It will be an uphill task for the defending champs given their opponents' form and formidable line-up.
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.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the top 5 players who helped India perform superbly in Tests in 2016.
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.
Captain Virat Kohli roared back to form with a scintillating unbeaten 83 as India further consolidated their position with whopping overall lead of 403 runs at stumps on Day 3 of the fourth and final Test against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Saturday.
Joe Root's determination and Haseeb Hameed's grit were not enough for England as India won the third Test by 8 wickets.
Half-centuries by Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin kept India on course for a first innings lead after England made a spirited comeback on day two of the third Test on Sunday. - Scorecard: Having bowled out England for 283 earlier in the morning, India looked in charge at 148-2 at tea before Adil Rashid's double strike jolted the hosts who lost three wickets in 19 balls to slump to 156-5.
The Delhi Daredevils team management, comprising of skipper Kevin Pietersen and coach Gary Kirsten, will have some selection dilemma ahead of the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), if Ross Taylor is to be believed.
England batsman Joe Root and Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath have moved up to second positions in their respective ICC Test player rankings but failed to displace top-ranked batsman Steve Smith and bowler Ravichandran Ashwin.
India might have wasted the advantage of winning the toss after being bundled out for a paltry 201 against South Africa, on Thursday, but batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels the hosts' first innings total is 'much bigger' than it looks on a slow and low pitch.
Hosts India would look to do an encore by putting England through another rigorous spin test when the two teams square off in the third Test starting in Mohali, on Saturday.
Rising Pune Supergiant look to build on gains against Kings XI Punjab.
The IPL, which this year runs from April 5 until May 21, has been a trailblazer of sorts, inspiring similar tournaments elsewhere and even other sports.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha is hoping to continue his good form in the Indian Premier League with 'priceless inputs' from Kings XI Punjab's chief of cricket operations Virender Sehwag.
Ashwin, a key member of the Indian team across all formats, will have to be 100 percent fit in time for the upcoming Champions Trophy starting June 1.
Former India wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani has said the days of ten-overs-a-side contest making a foray into international cricket is not far away as it would make the game even more interesting.
New Zealand failed to make the most of a strong start as they were dismissed for 299 to concede a 258-run first innings deficit to India on the third evening of the third and final Test in Indore, on Monday.
South Africa's explosive batsman David Miller, who will lead the Kings XI Punjab in this edition of the IPL, feels that captaincy has not brought any added pressure on him. "Responsibility changes a bit as captain, but I am really looking forward to it," Miller said. "No pressure, to be honest. I see it as an opportunity. We have changed the squad a little bit this year, couple of new additions, but most of the squad stays the same. "I really believe we can win the competition this year. The fact that we haven't won it, doesn't add any more pressure. It's a great opportunity for the guys to step up," he added. The 26-year-old said he is looking forward to the captaincy challenge.
Australia beat India by 48 runs in a thrilling end to the first Test at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, with Nathan Lyon picking up seven wickets after Virat Kohli scored an inspired century for the visitors.
Rain played spoilsport on the opening day, washing out more than two sessions, after India had recovered to 50 for two in their first innings in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, on Friday.
However, the former Australia captain, admitted that a good start by the Indian batsmen might pose a threat to Australia.
'All you need is that players are in the frame of mind so that they can be at their best. After you take the field, you are expected to take over and adapt to situations'
All the Indian batsmen and bowlers will get a look in and skipper Virat Kohli is expected to decide his best possible combination for the playing eleven for the first Test depending on their performances in the coming two days.
India staring down the barrel as left-arm spinner Steeve O'Keefe's career-best six-wicket haul gave Australia a firm grip on the first cricket Test.
Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma on Monday managed to retain their places despite their below-par performances in the Test series in West Indies, which India won 2-0.
Under pressure to retain his place in the Test XI, Cheteshwar Pujara overshadowed Rohit Sharma by scoring a solid hundred as India Blue made full use of a placid track to amass 362/3 against India Red on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli combined to frustrate Australia for an entire session as India held the whip-hand at 215 for two at the close of a grinding opening day of the third Test in Melbourne on Wednesday.
There was optimism mingled with conviction in VVS Laxman's tone and tenor as the batting great today predicted the start of an era of prolonged dominance by the current Indian Test team, akin to the great West Indian and Australian sides of the past. As the long home season begin with the Kanpur Test against New Zealand, India are seeking to become the numero uno side in Test cricket and Laxman, who called captain Virat Kohli a "trendsetter", felt achieving the number one status will just be the beginning of a long journey.
The much talked about young duo of Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant will also be seen in action for India 'A' during the two-day warm-up match against Bangladesh, starting in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Virat Kohli has said that his team isn't reading too much into the newly acquired number one ranking in the longest format as they prepare to take on West Indies in the fourth and final Test starting in Port of Spain on Thursday.
Troubled England all-rounder Ben Stokes and India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin are among the 16 marquee players for the upcoming Indian Premier League Players' Auction in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28.
Cheteshwar Pujara stood firm to guide India to 151 for three at stumps on Day 3 for an overall lead of 166 runs.
Shikhar Dhawan has now scored fastest hundreds by an Indian against two opponents. On his Test debut, vs Australia at Mohali in 2012-13, he got to the three-figure mark off just 85 balls. Rajneesh Gupta lists the fastest hundreds for India against each country.
Uncapped left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar has joined the test squad from the Pakistan A team currently in Hamilton.
Karun Nair became the second Indian batsman to score a test triple hundred and his 303 not out helped the hosts post a massive 759 for seven before skipper Virat Kohli declared.
Electing to bat, the visitors were reduced to four for eight in the fifth over with both paers James Anderson and Stuart Broad claiming two wickets each, in the fourth Test against England, on Wednesday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to consolidate their gains when they take on beleaguered Kings XI Punjab .
James Anderson and Stuart Broad each took three wickets to leave India in trouble on 323 for eight, 246 runs adrift of England, after the third day of the third Test on Tuesday.
Chennai Super Kings thrashed Kings XI Punjab by a huge margin of 97 runs, extracting a sweet revenge for a string of three losses to them in the last season of the Indian Premier League.
