration from the last trip to Sri Lanka, in 2010, when India beat Sri Lanka by five wickets, thanks to hundreds from Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.
In an extraordinary twist to the game, India on Saturday capitulated to an embarassing 63-run defeat in the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka.
Pragyan Ojha bagged an impressive five-wicket haul as India 'A' dismissed Australia 'A' for 268 before extending their lead to 154 runs by the end of the third day's play in the first unofficial cricket Test, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai, on Friday. At the close of play, the hosts were 121 for 3 in their second innings.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is of the view that young left-arm spinner Axar Patel is not Test cricket material and, at best, 'a roller of the ball'.
India pacer Ishant Sharma wrecked havoc with the ball as he claimed a five-wicket haul to leave the Sri Lanka Board President's XI in tatters on Day 2 of the three-day tour match, in Colombo, on Friday.
Ajinkya Rahane paced his innings to perfection in the company of comeback man Robin Uthappa, as India cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a rain-truncated first One-Day International in Mirpur, on Sunday. Chasing a target of 273 in 50 overs, India were cruising at 100 for one in 16.4 overs when the heavens opened up, leading to play being stopped for nearly two hours.
Images from the 2nd T20 played between India and England in Nagpur on Sunday
Images from the IPL match played between Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals in New Delhi on Wednesday
The national selection committee, under Sandeep Patil, is likely to leave it to limited-overs' captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to decide on his availability for the short tour of Zimbabwe, from June 11-20.
Faced with a do-or-die situation, the inconsistent Delhi Daredevils will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in their penultimate Indian Premier League match.
New captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front with a scintillating innings as Delhi Daredevils crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by 55 runs, in the Indian Premier League, in Delhi, on Friday.
