Sunil Gavaskar slammed the Indian team management for fielding an unchanged eleven in the dead rubber against Afghanistan, wondering whether the "fear" of bench players succeeding over current favourites prompted it to play the same team.
A collective effort put India in a commanding position on Day 2 of the opening Test against England in Motera on Friday. Having declared their first innings on a mammoth 521 for eight, highlighted by a magnificent 206 not out by Cheteshwar Pujara, the home team reduced the visitors to 41 for three at stumps.
After a month and half of topsy-turvy ride, eight teams have managed to steer themselves clear of other 24 contenders to enter the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara started off the 13th edition of DY Patil T20 Cup with an uncharacteristic century to guide Indian Oil to an emphatic 10-wicket win over Air India. Pujara slammed an unbeaten 108 off 73 balls (14x4s, 2x6s) to register the commanding victory for his side. At the University Ground in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, Air India batted first to post 180 for four in their 20 overs.
Cheteshwar Pujara surpassed Vijay Merchant's record for the most double hundreds by an Indian in first-class cricket -- a record that stood for almost 70 years. A roundup of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches on Thursday.
Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara may have drawn criticism for his slow strike rate during the tour of West Indies but India coach Anil Kumble on Wednesday threw his weight behind the batsman saying he is a vital cog in the team's scheme of things and no one has put pressure on him to score quickly.
After a successful tour of England and Scotland, Saurashtra's young batsman Cheteshwar Pujara speaks exclusively to Rediff.com
It still left Australia in possession of a sizeable lead of 88 and Lyon wrecked India's top order before the home side could erase their deficit.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 3rd Test played between India and Australia in Indore on Thursday.
Talking about the pace department, Panesar picked Umesh Yadav as the third pacer ahead of Shardul Thakur. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are automatic selections in the playing eleven.
India's batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara sought to play mind games ahead of the second Test against South Africa, saying the visitors had more positives to take from the epic drawn first Test and would look to "build on the gains" from that match.
West Zone breezed into the final of the Duleep Trophy on the basis of a huge 475-run first innings lead after their semi-final against North Zone ended in a tame draw in Rajkot on Friday. Resuming at the overnight score of 56 for 1, West Zone declared their second innings at 345 for 7, a few overs before the start of the mandatory overs.
Sachin Tendulkar turns 40 on Wednesday and the milestone means the sun will soon set on the batting maestro's illustrious career. Ahead of his big day, Tendulkar spoke to The Hindu about his satisfaction with Team India's youngsters, life after the retirement of teammates, dressing room banter and the evolution of batting.
The right-handed Indian opening batsman also emerged the leading run-scorer in the 16-team event with 349 runs.
India and Australia began training for the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
On Wednesday, July 13, Cheteshwar Pujara rolled over his arm and bowled some leg-spin for Sussex.
Will Rohit continue playing Test cricket for the next two years and complete the upcoming cycle?
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara hit centuries as India reached 311 for one at stumps on the second day against Australia in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Cheteshwar Pujara gained a spot to be the highest-ranked Indian batsman at seventh even as R Ashwin remained steady eighth in the bowlers' list of the latest ICC Test rankings released on Sunday.
Mayank Agarwal, vice-captain of South, Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw have come to this match riding on heaps of runs that they have made in the previous Ranji season.
India will be hoping to pull off a miracle on Sunday by surviving Australia's relentless bowling onslaught.
Ravichandran Ashwin revealed how he was left in tears after his wife Prithi broke out the news of mother's hospitalisation.
The 21-year-old left-hander has gained 21 slots and reached 17th place, the joint-highest by a specialist India wicketkeeper along with Farokh Engineer, who did so in January 1973.
Harbhajan has expressed his massive displeasure with the "lack of respect" for the Saurashtra man and the fact that the yardstick to judge performances hasn't been same for every senior player.
Virat Kohli and Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara held on to their second and seventh position respectively
Saurashtra's middle-order batter Sheldon Jackson followed in senior teammate Cheteshwar Pujara's footsteps, completing his century on day two of their Ranji Trophy Group A tie against Rajasthan to guide the defending champions to a 300-plus total in Jaipur on Saturday.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final matches played on Sunday.
Rizwan said he had had some quality discussion with Pujara on perception of Indian players about being engaged in bilateral cricket with Pakistan.
Still finding his feet in the Twenty20 format, Cheteshwar Pujara knows that he cannot be "flamboyant" like some of his Kings XI Punjab teammates in the IPL but the Indian says he is hoping carve a niche for himself by emulating South African legend Jacques Kallis.
England off-spinner Graeme Swann reckons, if India's new No 3 batsman is the new 'Wall' then England captain Alastair Cook is the new Bradman.
India's premier Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will play for Team Zalawad Royals in the inaugural Saurashtra Premier League.
Cheteshwar Pujara made 49 and 43 in his two innings as Saurashtra lost to Haryana by four wickets.
He is being looked at as a specialist Test batsman, but young Cheteshwar Pujara feels that his sterling performances in the four-Test series against England has given him enough confidence to excel in the other two versions of the game -- ODIs and T20s.
'It was during Covid that Ashwin realised that family can also be a part of his life. So he expanded a little bit to give us space which gave him more happiness and stability to deal with a lot of things on the field. That is why he has had a detached attachment over the last few years.'
Cheteshwar Pujara received a huge compliment from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who said the youngster is a complete Test batsman whose temperament is the hallmark of his batting.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar says young Chiteshwar Pujara has got his basics right and can be tried out in limited-overs cricket too.
Cheteshwar Pujara, India's batting mainstay in Test cricket, has surged to a career-high third position in the ICC Rankings after scoring back to back centuries against Sri Lanka in the ongoing three-match series.
'They perhaps hoped to get an early wicket, but once they didn't get that, they went into a shell.'
Cheteshwar Pujara on the art of batting at number three, his preparation for the new season and the fitness regimen that has helped him keep the good batting form going.
