With Jasprit Bumrah "ready and roaring" after an injury scare, Mumbai Indians will fancy their chances against an erratic Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two star-studded teams square off in the IPL, in Bengaluru, on Thursday. The big sub-plot of the contest will be the world's best ODI batsman -- Virat Kohli -- taking guard against the world's best ODI bowler -- Bumrah -- in a format notorious for its unpredictability.
Virat Kohli's men ticked almost all the boxes during their 203-run win in the opening encounter in Visakhapatnam and they would like to maintain the same intensity in their bid to seal the series in Pune itself.
Delhi's performance at home is woeful, but having registered a win after two consecutive losses at the Kotla, the Shreyas Iyer-led outfit is high on confidence.
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.
RCB to ring in changes against KKR in search of first win
South Africa's Farhaan Behardien reckons that the batsmen will have to be smart with shot-selection
Doubles specialist Wesley Moodie was named in South Africa's five-member squad for the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie against India, from September 18 to 20, in Johannesburg.
India will look to crush a South African revival before it becomes a threat to their pursuit of a maiden ODI series triumph here when the two sides clash in the fifth one-dayer, on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma continued his sensational run as the Test opener with his third hundred of the series, allowing India to regain control of the proceedings after a top-order collapse on Day 1 of the third and final Test against South Africa.
Needing 165 to beat Rajasthan, Bangalore were cruising at 75 for one in the ninth over with de Villiers (53) and Parthiv Patel (33) well set before the wheels came off their chase courtesy of some poor shot selections by subsequent batsmen.
Young Shubman Gill was back in form with an unbeaten 66 after India 'A' bowlers set the platform, dismissing South Africa 'A' for 164 on the first day of the Unofficial Test.
RCB have been inconsistent in their first six games in IPL-12, with both their bowling and batting faltering on many occasions.
Mumbai Indians will look to continue in similar vein when they lock horns with Rajasthan Royals in
It will be a big statement if Virat Kohli's young side could start off with a bang at Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 'spritual home', a task which will be easier said than done.
With rain lashing the SuperSport Park, Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal found it difficult to grip the ball and bled 64 in four overs as South Africa chased down the target comfortably to level the three-match series 1-1 here.
Shikhar Dhawan scored a century in his 100th One-Day International but scintillating South Africa claimed a five-wicket Duckworth-Lewis victory in a thrilling rain-curtailed clash at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday.
'...India has a really good top-order line-up and they bat out nearly 30-35 overs in ODIs with guys like Virat (Kohli) and then MS Dhoni comes ahead of me (at times). So yeah, with some more chances, I feel I can deliver a lot more than what I am doing right now' 'Over the last couple of years, Indian batting has also been doing very well. So you have to be very patient for your chances'
IMAGES from Sunday's IPL match played between Delhi and Bangalore in New Delhi
The film to be produced under Daggubati's banner Suresh Productions, will see Vijay Sethupathi portray the role of Sri Lankan spin legend.
Three consecutive defeats have more or less sealed their fate and for things to turn around for the Royals, every aspect of their game needs to improve and click for them.
Kings XI Punjab will be looking to get their campaign back on track after a couple of defeats when they lock horns with bottom-placed Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in Indore on Sunday.
The Royals are aware of the challenges facing them at the Sawai Mansingh Stadum, a few days after Sunrisers Hyderabad got the better of Kings XI Punjab to grab the second position in the standings.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza fought through a gruelling schedule to enter the last 16 of women's doubles and quarterfinals of mixed doubles by winning both her respective second-round matches on an all-win day for Indians in the US Open in New York.
SA's youngsters took time to adapt to situations
Captain Virat Kohli allayed his own injury fears and then termed India's 28-run win over South Africa in the first T20 International "one of our most balanced performances" in recent times.
Kohli made 160 not out from 159 balls as India, who had been put into bat, posted 303 for six in their 50 overs, before restricting their hosts to 179 all out to take a 3-0 lead in the series.
Shardul Thakur made his first appearance in the series count with a four-wicket haul as India yet again choked the South African batsmen, dismissing them for a below-par 204, in the sixth and final One-Day International, in Centurion, on Friday.
Weakened by the departure of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Saturday.
Their fate hanging in balance, a loss in the penultimate league round match may virtually sound the death knell for one of the two teams.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between CSK and Rajasthan Royals in Pune on Friday.
The Indian ace beat Raven Klaasen of South Africa in the US $15,000 Uzbekistan Futures Tennis Tournament.
Rajasthan Royals will need to regroup quickly after a heavy loss when they face Delhi Daredevils in what will be their first IPL home game in five years at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
Somdev Devvarman joined compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan in the singles main draw of the ATP Chennai Open with a come-from-behind victory over Briton James Ward in the final qualifying round in Chennai on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals face a herculean task when they take on mighty Chennai Super Kings in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) match, in Jaipur, on Friday.
Facing an early exit after their sixth loss in eight games, bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils, under new skipper Shreyas Iyer, will have to treat each upcoming IPL game as a virtual knock-out, starting with their clash against Rajasthan Royals, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
Rabada, the number one ranked Test bowler, could still play if he succeeds in his appeal against an International Cricket Council (ICC) decision to award him three demerit points for his reaction to dismissing Steve Smith in the second Test.
New Zealand paceman Southee ruled out; Proteas 'keeper De Kock doubtful starter
Having notched three straight victories after a string of losses, Mumbai Indians are looking to defeat Rajasthan Royals and inch closer to a play-offs berth when the two sides face each other in an Indian Premier League encounter in Mumbai on Sunday.
Sania and her American partner Bethanie-Mattek Sands shocked second seeds Martina Hingis and Flavia Penneta, winning 6-3, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of Apia International. Rohan Bopanna and Daniel Nestor beat the Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
'Everton can confirm that Wayne Rooney has rejoined the club from Manchester United on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee'