Jadeja, Shami also return for limited overs series starting Jan 12
Delhi Daredevils, looking to get back to winning ways after two straight defeats, face a stern test against formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in Thursday's IPL match, in Hyderabad.
Considering that the tournament Down Under will be played on faster wickets, it's obvious that spinners are unlikely to play a significant role. In these circumstances, having one spinner in the playing eleven is the most one can expect, says Bikash Mohapatra.
Rising Pune Supergiants now face an uphill task of taming the rampaging Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League clash, in Pune, on Friday.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has defended the nature of Jamtha track, saying it is poor "technique" of the batsmen and not any "demon" in the pitch that resulted in South Africa being bundled out for a paltry 79 during the third Test.
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Delhi Capitals formerly known as Delhi Daredevils and much more.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, on Friday, ridiculed the media attention on the pitch for the first Test, saying most of the batsmen got out by playing bad shots.
Part-time spinner Dean Elgar ripped through India's batting line-up with four wickets as South Africa made the hosts rue their decision to bat first on the opening day of the first Test in Mohali, on Thursday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Saturday
Carlos Brathwaite's inclusion will lift the spirits of Delhi Daredevils.
Kolkata Knight Riders' leg-spinner Piyush Chawla says attacking the batsmen comes naturally to him and this strategy was precisely the reason for his success.
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.
The track for the opening Super 10 Group 2 encounter in the ICC World Twenty20 here on March 15 is likely to be a batting-friendly wicket, unlike the VCA Stadium pitch that was on offer during the third India-South Africa Test match late last year. The track at the stadium situated on the Nagpur-Wardha road that was used for the third Test between India and South Africa was given a "poor" rating by the ICC match referee, Jeff Crowe in his report. India clinched the match by 124 runs inside three days with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin leading the hosts' charge with a 11-wicket haul, supported well by the left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and leggie Amit Mishra. The ICC later announced that the stadium has been given an official warning under the ICC's Pitch Monitoring process following the third Test held in November, 2015. In reaching the verdict, the ICC agreed with the "poor" rating given to the pitch by New Zealand's Crowe, the match referee for the Test played from November 25 to 27, who observed that it did not allow a fair contest between bat and the ball.
India captain Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 49 to deny England victory in an intriguing final session of the opening Test of the five-match series in Rajkot on Sunday.
India lead South Africa by five points and need to win two matches in order to stop falling behind the Proteas.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni lashed out at his batsmen after losing to South Africa by six wickets in the second T20 International in Cuttack on Monday, saying they did not address their shortcomings.
Daredevils look to end losing streak against Kings XI.
Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia is a surprise inclusion in the 30-man shortlist, for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20, to be held in Bangladesh from March 16 to April 6. It includes young Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand, Railways leg-spinner Karan Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.
IMAGES from the second One-Day International between India and New Zealand in New Delhi, on Thursday.
'When you saw him, you immediately knew that he was something special.'
Team India has two members - MS Dhoni and Ishant Sharma - of that victorious 2009 side returning to New Zealand for the One-Day International series, which commences on Sunday. The hosts, however, are almost a completely overhauled unit. The teams may not appear equal on paper but the home advantage is something than should benefit New Zealand. Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical lowdown of the teams ahead of tour opener in Napier.
Virat Kohli held centrestage with a delightful unbeaten 85 after a collective bowling effort as India cruised to an easy six-wicket victory over New Zealand taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series in Dharamsala on Sunday. After bowling out New Zealand for 190 in 43.5 overs, India reached the target in a mere 33.1 overs in a match that turned out to be thoroughly one-sided.
On a roll after five wins on the trot, table toppers Mumbai Indians will look to continue their domination when they clash with struggling Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League game, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Injury-hit RCB and Delhi look to outshine each other.
Domestic giants Mumbai continued its winning run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy thrashing Madhya Pradesh by nine wickets in Mumbai on Monday.
India's Test captain Virat Kohli is unhappy that some of the former international cricketers have run down the team despite their comprehensive 3-0 win against South Africa in the recently concluded Test series.
Sitting comfortably with a 304-run lead, India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said the plans of batting just once during the match seems to have worked for the team.
'When I came here yesterday, I was worried and I couldn't sleep at night. But thanks to Brijesh, we found a way out. He asked me if it would help if we covered the pitch from above, and got a waterproof shamiana erected'
India's selectors went on expected lines, leaving out former champions while giving the nod to top performers in domestic circuit in the 30-man probables' list for the 2015 World Cup.
India's middle-order mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara scored his last half-century six innings ago but the Saurashtra batsman is 'not too worried' about his own form, saying he is happy as long as he is contributing in the team's success.
India's Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin thrived on a spinners' paradise in Mohali, bamboozling South Africa's batsmen in the first Test to secure a 108-run victory with more than two days to spare on Saturday.
Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 63 gave India a firm hold on the opening Test against South Africa after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 13th five-wicket haul to restrict the touring side to 184 on the second day on Friday.
Virat Kohli's maiden double century was followed by Ravichandran Ashwin's third ton in Tests as India piled misery on a listless West Indies bowling attack to declare at 566 for 8 on day two of the first Test at Antigua on Friday. The West Indies in reply, lost their opener Rajendra Chandrika (16) with pacer Mohammed Shami forcing his outside edge to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. The home team were 31 for the loss of one wicket at stumps with Kraigg Brathwaite (11) in company of night-watchman Devendra Bishoo (0).
The Indian bowlers had a torrid time against South African batting line-up led by AB de Villiers but senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has said he "enjoyed the challenge" as he managed to hold his own for the better part of the limited overs series.
Former India speedster Javagal Srinath thinks India have a "more balanced bowling attack in the longest format" compared to South Africa which will provide them the edge in the upcoming four-Test series starting November 5.
Praising centurion Virat Kohli for his superb batting in the team's series-levelling win against South Africa on Thursday, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that it was the first game in which his team did well in all the three departments.
A confident India, with a new coach at the helm, will seek to record a third consecutive Test series triumph on the Caribbean soil when the Virat Kohli-led side clashes with an inexperienced West Indies in the first cricket match, in Antigua, on Thursday.
'Frankly, we should have won this game ... We missed Ash's (Ravichandran Ashwin) six overs that was crucial because he was our best spinner ... until that point the plan was working beautifully but I had to get more overs from Binny and Raina'
