Shikhar Dhawan might have had a nightmarish time with the bat in the ongoing first cricket Test against South Africa, but former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, on Friday, came in support of the opener, saying going by his record the left-hander deserves another chance.
'It's not about four or five bowlers; it's the balance that can get you 20 wickets. Like I have kept saying in the past, it depends on conditions' 'Competition for places, nothing like it. It goes to show everyone is one his toes, nobody will rest on his heels'
'Australia will be a different proposition... the pitches will be completely different than England.'
At stumps, India were comfortably placed at 157 for 2, after bundling out the West Indies for a meagre 182 by tea, riding on left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha's five-wicket haul.
England face an uphill battle to save the second Test at Lord's after slumping to 105 for four at the close of Sunday's fourth day in pursuit of 319 to beat India.
With a tally of 19 wickets in the series so far, Moeen Ali is the second highest-wicket taker from both sides after team mate James Anderson, who has 21 dismissals to his name. Incidentally, only three spinners have taken more wickets against India outside Asia.
Looking to salvage pride in the third Test beginning, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, team India got down to business at the Wanderers with a practice session that lasted just under four hours.
India's star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin consolidated his position at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after his match haul of 12 for 167 in the fourth Test against England.
India have endured series losses in South Africa and England over the last nine months but have still managed to remain the number one side in the longest format.
'It is the ability to fight back.' 'Obviously, you need skill to win a game of cricket, but the biggest thing is the resilience and the conviction to bounce back and the conviction to go and win abroad or anywhere.' 'I think that conviction is what stands out.'
Overwhelmed by the comparisons with Virender Sehwag after his dream debut in Australia, Mayank Agarwal says he will be happy if he could do even half of what the former India opener achieved in his illustrious career.
Nerves will play a big role when title-hungry Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad look to outdo each other and regain the coveted IPL crown when they square off in the final in Mumbai on Sunday.
Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow hit half-centuries and combined in a sixth-wicket stand of 110 to launch England's fightback against India in the second Test on Saturday. - Scorecard: The pair kept the hosts at bay all morning on the third day before being separated 10 minutes before lunch as England reached 191 for six at the break, replying to India's first innings 455.
South African pace ace Dale Steyn might not turn out to be as big a threat for India in next month's highly-anticipated Test series, feels senior spinner Harbhajan Singh.
India 'A' coach Rahul Dravid advised Virat Kohli to make Virender Sehwag's unbeaten 201 at Galle (in 2008) as a reference frame for facing the Sri Lankan tweakers.
'Rishabh is fine batsman but needs to do improve with gloves'
Agarwal, thrusted into the squad following failure of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, responded with a 76-run knock off balls, sorting out India's opening woes to some extent.
Steven Smith (133) became the ninth Australian to score a century on captaincy debut as Australia wriggled out from a precarious 247 for 6 to post a mammoth 505 in their first innings in the second Test against India at the Gabba on Friday. He was well-supported by Mitchell Johnson (88) and Mitchell Starc (52) who made valuable contributions down the order, as the hosts took a first innings lead of 97 runs. India ended the third day on 71 for 1 in the second innings. Statistical highlights from the day's play. Statistical highlights from the day's play.
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir kept his place, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the surprise inclusion in the 15-member Indian squad for the first two matches of the five-match Test series against England, starting in Rajkot, on November 9.
Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh produced an impressive display of spin bowling as India trounced a hapless Zimbabwe by 54 runs in the first T20 International in Harare on Friday. Patel (3 for 17) and Harbhajan (2 for 29) ripped through Zimbabwe's batting order, ending the home team's challenge at 124-7 while chasing a target of 179 on a slow track at Harare Sports Club.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Sanjay Patel defended the omission of five senior players who were part of the victorious 2011 squad from the 30-man World Cup probables, saying their performance in domestic was taken into account.
Cheteshwar Pujara rose to the occasion with a maiden century in Australia, pulling India out of a deep hole to a respectable 250 for nine on day one of the first Test in Adelaide on Thursday.
Day 4 in the first Test was dominated by Australian performances. First, spinner Nathan Lyon bagged his sixth five-wicket haul as India were dismissed for 444 in the first innings. Then, opener David Warner continued in his sublime form and struck his second century of the match as the home side put up 290 for five in their second innings, an overall lead of 363 runs. Here are images from Friday's play at the Adelaide Oval.
Captain Virat Kohli scored the first century of the series against New Zealand to steer India to 267 for three on the opening day of the third and final Test in Indore, on Saturday. Check out the stats highlights.
Still on a learning curve as India's Test skipper, Virat Kohli has divulged crucial captaincy lessons learnt in his tenure so far.
Up-and-coming Karnataka batsman Lokesh Rahul and Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Karn Sharma were named in India's 19-man Test squad for the tour of Australia, which was announced after the selection committee of the Board for Control of Cricket in India met in Mumbai on Monday morning. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will miss the opening Test, from December 4, at the Gabba in Brisbane, because of an injury and Virat Kohli will stand in for him.
Following Rohit Sharma's fighting half-century, India finished the day on 227-8, taking a massive 339-run lead on Day 3 of the 2nd Test in Kolkata on Sunday. Here are the statistical highlights from the day's play.
South Africa off-spinner Dane Piedt says it took a lot out of him to play cricket again after suffering a career-threatening shoulder dislocation last year.
With India claiming to be in good position after the first day's play in the opening Test, New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner reckoned that his side was not in a bad position either, considering the kind of start the home team got in Kanpur on Thursday.
The India captain dropped a hint that a second spinner in either Ravindra Jadeja or Kuldeep Yadav could be an option for the second Test at Lord's as the surface looks dry.
'Rohit can bring a lot to the table.' 'And if he clicks, then imagine how strong our batting line-up will be.'
Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 63 gave India a firm hold on the opening Test against South Africa after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 13th five-wicket haul to restrict the touring side to 184 on the second day on Friday.
Jacques Kallis marked the end of his Test career with an emotive farewell century on Sunday to give South Africa a chance of victory over India going into the last day of their brief two-match series.
India's carefully devised plan to triumph in England seems to be coming undone with injuries to their key bowlers.
England ripped out India for 94 to win the fifth Test by a crushing innings and 244 runs at The Oval on Sunday and clinch the series 3-1.
England's four-pronged pace attack bowled India out for 148 before the hosts reached 62 for no loss in reply to take control of the fifth and final Test on an absorbing first day at The Oval in London.
A confident India, with a new coach at the helm, will seek to record a third consecutive Test series triumph on the Caribbean soil when the Virat Kohli-led side clashes with an inexperienced West Indies in the first cricket match, in Antigua, on Thursday.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar said that India should field five specialist bowlers by leaving out Stuart Binny from the playing XI if they want to win the third and final Test against Sri Lanka beginning Friday in Colombo.
Having spent considerable time under Rahul Dravid's tutelage in Rajasthan Royals as well as the India 'A' set-up, talented Karun Nair is grateful to the Karnataka legend for giving him the "right confidence" which has gone a long way in him earning a call-up to the Test squad.
