India's newest spin sensation R Ashwin, on Sunday, tied the knot with his childhood friend Preethi Narayanan in a low-key wedding ceremony attended by only family members and close friends, in Chennai.
India has retained the same squad for the second Test against the West Indies, once again leaving out senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh from the side.
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram praised Indian off-spinner R Ashwin for his excellent Test debut against the West Indies, in which he finished with a nine-wicket haul, but warned him against becoming complacent.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy says his batsmen have to find a way to score against India's spinners for the team to have a chance of doing well in the ongoing three-Test series, the first of which the visitors lost in four days.
Off-Spinner R Ashwin sizzled on his debut as he claimed six wickets in the second innings for wonderful match figures of nine for 128.
Images from the fifth One-day International between India and England at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
'We would've loved to win the game, but the boys bowled really well and they also batted really well. It's probably on us batters to take a bit of the weight from them'
India end 2016 atop ICC Test Team rankings
England beat India by three wickets (D/L method) in the third ODI at The Oval on Friday to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series. Chasing a revised target of 218, England reached home with seven balls to spare.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin are fit for their second World Cup match.
As India takes on Australia in the first Test at Chennai on Friday, Rajneesh Gupta presents a detailed statisticial dossier.
Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina smashed blazing half-centuries while R Ashwin claimed four wickets as Chennai Super Kings crushed Wayamba by 97 runs in a Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Centurion, on Wednesday.
As India takes on England in the first ODI at Rajkot on Friday, Rajneesh Gupta brings you a statistical dossier of the career performances of players from both sides.
India No 3 batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who ground it out on Day 1, scoring 43 off 160 balls, believes that the match is evenly poised after India ended the day at 233 for 6 but conceded that skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane's dismissals in the final hour of the opening day will provide a 'little bit of advantage' to the hosts.
Hard-hitting batsman Yusuf Pathan and off-spinner R Ashwin are expected to be included in India's 30-member strong World Cup probables list by the selectors, on Saturday.
Seasoned players Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh were rested while Yuvraj Singh was recalled in the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming cricket tri-series in Sri Lanka, beginning from August 10.
Ahead of the three-match series, here's the schedule and key stats between the teams.
Temperamental pacer S Sreesanth, who gave away 52 runs in 8 overs in the final of the ICC World Cup against Sri Lanka, on Monday said he was 'not satisfied' with his performance.
And long after the match got over -- with India beating Pakistan by 29 runs to book a berth in the final against Sri Lanka -- MS Dhoni did admit that he misread the pitch.
He could not have asked for a better debut as R Ashwin became only the third cricketer ever to get a Man of the Match in his first Test itself and as he prepares to get married in a few days, the off-spinner wondered if the nine-wicket haul against the West Indies is a wedding gift.
Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar believes India's bowling is still a concern and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have to add some sting to their attack ahead of World Cup semi-final clash against Pakistan.
Often criticised for not delivering overseas, Indian off-spinner R Ashwin says he came of age during the most recent tour of Australia and it won't be long before his wicket-count goes up abroad.
'The T20 game is doing very well and there's no need to tinker with it.'
Chennai Super Kings outclassed Warriors by 11 runs to qualify for the semi-finals, in the final Group A match, in the Champions League Twenty20, in Port Elizabeth, on Wednesday.
Rookie Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar has been drafted in the Indian squad for the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka with seamer Bhuvneshar Kumar and senior opener Shikhar Dhawan being released.
The five-member selection panel, headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, went for the tried and tested in India's final 15-member squad for the ICC World Cup, to be held in the sub-continent from February 19. Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical outlook of the players.
What do you think about the selection of India's final 15 for next month's World Cup? Is the team capable of repeating the historic 1983 victory? Can these 15 bring the World Cup home? Tell us.
Gautam Gambhir was the most valuable player (MVP) of the recently concluded India-New Zealand One-Day International series, but Yusuf Pathan, with that explosive century and eight wickets, wasn't too far behind.
Kings XI Punjab ended their losing streak as they edged past Chennai Super Kings in the Super Over after the IPL match ended in a tie atthe MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, on Sunday.
Pragyan Ojha conceded only 11 runs in his four overs -- the most economical figures by an Indian in T20 internationals.
After making impressive debuts in their respective openers, Rising Pune Supergiants and GujaratLions will test each others' strengths when the two new entrants clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in Rajkot on Thursday. The two teams feature a lot of faces from the suspended Chennai Super Kings and at least six players, who played in the same side till last year, will now be in opposite camps. Close friends and CSK teammates Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will now be devising strategies as rival captains. Both have admitted that playing in a jersey other than 'yellow' has been very "emotional" but have promised to give their all for their new teams. The Dhoni-led Pune Supergiants were very convincing and dominant when they handed defending champions Mumbai Indians a nine-wicket drubbing. They did not even require their middle order, packed with Dhoni himself and players such as Steven Smith, to come out with the top-order delivering it for them comfortably.
Anjikya Rahane's gutsy 191 was in vain as the tweak duo of R Ashwin and Piyush Chawla claimed nine wickets between them to help Rest of India humble Mumbai by 361 runs and clinch the Irani Trophy title for the fifth consecutive year.
Team Director Ravi Shastri has praised R Ashwin for his performance in Sri Lanka and called him the best off-spinner in world at the moment.
The pacer was rewarded for his impressive return to international cricket with a berth in India's T20, and One-day squads for the series against Sri Lanka, beginning December 9.
South Africa's top batsmen gave a good impression of themselves as the two-day match against Board President's XI ended in a draw in Nagpur on Wednesday. Having bowled out the local side for 318, Graeme Smith and his men did overwhelm the target, folding for 354, but not before leg-spinner Piyush Chawla (4/88) and offie R Ashwin (3/96) exposed the vulnerability of the Proteas, especially the middle and lower order, against turning deliveries.
It remains to be seen how the BCCI selectors pick the best players for every series in a cramped calendar, where the players have openly stated being fatigued by the bio-bubble life due to non-stop cricket.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that "off-field distractions" is something that cricketers are hardly bothered although last 12 months have seen a lot of controversies in Indian cricket.
R Ashwin turned out to be the hero for Chennai Super Kings as he destroyed Kolkata Knight Riders with a sensational three-wicket spell in Chennai on Tuesday. Electing to bat first, Kolkata were hoping for a good start, but the 23-year-old Tamil Nadu spinner ruined all their plans by claiming two wickets in his second over.
Hardik Pandya hasn't featured in Tests since 2018 and has only recently recovered from a career-threatening back injury.
T Suman's brisk half-century and three wickets from Ryan Harris saw Deccan Chargers outclass Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in the Indian Premier League in Nagpur, on Saturday. Suman top-scored with 55 from 44 balls and Andrew Symonds hit a quick to take Deccan to 139 for four in 19.1 overs after being a set a modest 139 for victory.
