Facing the prospect of a series defeat at home for the first time in 15 months, skipper Virat Kohli will have a relook at his team combination as hosts India take on a resurgent England in a do-or-die second T20 International, in Nagpur on Sunday.
The visitors have a 2-0 lead in the series and can wrap up the contest with another win here before leaving for the last leg of the tour in Colombo.
The hosts have hit nadir in both form and confidence, and, after a lop-sided 3-0 Test series victory, the script did not change much in the opening ODI, where India steamrolled the opposition by nine wickets.
A buoyant India will look to cash in on South Africa's injury woes, compounded by the loss of captain Faf du Plessis, when the two sides meet in the second One-Day International in Centurion on Sunday.
India may have had a terrible Australian summer so far, but commentator Harsha Bhogle said that putting in hard-yards against the No 1 ODI side would have certainly made the 'Men in Blue' battle-ready for the cricket World Cup.
Roelant Oltmans, the Indian men's hockey team's chief coach, says the new competition format of having quarter-finals in place of direct semi-finals at the upcoming Rio Olympics is not only beneficial for the Men in Blue but all small teams too.
While India has had a smooth passage to the quarter-finals, Ravi Shastri's claims of India retaining their title seem a tad premature, if not far-fetched. Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com looks at the lighter side of things.
India have to be cautious against giant slayers Bangladesh
Former cricketers, including Sachin Tendulkar, among other sportspersons, lavished praise on the Indian cricket team after the defending champions beat arch-rivals Pakistan by 76 runs in their World Cup opener in Adelaide.
'A lot will depend on how he performs in the next few months, but he is not a liability.'
One man, who won't be there in the opening game of the ICC WorldT20, was responsible for all four Indian defeats.
Having arrived in India on the back of a 2-1 Twenty20I series win in South Africa, the Aussies are better prepared this time, Australian all-rounder John Hastings asserted.
India lifted the Asia Cup trophy for a record sixth time after beating Bangladesh by a comprehensive eight-wicket margin in the weather-hit final at Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Mirpur on Sunday. Chasing a challenging target of 121 runs in the allotted 15 overs after rain resulted in two-hour delay in the start of the match, opener Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli guided the men-in-blue home. After the early dismissal of Rohit Sharma, Kohli (41 not out off 28 balls) partnered Dhawan (60 off 44 balls) to stitch a match-winning partnership of 94 runs for the second wicket. India now has won the continental tournament most number of six times followed by Sri Lanka (5).
England are the favourites, but India's tried-and-tested squad are in the hunt in the Champions Trophy.
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi has said Mahendra Singh Dhoni is "not 'Captain Cool' anymore" and suggested yoga sessions for the beleaguered cricketer to overcome the tough phase.
Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya smashed half-centuries to propel India to a formidable 324 for seven before Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav sent Bangladesh crashing for 84, in the ICC Champions Trophy warm-up match at The Oval in London, on Tuesday.
An unassailable lead in their pocket, India would look to clinch the one-day series against England by putting up another dominating display when the two sides square off in the fourth one-dayer in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Impressed with India's dominating performance in the World Cup so far but not completely satisfied with it, Sachin Tendulkar has said that the team can raise its game a few notches higher.
India will begin the journey to identify the core of their 2019 World Cup squad when they square off against a low-on-confidence Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series, starting in Dambulla, on Sunday.
Mohammed Shami may be struggling with form and rhythm but India's 1983 World Cup-winning squad member Sunil Valson feels that the West Bengal medium-pacer will be the team's 'go to' man in the upcoming cricket World Cup.
After Ambati Rayudu failed the Yo-Yo test, the selectors turned to Suresh Raina for the ODI series in England.
Disappointed with India's performance in the ongoing tour of Australia, former New Zealand cricketer Danny Morrison feels the touring side looks "emotionally drained".
'I would personally like to see Rahul Gandhi continue as party president.' 'I genuinely believe he has far more to offer to the party still, particularly in leading us in these challenging times that we find ourselves in.'
High on confidence after winning the first Twenty20 International, India will look to press home the advantage and seal off the three-match series when they take on Australia in the second T20 in Melbourne.
Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey sparkled with half-centuries but rest of India's batsmen put up a lackluster performance before the bowlers came good to hand the team a 64-run win over a second string Western Australia XI in the warm-up one-day cricket match at the WACA, in Perth, on Saturday.
India launched their campaign in the Champions Trophy with a resounding 124-run victory over Pakistan, in Birmingham on Sunday, extending their dominance over the arch-rivals in major International Cricket Council tournaments.
'Amazingly, along with the yellow army, there was still a huge number of desis, who had flown in from various parts of the world. No, we didn't sell our tickets -- we just changed our colours, for the day,' says Swapna Mitter, who was at the World Cup Final.
Splendid bowling by Stuart Binny and Mohit Sharma helped India beat Bangladesh by 47 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method, in a rain-curtailed second One-day International, and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
The Indian team may have been struggling off late in the One-dayers, but ask former India coach John Wright, and he would tell you that starting the World Cup on a winning note will act as a confidence booster for the Men in Blue.
While Rohit Sharma's absence because of a hamstring injury has affected the batting order, Shikhar Dhawan's poor run is a major reason for India's poor showing on the ongoing tour of Australia.
'Kanhaiya Kumar and others of his ilk are now out on bail. But what about the NIT 'anti-nationals'?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
Images from the World Cup match between India and Ireland at Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand.
India's 2011 World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten says the 2015 tournament boils down to three games: quarters, semis and final.
Bolstered by the comprehensive win in the series opener, an upbeat India will look to assert their supremacy over an inexperienced West Indies with yet another commanding show in the second cricket Test, starting in Kingston on Saturday. The 'Men In Blue' made a confident start to the 2016-17 season, recording India's biggest win outside the sub-continent when they thrashed the hosts by an innings and 92 runs in the opening cricket Test.
...And Jennifer Aniston off it, in Sukanya Verma's super filmi week!
The Indian cricket team returned to the grind on Friday with an intense net session in Melbourne.
Claiming that the team has identified the reason for the loss in the first One-Day International against Bangladesh, India opener Rohit Sharma said that the bowlers should take wickets up-front to put pressure on the opposition in the must-win second match in Mirpur, Dhaka, on Sunday.
India wasted as many as five penalty-corners seconds from the final hooter and went down 1-2 to reigning silver medallists the Netherlands in the Rio Olympics' hockey tournament on Thursday. The defeat saw the eight-time Olympic gold medallists slump to their second defeat in the competition.
tung by the defeat in the series opener despite putting up a big score, India will have to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on Australia in the second One-Day International on Friday, fully aware that any slip-up will make their task of bouncing back difficult.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says if India wants to win the ongoing five-match ODI series in Australia they need to find a way to dismiss home team skipper Steven Smith early.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances