India's young bowling unit will have to push behind the timid show in the series opener and find its flow against a forceful Australian batting line-up in the second T20 in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
High-flying Kolkata Knight Riders and an unpredictable Sunrisers Hyderabad, teams that have built their IPL 2024 campaign on power-hitting, will look to outmuscle each other in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
With a dominant 24 runs victory over Mumbai Indians propelling second-placed KKR to 14 points and a step closer to qualification for the play-offs, the pressure is on KL Rahul's LSG to find a way past the threat that Shreyas Iyer's side poses.
That merging of skills and temperament has made him a much more desirable player than in the past.
The South Africa series in that context is the last big international T20 series that India play followed by one against Afghanistan in mid-January.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first T20 International against Ireland on Friday?
Resurgent KKR face struggling RR, aim to break into top-4
India's solitary ODI series win in the Rainbow nation occurred in 2018, emphasising the need for a strong beginning from Ruturaj Gaikwad and B Sai Sudharsan.
When you look at the teams, I suppose they are coming into auction when their top-order is pretty much full. So, in that regard, I don't see many batters going for huge amounts of money, reckons Eoin Morgan.
IMAGES from the 2nd ODI match played Between South Africa and India in Gqeberha, South Africa on Tuesday.
Dayal, Green or the Windies duo of Dre Rus and Narine?
Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav's places could come under the scanner before the team travels to West Indies for a two-Test series.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana has been fined Rs 12 lakh after his team maintained a slow over-rate during their IPL 2023 match against Punjab Kings.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will seek home comfort in their bid to return to winning ways when they face a depleted Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League match in Kolkata on Sunday.
Believe it or not, this is the first T20 World Cup won by India after the launch of the IPL in 2008 -- after 16 seasons of the T20 league.
With DC having lost all five games so far this season, a rejig of the top order against KKR at the Ferozeshah Kotla in a bid to revive their fortunes could be on the cards.
PHOTOS of the IPL 2023 match between Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
A beaming father Chandrapal, said that the son told his mom that he was confident of stopping the legendary MSD on his tracks.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that it is time for stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to concentrate on Tests and ODIs.
India will hope for better weather and a chance for the team's young batters to show their mettle in Sunday's second T20 International against Ireland in Dublin.
Yashasvi Jaiswal manifested his abundant talent while Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan displayed their grace and power with sparkling fifties as India posted a massive 235 for four against Australia in the second T20I here on Sunday.
"Fearless" is how middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav described his hurricane knock in the first T20I against Australia in Visakhapatnam and said he felt "proud" to lead the country to victory on his captaincy debut.
'LEGENDARY! Fast-bowling legend. Spin-bowling legend. Batting legend. Just legends imparting their wisdom'.
Surya made his senior India captaincy debut with a two-wicket victory over Australia in the first T20 International in Visakhapatnam
On paper, though, PBKS looks a tad more stronger than KKR.
India head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed on Wednesday that the team will persist with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers in the run-up to the T20 World Cup, underlining the importance of a left-right pair at the pole position.
A look at the best batters in the RCB-KKR game on Friday, March 29, 2024.
The T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against Afghanistan has been revealed, with key players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli included.
Their eyes trained on the big-ticket T20 World Cup in the Americas in June, the national selectors aren't finding it easy to pick just one among Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the upcoming Afghanistan series.
We need to make sensible choices that are in the long-term interest of Indian cricket -- and the game itself, suggests Indrajit Gupta.
Images from the 3rd ODI between India and South Africa at the Boland Park Stadium in Paarl on Thursday.
PHOTOS from the 5th T20I match between India and Australia played in Bengaluru on Sunday
Star India batter Virat Kohli was given the 'Fielder of the Series' award following India's win over Afghanistan in the third T20I held at Bengaluru on Thursday.
Who do you think was the best batters of the KKR-SRH game?
Rohit's choice to bat in the second Super Over suggests his capability, potentially sparking controversy with the decision.
Jadeja, Deshpande, Fizz were CSK's stars on Monday.
Rinku Singh speaks in a matter of fact manner, just like his evening job under arc-lights -- smoke the bowlers to all parts of the park and dip the crowd in delirium.
The latest edition of the grand opera that is Indian domestic season will begin in Bengaluru on Wednesday with the Duleep Trophy.
