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.
Virat Kohli has broken into the top-20 of ICC Test rankings at 16th after his stupendous back-to-back hundreds in the opening Test against Australia in Adelaide.
Australia's nervous players rushed to check on India captain Virat Kohli after he was hit by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer on day three of the third Test in Adelaide.
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.
Abhinav Mukund (84) and Baba Aparajith (87) shone as Tamil Nadu thrashed Tripura by 187 runs
As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
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.
'It's the communication, both of us have been playing Test cricket for a long time. Especially me and him -- we are playing (only) this format particularly and we have spent a lot time not just on field by talking about this format' 'To be very honest I was hoping to get a double hundred. They had so many runs on board. I thought it will help the team if I could get a double hundred'
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara led India's determined response to England's mammoth first innings total of 537 as they struck dogged hundreds to guide the hosts to 319 for four on the third day of the first Test in Rajkot, on Friday.
After a below-par effort against Pune Supergiants, the Delhi Darevils will be looking to hit the straps rightaway with their prime players set to comeback in the playing XI as they take on bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter at Mohali on Saturday. Following three horrendous seasons, the Daredevils have had a decent outing so far under Rahul Dravid's mentorship and Zaheer Khan's captaincy, having won five of their eight games and are placed third in the eight-team table. There has been no standout performer as such but contributions from most of the players in their five victories has made it clear that Dravid's men are certainly not dependant on any one individual to carry the team forward.
Kohli said it would be great for the team if Rohit can play the role Virender Sehwag did in his prime
Statistical highlights from Day 4 in the second Test between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo.
Cheteshwar Pujara's ability to absorb pressure makes it easier for the other batsmen to play their natural game.
# Smith's unbeaten 178 is the third highest by an Australian captain in Tests in Asia -- the top two being 334 not out by Mark Taylor vs Pakistan at Peshawar in October 1998 and 235 by Greg Chappell vs Pakistan at Faisalabad in March 1980.
India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara jumped a couple of rungs to second, while skipper Virat Kohli held on to the fifth spot in the latest ICC rankings for Test batsmen.
India have flown in pace-bowling all-rounder Stuart Binny but Shikhar Dhawan's absence is likely to force the team management to ask Murali Vijay, nursing a hamstring injury which kept him out of the Galle Test, to partner K L Rahul.
Keeping a lid on emotion will be nearly as important as executing gameplans for both India and Australia when the world's top two teams continue their captivating series with the third Test in Ranchi on Thursday.
'Favourable conditions determine the slots whether it is Nos 6, 7 or 8. It can be any position as per the team management's call'
India's opening batsman Murali Vijay on Wednesday differed with International Cricket Council match referee Chris Board, who gave a poor rating to the Pune wicket, saying the surface at best could be called a 'challenging one'.
Captain Steven Smith described Australia's thumping win against India as one of his best victories but warned his team mates of a possible backlash from the smarting hosts.
The day belonged to Smith, who has now scored six Test hundreds against India in the last seven appearances and in the process also completed 5000 runs in Test cricket.
An unbroken second-wicket century stand between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara put India in command on a curtailed opening day in the second Test against South Africa in Durban, on Thursday. Bad light forced play to be called off early, with India sitting pretty on 181 for 1 in 61 overs after electing to bat first.
After completing his first assignment as coach of the Indian team by winning the 4-match Test series 2-0 in the West Indies, Anil Kumble has a special praise for his captain Virat Kohli and ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Having witnessed Kohli's progress since his formative years, Kumble admits he's extremely impressed by the dedication of India's star batsman. "The last time I saw him closely was in 2012 (with Royal Challengers Bangalore)," Kumble said, referring to the Indian Premier League franchise he captained and then later mentored.
Watching a domestic game at a nondescript centre in energy sapping conditions can be an ordeal but a small group of teenage girls were not going to be bogged down by weather or any other conditions.
The little known Thangarasu Natarajan's life changed in a matter of few minutes as Rs 10 lakh base price saw a quantum 30-time jump reaching Rs 3 crore.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com assesses the Indian side after the 2-1 series triumph in Sri Lanka.
'Let's see. You are the first one to tell me this. I need to see why they have not picked me. I don't know what the plan is now that I am not there in the team. Probably, I will be playing the Ranji Trophy'
Kings XI Punjab face the uphill task of not only pulling the rug from under the feet of formidable Chennai Super Kings but also boosting their net run-rate in the last IPL round-robin match to salvage hopes of sneaking into the play-offs.
Cheteshwar Pujara missed out on a second successive double hundred but his 182 went a long way in Saurashtra piling up a mammoth 570 in their first innings against Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy.
Chennai Super Kings take on table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League match, in Pune, on Sunday.
Captain Virat Kohli's huge workload will come up for discussion while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to make a comeback when the selectors announce the India squad for T20 and Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively.
It is understood that barring captain Virat Kohli, almost all the Test team regulars will be in action in the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Delhi Daredevils will play table-toppers Chennai Super Kings in a crucial Indian Premier League match, in Pune, on Monday.
It will be an uphill task for the defending champs given their opponents' form and formidable line-up.
Uncapped left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar has joined the test squad from the Pakistan A team currently in Hamilton.
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings will renew their intense rivalry after two years when they face-off in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to bounce back when they take on Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, the two franchises that returned to the IPL after serving bans in the aftermath of the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, will come face to face for the first time in the ongoing edition, keen to regain lost momentum in Pune, on Friday.
A superb all-round showing from Lendl Simmons helped Trinidad and Tobago crush a formidable Chennai Super Kings by nine wickets to clinch a semi-final berth in the Champions League T20.
Stung by a remarkable fightback from West Indies on the final day of the rain-hit second Test, India will have to look at their bowling combinations and get back to winning ways when the third cricket Test begins in St. Lucia, on Tuesday.
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