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Virat Kohli was focus personified as India geared up to take on a traditionally pace-heavy South Africa in their upcoming ICC World Cup match.
They endured a disastrous run the last time around to finish at the bottom of the heap and Kings XI Punjab would be aiming to make amends this season when they begin their campaign against newbies Gujarat Lions in their IPL opener in Mohali on Monday. Kings XI Punjab did not make any big buys this year and have a new captain in South African David Miller in place of Australian George Bailey who was released after leading the side to the last place in the previous season. Virender Sehwag has also retired and he will serve as team mentor this season. The Preity Zinta-owned side continues to lack the team balance as it has not added any significant player, only snapping the likes of all-rounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis, seamer Mohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Last season, their batsmen lacked consistency and whenever they did well, the bowlers let the side down. On the other hand, debutants Gujarat Lions have a balanced side with top-class performers in both batting and bowling. They have explosive batsmen in Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and a plenty of top-notch all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner.
Already out of the reckoning, Gujarat Lions severely dented Kings XI Punjab's play-off chances with a comfortable six-wicket victory in an Indian Premier League match, in Mohali, on Sunday.
Having outplayed Bangladesh 'A' in all the departments in the first unofficial ODI, an upbeat India 'A' will be looking to keep the winning momentum.
These schemes are expected to perform in the next 2-3 years.
Bolstered by the return of regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India will look to regroup and fight their way back into the four-match series when they face Australia on a lively Gabba wicket in the second cricket Test starting in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Delhi suffered another batting collapse to brighten Punjab's prospects of recording an outright victory in their Ranji Trophy Group B match in New Delhi on Thursday.
Axar Patel, who grabbed attention with his effective left-arm spin bowling for India in the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka, today insisted he was a batsman who could bowl.
A round-up of the Ranji matches played on Friday
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday
Uncertanity over the availability of Wriddhiman Saha, who had a split webbing in his right hand, for the first One-Day International against Sri Lanka seems to be over as the wicketkeeper batsman looked fit ahead of the opening game, in Cuttack on Sunday.
Fringe players have a chance to prove their worth when India 'A' takes on Sri Lanka in the tourists' only warm-up match ahead of the hastily scheduled One-Day International series, in Mumbai on Thursday. The tour game, at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium, also provides Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a fractured finger and shoulder injury, an opportunity prove his fitness and return to the side for the last two games in the best-of-five ODI series.
West Indies' wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin's century went in vain as they slumped to a 16-run loss against India 'A' in their second and final warm-up 50-over match ahead of the five-match ODI series against India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
A resounding opening win setting the tone perfectly for them, the new-look Indian team will look to continue in the same vein and take another step towards a potential whitewash of Zimbabwe when the two sides clash in the second ODI in Harare on Monday.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com's report card on India's three-ODI series in Bangladesh.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Unbeaten in all the three games they have played so far in the tournament, Gujarat Lions would look to continue with their impressive winning run when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Rajkot on Thursday. The Lions have been in red-hot form in their debut season with convincing wins in all the three games and they would seek to maintain a clean slate tomorrow at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The home side will also be bolstered by the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who did not play in the Lion's seven-wicket thrashing of defending champions Mumbai Indians in Mumbai due to his wedding.
Paceman Mohammed Shami is improving but he is not certain for the next match.
An overwhelming win over Pakistan may have brought a lot of cheer to the Indian cricket team after an indifferent Australian Summer, but there are a few grey areas that are yet to be addressed by the side, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's poor run with the bat.
Skipper Manoj Tiwary showed the way as Bengal produced a much improved batting performance in the second innings against Mumbai in a group A encounter in Nagpur. After Ashok Dinda's 22nd five wicket haul in first class cricket enabled Bengal to restrict Mumbai to 229, Bengal scored 198 for 3 in 61 overs.
Some of the letters exchanged between the arrested activists spoke of planning 'some big action' which would attract attention, Singh said.
Karnataka took control of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Mumbai by taking a commanding 222-run lead over the 41-time champions on day two of the five-day game at the Vidharbha Cricket Association stadium in Jamtha.
- 'Yuvraj's ommission from the sqaud was shocking' - 'Over the years we just neither showed enough vision nor bothered to nurture talented players' - 'Australia and South Africa have good chance to win'
All set to defend their cricket World Cup crown in less than a month, India will get their preparations underway with the aim of finding the right combination for the marquee event.
Sachin Tendulkar's farewell game in domestic cricket ended in a manner befitting his iconic stature, as the retiring legend single-handedly guided Mumbai to a four-wicket victory over Haryana in one of the most keenly followed match in the history of Ranji Trophy.
Manu Shankar/Rediff.com reports on Monday's selection committee meeting in Delhi.
Veteran Luke Ronchi smashed a quick century as New Zealand 'A' recovered from a precarious position to post a respectable 310 against India 'A' on the second day of their three-day match in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
After his phenomenal bowling performance, -- 13 wickets at an economy rate of 5.1 -- which proved vital in Bangladesh's first ever ODI series win over India, it is not a surprise that Mustafizur Rahman is the most valuable player (MVP) of the three-match series.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday
Star batsman Virat Kohli's maiden T20 hundred went in vain as Gujarat Lions produced a clinical batting display to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets in an IPL match in Rajkot on Sunday.
Manoj Tiwary and Sudip Chatterjee scored centuries to lead Bengal's spirited comeback against Mumbai, while Gujarat put themselves in line for full seven points after enforcing the follow-on against Punjab. A round up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy matches.
Humiliated in their previous face-off this season, table toppers Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to seek revenge against a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in Wednesday's Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru.
Sachin Tendulkar believes the rule changes in One-Day Internationals are responsible for batsmen dominating the 50-overs format in the last few years.
Skipper Virat Kohli blasted his second successive fifty and pacer Mitchell Starc picked up three wickets as Royal Challengers Bangalore notched up a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in their IPL encounter in Ahmedabad.
Buoyed by their thrilling last-ball win against Delhi Daredevils, a confident Rajasthan Royals will take on a beleaguered Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League cricket encounter in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Hoping to end their 10-match losing streak in the IPL cricket tournament, Delhi Daredevils will look to turn their fortunes around on home turf when they take on an upbeat Rajasthan Royals at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Rajasthan Royals would be keen to adapt quickly to their new 'home ground' when they lock horns with last season's runner-up Kings XI Punjab in their campaign opener in the Indian Premier League in Pune.
Sachin Tendulkar, who got off the mark with a boundary with his trademark straight drive, dragged an incoming delivery from pacer Mohit Sharma back on to his stumps and was bowled for five on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy match against Haryana.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday
KL Rahul became the first Indian to hit a century on his ODI debut as India crushed Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the first One-Day International in Harare, on Saturday.
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