Still licking their wounds after a sound thrashing in the lung opener, India will have to regroup quickly and fortify the chinks in their armoury when they take on a determined West Indies in the second One-Day International in Delhi on Saturday.
The ball was old, the stage set and expectations high but India's Rohit Sharma again spurned the opportunity to assert his long-form credentials in the first test against New Zealand on Thursday. Often hailed as the next big thing to come out of Mumbai since Sachin Tendulkar, the 29-year-old is an automatic choice in the limited-overs side and the only batsman to score two one-day international double centuries.
Should left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav make his Test debut? Or must India retain the winning Bengaluru side?
'I think they're feeling the pressure a little bit to be honest'
India captain Virat Kohli has confirmed that fit-again opening batsman KL Rahul will return to the side for the second test against Sri Lanka, with Abhinav Mukund appearing the player most likely to lose his spot.
India's Shikhar Dhawan said that many big stands are in store with his opening partner Murali Vijay.
The series already in their pocket and the number one ranking cemented, a dominant India go into the third Test against New Zealand in Indore on Saturday, aiming yet another clean sweep of a Test rubber at home. The hosts had blanked Australia 4-0 in 2012-13 and the West Indies in the next season. They nearly repeated the feat against South Africa last year and this impressive history in recent past makes India favourites in the first-ever Test being hosted by this city which has a long tradition in the game.
'At least 7 to 8 players, who are all Test team specialists will have to be in England in June'
Indian captain Virat Kohli has been rendered a doubtful starter for the fourth and final cricket Test against Australia in Ranchi, a scenario that has put the hosts under immense pressure on the eve of the decider of the bitterly fought series.
India Blue reached the Duleep Trophy final on the basis of a massive first innings lead, completing a comprehensive performance against India Green even as the game ended in a draw in Greater Noida on Wednesday. There was only one team going into the final against India Red after India Blue took a huge 470-run first innings lead yesterday by dismissing the Green team for 237. India Blue had amassed 707
India 'A' batsmen failed to deliver when it mattered the most as they crashed to a 121-run defeat in the second unofficial 'Test' against South Africa 'A', who rode on seamer Beuran Hendricks' six-wicket haul to level the two-match series 1-1 in Pretoria, on Tuesday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, on Wednesday.
While there were brilliant performances from Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane, India's pathetic bowling attack -- which could not claim 20 Australian wickets in any of the four Tests -- was depressing.
India have the option of playing all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test in Nagpur after the touring side were bundled out for 166 shortly after lunch on the fourth day.
Virat Kohli coasted to his fifth double century as India's frontline batsmen crushed Sri Lanka's toothless attack to stay on course for an innings victory in the second Test in Nagpur on Sunday.
Bowlers gave India the upper hand as Sri Lanka were bowled out for a below-par 205 in their first innings against India after opting to bat on the first day of the second Test in Nagpur on Friday.
Mumbai medium pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, who has played four ODIs for India (8 wickets), was named as a replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami in the One-day squad.
Taskin Ahmed said that on a flat track like the one on offer, in Hyderabad, a bowler needs to adopt a patient approach and wait for the batsmen to make mistakes.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead a full strength India squad for the two-match Twenty20 series against the West Indies in the United States on August 27 and 28.
"During the county stint, I got to spend time with English players Stuart Broad and Samit Patel (who both play for Nottinghamshire) and former England coach Peter Moores.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead an 18-man squad for the Test series against England. Opener Gautam Gambhir, whose last Test was in 2012, makes a comeback while two uncapped medium pacers - Ishwar Pandey and Pankaj Singh - find a place in the team after Zaheer Khan, who had to set out of the India leg of the Indian Premier League following a back injury, was overlooked.
On a high after sealing the series with comprehensive victories, an upbeat India will be aiming to complete a 3-0 rout in order to retain it's No 1 Test ranking, when they meet a listless West Indies in the final Test match of the series in Port of Spain on Thursday. Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series after their crushing 237-run win in the third Test, Virat Kohli and his men will be aiming to go for the kill and keep their top ranking in Test. India were reinstated as the No.1 Test side after Australia 0-3 whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka.
'These are elementary things you do not do against any decent swing bowler in English conditions. To try to do it to James Anderson, who is one of the great master craftsmen in those conditions, tells me the Indian batsmen have not done their homework'
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is likely to pose a few questions to chief coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli depending on how the third Test against England pans out after being left disappointed by the team's meek surrender in the first two games.
India lost the second Test by an innings and 159 runs on Day 4 at Lord's as a dominant England took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 2nd Test played between England and India at Lord's in London on Friday
The emergence of youngsters Lokesh Rahul and Karun Nair will increase the pressure on India's established batsmen to be more consistent as the world's top-ranked Test side look to dominate next year. Under captain Virat Kohli, India have been unbeaten in the last 18 tests, registering series wins in Sri Lanka and West Indies, and thumping South Africa, New Zealand and England at home.
Australian James Faulkner's superb all-round show helped Rajasthan Royals outclass Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs in their opening Indian Premier League match in Pune.
Riding high on an unbeaten half-century from Vijay Shankar, Tamil Nadu managed to score 192/3 on the opening day of their semi-final against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy match in Kolkata on Wednesday.
India made a strong reply to England's first-innings total of 477 after half-centuries by debutant Liam Dawson and number nine Adil Rashid underlined the tourists' batting depth in the fifth and final Test on Saturday. - Scorecard: India claimed three wickets on the second morning but the 108-run partnership between Dawson and Rashid in a productive second session for the touring side frustrated the hosts.
Royal Challengers Bangalore director P A Murali revealed the strategy behind not retaining Yuvraj Singh, saying it was to ensure that the purse of other teams are exhausted and help them get better cricketers for IPL 8.
Young Karun Nair cracked a brilliant unbeaten half-century to guide Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in their IPL-7 match at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi.
Should Mayank Agarwal make his Test debut at the MCG? Will Kohli/Shastri pick Hardik Pandya for the Boxing Day Test? Pick India's playing XI for the third Test.
Chennai Super Kings produced a clinical performance to crush Delhi Daredevils by 93 runs and register their first win in the seventh edition of Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
India captain Virat Kohli addressed the media after the rain-ruined second Test against South Africa in Bangalore. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports.
India are leading the five-match series 3-0 and should they taste success in the final Test, it will be their biggest against England, the previous being the 3-0 whitewash in 1992-93 under Mohammed Azharuddin's captaincy.
Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar on Tuesday said losing Glenn Maxwell at the fag end of the Indian Premier League is a big blow to the team, which has already been eliminated from the play-offs.
Virat Kohli is the sixth Indian batsman to register a hundred in his 50th Test, joining Polly Umrigar, Gundappa Viswanath, Sunil Gavaskar, VVS Laxman and Kapil Dev.
When the Royal Challengers captain got to 37 during his innings of 52, he became the Indian batsman with most runs in Twenty20 (International and domestic) cricket in a calendar year.
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