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.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, on Wednesday.
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.
India have the option of playing all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
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.
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.
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
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.
India's Shikhar Dhawan said that many big stands are in store with his opening partner Murali Vijay.
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.
"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.
'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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Abhinav Mukund (84) and Baba Aparajith (87) shone as Tamil Nadu thrashed Tripura by 187 runs
Uncapped left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar has joined the test squad from the Pakistan A team currently in Hamilton.
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.
Kohli said it would be great for the team if Rohit can play the role Virender Sehwag did in his prime
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.
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.
In-form skipper Virat Kohli (64) and teenage prodigy Prithvi Shaw (66) were among the five Indian batsmen who struck fifties before the visitors were bowled out for 358 on the second day of the rain-hit practice game against Cricket Australia XI in Sydney.
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.
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.
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.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
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.
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.
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.
Kohli's double ton was followed by a 50 in the second innings as he finished with 610 runs in the series, which India won 1-0 after the first and third Test ended in draws in Kolkata and New Delhi.
India captain Virat Kohli addressed the media after the rain-ruined second Test against South Africa in Bangalore. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports.
Paceman Mohammed Shami struck twice as India closed in on a massive win on day three of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka on Monday.
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.
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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