Jolted by the shock loss to New Zealand in the opening game, India will be fighting a survival battle quite early in the tournament when they take on arch foes Pakistan in what is being seen as the marquee clash of the ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday. The hosts, who started clear title-favourites, were in for a blow in the first match itself when New Zealand's spinners bamboozled their famed batting line-up on a turning Nagpur track. As a result, the world No.1 side is staring at an early elimination should it lose to Pakistan in the high-voltage game at the Eden Gardens. As is the case with most India-Pakistan contests, this game too has been preceded by its share of drama. The match was originally scheduled to be held in Dharamsala but was shifted here after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed inability to provide security to the Pakistan team owing to protests by ex-servicemen and their families.
The 22-yard strip at the Feroz Shah Kotla will be the cynosure of all eyes as a buoyant India seeks their biggest series triumph against South Africa when they square off in the final Test of the four-match rubber in Delhi on Thursday.
A summary of the second day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches played at various venues across the country.
Images from the ICC World T20 match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur.
The Asia Cup triumph, during which Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men did not lose a single match, is the latest confidence-booster that the Indians received heading into the big event following convincing victories over Australia and Sri Lanka in the run-up.
Results from final league games of Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament
With India all set to host the ICC World Twenty20 for the first time in 2016, we take a look at the 8 grounds that will host the 58 matches over 27 days from March 8 to April 3.
India rode on Virat Kohli's brutal unbeaten 115 and Shikhar Dhawan's 100 to pull off a sensational six-wicket victory over Australia in the do-or-die sixth One-Day International and level the seven-match series 2-2, in Nagpur, on Wednesday. Chasing a mammoth 351, the Indians blazed away on a belter of a track at the VCA stadium in Jamtha to overhaul the target with three balls to spare.
Indian cricket's fortunes ebbed and flowed in 2015 with Virat Kohli successfully leading the national side in Tests and Mahendra Singh Dhoni appearing to be losing his midas touch, while in off the field drama Shashank Manohar returned as the president of Board of Control for Cricket in India.
A round-up of results from the matches played at the Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 cricket tournament across the country.
Round-up of the Ranji Trophy games being played in different parts of the country
With India and England set to face-off on Wednesday in the first Test at Trent Bridge with an eye on the Pataudi Trophy, Rajneesh Gupta presents the history of their famed rivalry in numbers...