Skipper Cheteshwar Pujara hit a scintillating 140 as India 'A' posted 281 for three against South Africa 'A' at stumps on the opening day of the first unofficial Test in Rustenberg.
Both got half-centuries but Dhawan's personal commitments opened the door for Vijay, who responded with a patient 128 on the second day of the second Test.
Former captain Ian Chappell has called for drastic reduction in 'on-field chatter' and a limited use of DRS in Test matches after a gripping but tense India-Australia series.
The 22-yard strip at the Feroz Shah Kotla will be the cynosure of all eyes as a buoyant India seeks their biggest series triumph against South Africa when they square off in the final Test of the four-match rubber in Delhi on Thursday.
Tit-for-tat accusations of cheating and foul play only for it to rise magnificently in the wake of some quality cricket by the bitterest of antagonists.
Their pride bruised following disastrous campaigns, Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiants will look for a graceful exit from the ninth edition of the IPL when they square off against each other for one last time in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Supergiants are coming into the contest after a victory over Delhi Daredevils at the same venue, their home ground, while Punjab have lost their last two outings -- against RCB and table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad. Punjab's fourth and last win this season had come at this very ground, when they had got the better of Mumbai Indians.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia in Dharamsala, on Saturday.
Chennai Super Kings will be aiming to tie up loose ends ahead of the play-offs when they take on a listless Delhi Daredevils
On a day when the pitch played out easy barring the extra bounce and reverse swing extracted by the Aussie pacers, a determined Pujara held India's innings together.
India mounted a positive reply after Steve Smith's unbeaten 178 and Glenn Maxwell's maiden century powered Australia to a series-high 451 on day two of the third Test in Ranchi on Friday.
Rajasthan Royals face a herculean task when they take on mighty Chennai Super Kings in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) match, in Jaipur, on Friday.
Dhoni has turned back the clock with his last three innings, two of them half centuries, adding to the fine run of imposing all-rounder Shane Watson.
Mumbai Indians have won three out of the four IPL finals they have been part of, including the two against CSK in 2013 and 2015.
The 40-time champions were thrashed by an innings and 44 runs by Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Friday.
MS Dhoni is ready for limited overs series against South Africa.
Young Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar, who has impressed in recent times but had failed the Yo-Yo test, said he is hopeful of clearing it in the future.
Squaring off with India once again after a fiercely fought Test series, left-arm Australian pacer Mitchell Starc predicted an intense contest against the same opponents in their cricket tri-series match in Melbourne on Sunday.
Basu is most satisfied about the transformation he has brought in the fitness levels of speedsters Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's heroics with the bat went in vain as Chennai Super Kings went down by four runs against Kings XI Punjab in a close finish in the Indian Premier League.
With his tight technique and a cool temperament, Cheteshwar Pujara has an assuring presence at the crease, former captain Sunil Gavaskar said in praise of the young batsman, who rescued India with his century.
Images from Day 1 in the third Test between India and Sri Lanka, in Colombo.
Captain Steven Smith took a sharp catch to snare India's first wicket after scoring a big century to fire Australia to a mammoth first innings total of 530 on day two of the third Test in Melbourne on Saturday.
Skipper Steve Smith scored a controlled 133, Mitchell Johnson a game-changing 88 and Australia's tail wagged vigorously as the hosts barged their way back into the second Test against India on day three in Brisbane on Friday.
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said that captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would play a 'more prominent' role as a batsman in the upcoming Indian Premier League by batting 'relatively high' in the order.
Controversial England batsman Kevin Pietersen will be one of the first players to go under the hammer, along with senior India discards Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, when the two-day auction for the cash-rich IPL commences in Bangalore on February 12. The initial list of 651 players was pruned to 514, including 219 capped players, by the IPL governing council.
The skipper added that the journey since leading the side has been a learning curve for him, even as Australian cricket is just starting to come out of a period of strife.
India opener Lokesh Rahul fell agonisingly short of his maiden Test double century as he helped his team to 391 for four in a robust reply to England's first innings total of 477 in the fifth and final Test in Chennai on Sunday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was rested for the first three One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka next month and batting mainstay Virat Kohli will lead the side in his absence.
Norma Godinho evaluates the Indians after their humiliating loss in Perth.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present the Most Valuable Player Index of the just-concluded three-match series between India and Zimbabwe.
The ongoing India vs England series is turning out to be a battle within a battle with both Virat Kohli and Joe Root vying for the title of the best batsman in world cricket.
Here are the statistical highlights from the second day's play of the fourth cricket Test between India and England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Kohli's 147 -- his 15th Test hundred -- and an equally confident 136 by Murali Vijay enabled India to extend their first-innings lead to 51 runs in reply to England's 400.
A dominant India will be eyeing to clinch the five-Test series against England with yet another comprehensive victory when the two teams square off in the fourth match of the series starting from Thursday. With an unassailable 2-0 lead after three Tests, the confidence of the Virat Kohli-led team is sky high and they would like to regain the Anthony de Mello Trophy which they had lost to Alastair Cook's side back in 2012. Even if England manage a draw, India will win the series after the visitors' hat-trick of wins- 2011 in England, 2012 in India and 2014 in England again.
India Test captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday declared fit-again K L Rahul as the team's No.1 choice opener, ruling out veteran Gautam Gambhir's chances of playing in the second Test against England, starting in Visakhapatnam, from Thursday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India paid the International Cricket Council around Rs 2.4 crore for various charges incurred for the Indian squad carrying "additional team members" during the World Cup earlier this year.
After taking an unassailable 3-0 lead following the nine-wicket victory in the fourth One-Day International against England, India is likely to give a break to some of their key players in the inconsequential fifth and final match at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
A draw may seem the most likely outcome but England leg-spinner Adil Rashid did not rule out the possibility of a result in the opening cricket Test against India in Rajkot on Saturday. The match meandered towards a draw after a solid century stand by the visiting team's openers - Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed - in their second innings on the fourth and penultimate day. "I think all three (victory for either team or draw) are possible. There's still a lot of cricket to be played tomorrow (Sunday). First we got to come out, get the runs on the board and see what position we are at lunch time.
All-rounder Ben Stokes lived a charmed life to register his fourth century as England punished a sloppy India to post a huge first innings total on the second day of the opening Test in Rajkot, on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians defeated Kings XI Punjab by 23 runs in the Indian Premier League match in Mohali.
