India yet again produced a listless bowling performance as Derbyshire piled up 326 for five at stumps of the first day of their second tour game ahead of five-match Test series against England.
Indian bowlers struggled even under favourable conditions on a rain-hit third day as the visitor's three-day practice match against Leicestershire ended in a draw.
Australian opener David Warner on Tuesday said that a good pitch coupled with India's poor bowling and fielding helped Australia.
Ajinkya Rahane hit a resolute fifty and spinner Pravin Tambe scalped three crucial wickets as Rajasthan Royals notched up a 14-run victory over Chennai Super Kings to advance to the finals of the Champions League Twenty20.
The series already in their pocket, India would aim for a clean sweep against the hosts and end the tour of Australia on a high when the two teams clash in the third and final Twenty20.
So 52 games have already been played in the Indian Premier League this season. Here are the Most Valuable players and some random observations by Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle.
India's batsmen have gone about their job efficiently, posting big totals on the board but the bowlers have been ordinary at best, allowing the hosts to chase down those tall scores in each of the first three ODIs of the five-match series.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed five for 52 as Indian bowlers dominated the proceedings to bowl out West Indies for a meagre 196 on Day 1 of the second Test in Jamaica.
Rohit Sharma's sizzling century went in vain as Australia survived a few anxious moments before pulling off a tense four-wicket win over India in a cricket tri-series ODI match in Melbourne.
The series is out of bounds but Indian cricket is all set to enter a new era under the feisty Virat Kohli, whose leadership would be put through a trial by fire when the visitors seek redemption in the fourth and final Test against Australia starting in Sydney on Tuesday.
World champions India have consolidated their top rank on the ICC ODI Team Rankings after sweeping the series against Sri Lanka, which concluded in Ranchi on Sunday.
In an extraordinary twist to the game, India on Saturday capitulated to an embarassing 63-run defeat in the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka.
India became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 after a thumping eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a Group 2 match, in Mirpur, on Friday. After restricting the hosts to 138 for 7, courtesy yet another dominating performance by the spinners, their batsmen hit up the required runs easily, with nine balls to spare.
Jolted by the loss to Australia in their opening match, India will look to plug its bowling loopholes and ensure a stronger batting display when they take on England in their second ODI tri-series match in Brisbane on Tuesday. Both sides will be looking to register their first victory in the tournament, the hosts having stolen a march on them with two successive wins.
A summary of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday
Set a stiff target of 458 for victory, the hosts rode on centuries from Faf du Plessis (134) and AB de Villiers (103) but failed to pull off a sensational victory, falling short by a narrow margin of eight runs.
India took a stranglehold over the West Indies on the opening day of the first Test at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Having restricted the visitors to 234 in the first innings, the home team put up 37 without loss in 12 overs in reply by stumps.
Reigning champion India will be bidding to gain further momentum and become only the third side in World Cup history to successfully defend its title after West Indies in 1975 and 1979 and Australia, who won the coveted prize three times in succession between 1999 and 2007.
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.
Rain threatens to disrupt the first day's play when Sri Lanka and India face-off in the opening Test at Galle on Wednesday.
New Zealand rode on a superb unbeaten hundred from Ross Taylor to thrash India by seven wickets in the fourth One-Day International and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, in Hamilton, on Tuesday. The defeat also handed the tourists their second straight series defeat overseas, following the 2-0 loss to South Africa last month.
Chennai Super Kings' skipper MS Dhoni powered his team to a final over victory. CSK beat the hosts Mumbai Indians by four wickets at the Wankhede, Mumbai on Saturday night.
Rohit Sharma was unbeaten on 127 and Ravichandran Ashwin on 92 as India ended Day 2 in the first Test against the West Indies on 354 for 6 (from 102 overs), leading the visitors by 120 runs.
Seeking to continue their winning momentum and take an unassailable 2-0 lead, India were dealt a blow ahead of the third one-dayer against England at Trent Bridge on Saturday as opener Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the remainder of the tour because of injury.
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) race will be a direct face-off between Kings XI Punjab's hard-hitting batsman Glenn Maxwell and Kolkata Knight Riders' dashing opener Robin Uthappa.
The third and final cricket One Day International between India and South Africa was abandoned after rains intervened at the innings break to leave the home side with a 2-0 series win in Centurion.
Sri Lanka won the just-concluded Asia Cup, but none of their players figure in Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji's most valuable player index. Check it out.
India's batting sensation Virat Kohli, named player of the tournament, is also the most valuable player of World T20 2016. With a fifty and two wickets, England's Joe Root is just behind him.
Virat Kohli hit a splendid century but Mitchell McClenaghan claimed four wickets to lift New Zealand to a thrilling 24-run victory against India in the first One-Day International in Napier.
Vernon Philander's brilliant all-round show played a major role in South Africa's recovery against India on the second day of the first Test.
Who were the most valuable players in the just-concluded India-Australia ODI series? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji 's formula provides overwhelming evidence that the bat complete overwhelmed the bat.
India rode on Virat Kohli's brutal unbeaten 115 and Shikhar Dhawan's 100 to pull off a sensational six-wicket victory over Australia in the do-or-die sixth One-Day International and level the seven-match series 2-2, in Nagpur, on Wednesday. Chasing a mammoth 351, the Indians blazed away on a belter of a track at the VCA stadium in Jamtha to overhaul the target with three balls to spare.
Images from the World cup Group B match between India and the West Indies, in Perth.
Rajneesh Gupta surveys the cricketing milestones from the Mohali Test.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji analyse IPL performances in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.
With a MVPI of 1128 the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain has set records that even he might find hard to surpass.
The win at Edgbaston was not the first time an Indian team had vanquished Pakistan in an ICC competition. Rajneesh Gupta surveys the landscape of India-Pakistan encounters in ICC contests.
