'He just has to do what he does best -- which is to destroy opposition bowling.'
While the first India vs New Zealand ODI will be played at Vadodara, the second match will get underway at Rajkot. The teams will face off for the final ODI of the series at Indore.
Ashwin added that Kohli is in fine touch, a positive sign for Indian cricket.
Strong fifties from Atharva Taide and Ravikumar Samarth powered Vidarbha into the quarterfinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a thumping 160-run win over Assam in Rajkot on Thursday.
Rohit Sharma perished for a golden duck but Mumbai had enough firepower in its arsenal to quell the Uttarakhand challenge by 51 runs in a Group C match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
As India approaches a new year of cricketing action, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan questioned that with ODI-exclusive stalwarts in such impressive form, why there are no more five-match ODI series or any triangular/quadrangular series taking place.
Ranji Trophy: MP enter quarterfinals; Saurashtra on brink of qualification
Even as the focus remains on the T20 World Cup which is less than a month away, Kohli and Rohit will hog the limelight in the three ODIs over the next seven days.
'We will need to review the scheduling of matches between 15 December to 15 January in north India.'
Rishabh Pant's wicket was more than just another dismissal on the scorecard -- it was the moment Delhi's chase began to collapse
Of the 77 players signed at the auction, 35 of them were uncapped Indians, and one among them was the highly rated all-rounder Mangesh Yadav, who was snapped up by defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a hefty sum of Rs 5.2 crore (Rs 52 million).
Abhishek encountered problems whenever the length was marginally shortened, but the way he used his feet was pure joy to watch.
'He must be telling you that you doubted me? Now I have shown what I can do. I have got it in me.' There is a lot more to Virat Kohli's animated celebrations in Ranchi and Raipur than meets the eye, believes Ravichandran Ashwin.
Devdutt Padikkal slammed his second consecutive ton, while Karun Nair also scored a run-a-ball century to guide defending champions Karnataka to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Kerala.
Devdutt Padikkal and Ravichandran Smaran starred with the bat, guiding Karnataka to a five-wicket win over Haryana in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final.
Chetan Sakariya has taken a small step in his comeback trail, appearing for Saurashtra in the ongoing domestic season, a first for him since February 2024.
Devdutt Padikkal is turning the Vijay Hazare Trophy into a compelling audition for higher honours, registering his third century in four matches to keep his name firmly in the India ODI conversation.
The day was all about a hero and his fans, and by the time they left the stadium, 18 fours and nine sixes from the former India skipper had more than satiated their appetite.
Hardik Pandya is finally set to return to cricketing action.
At the Jaipuria Vidyalaya ground, Shardul won the toss and used the early morning nip to good effect to reduce Chattisgarh to 10 for 4 inside first five overs.
Yash Rathod has the sixth-highest first-class average for any Indian batter with at least 2000 runs, going past Vijay Hazare (58.38) and Vinod Kambli (59.67).
Karnataka won their fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy title, defeating Vidarbha by 36 runs in a high-scoring final. Smaran Ravichandran's stylish century (101 off 92) and Abhinav Manohar's blistering 79 off 42 propelled Karnataka to a commanding total of 348 for 6. Dhruv Shorey's third consecutive century (110) went in vain for Vidarbha, who were all out for 312 in 48.2 overs despite Harsh Dubey's explosive 63 off 30 balls.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi was felicitated with the 'Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar' by the President Droupadi Murmu on Friday
Dhruv Jurel continued his remarkable form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 with an unbeaten 160 for Uttar Pradesh against Baroda, a knock that sends a clear message to selectors ahead of India's New Zealand ODI series.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta feels that India's T20I vice-captain Shubham Gill, who is currently struggling to get going in the shortest format, has to play a similar role what Virat Kohli did for so long by consistently holding on to one end.
'The 50-over World Cup is still two and a half years away. It is very important to stay in the present.'
India pacer Mohammad Shami, playing his third game of the tournament, went for runs as he took 3/61 in 10 overs.
Vidarbha thrashed Maharashtra by 69 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final to enter the final, wher
Never believed in over-preparation, all my game has been mental: Kohli
Veteran India pacer Mohammad Shami will be rested for Bengal's Vijay Hazare Trophy opener against Delhi on Saturday in Hyderabad, the Cricket Association of Bengal announced on Thursday.
Varun Chakravarthy had a second coming in international cricket with 17 wickets in his last seven T20Is and 12 of them in South Africa in batting-friendly conditions.
India have been served well by Shreyas Iyer in ODIs at No. 4 but with the Mumbai batter unavailable due to injury, the team management entrusted Gaikwad with the job to build the innings and he did it with aplomb, hitting his maiden century in the second ODI against South Africa on Wednesday.
Punjab's Abhishek Sharma hammered a 96-ball 170 against Saurashtra, while Jharkhand's Utkarsh Singh's 91 fired his team to a big win against Odisha
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya will not be available for the league stage matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy because of personal reasons, but he will join Baroda if they progress to the knockouts.
Tanmay and Ajitesh: Once Kohli's U-19 lieutenants are on-field umpires for Australia A series
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will need a lot of game time going forward now that they play only one format but a decision on how the two white ball legends will stay in rhythm will be decided once the South Africa ODI series is over, skipper Shubman Gill said on Saturday.
Mumbai off to flourishing start in SMAT, beat Railways by 7 wickets
Ruturaj Gaikwad's whirlwind 148 not out powered Maharashtra to a nine-wicket win over Services
Skipper Iyer hit 137 not out as Mumbai crushed Puducherry by a massive 163 runs in their Group C game in Ahmedabad.
Perhaps, another Ranji title with Mumbai will be a fitting send off for Ajinkya Rahane.