India opener Lokesh Rahul says the thumping 278-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test will help the players regain confidence going into the third and final Test of the series, starting in Colombo on Friday.
Help Virat pick his team. Be the selector, chose your playing 11 for the first Test.
Showering praise on Virat Kohli, former India team director Ravi Shastri has said that the star Indian batsman's sensational form can only be beneficial to Indian cricket. Kohli is in the form of his life with four centuries in the ongoing IPL -- most by a player in a single T20 tournament. "Virat has hit a purple patch. Terrific batting. If he goes on like this, it will only keep on serving Indian cricket and be beneficial to it. The kind of batting on offer from him, he will make you stand up and applaud."
Kolkata Knight Riders, who have lost their last four games, need to get back to winning ways and keep their hopes alive of making it to the play-offs.
Barring Amit Mishra's inclusion, there were no major surprise in India's Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, the selectors retaining as many as 14 players who had toured Bangladesh for the one-off Test earlier this month.
When the selectors sat down to pick the Indian side for the Sri Lanka tour, they had plenty on their plate.
A confident Delhi are coming off two back-to-back victories against Royal Challengers Bangalore and a strong Kolkata Knight Riders outfit.
It was the fourth straight win in as many Tests in the World Test Championship for Virat Kohli's men, who also won 2-0 in West Indies, and India have now won 11 consecutive Test series at home.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and New Zealand, at Green Park, Kanpur, on Saturday.
Sunrsiers' middle-order has hardly been tested and when the opportunity came against Mumbai Indians, the likes of Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan fell flat.
However, Mumbai will take heart from the fact that they defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings, their first loss in four games, in the last match.
Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock struck commanding hundreds to author South Africa's spectacular fightback before Ravichandran Ashwin wrested back India's control with a five-wicket haul on the third day of the opening Test.
Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to quickly bounce back from the disappointing loss against Delhi Daredevils and seal their place in the play-off when they take on a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL clash in Mohali on Sunday. Knowing that there is scramble among top teams for the playoff berth and holding on to top position is not an easy task, SRH will have to put the loss against Delhi behind and look to put up an all-round performance on Sunday. What has made this game at the I S Bindra PCA stadium even more important for Hyderabad is the fact that Punjab, which has struggled through the tournament, has suddenly started turning over a leaf under their new captain Murali Vijay, whose appointment was made mid-way. The Punjab outfit, which is lying at the seventh place with four wins from 11 outings, pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam on Friday night.
India's Rishabh Pant has grown a nice little reputation as a batsman who can whack the white ball pretty hard and the 20-year-old reckons he would need only minor adjustments to his technique to excel in Test matches in England.
Rajasthan's campaign started on a controversial note when Jos Buttler became the first cricketer in the IPL to be 'Mankaded', the practice of running out non-strikers, who back up early, by bowlers on their delivery stride.
Comeback man David Warner will be the cynosure of all eyes when last year's finalist Sunrisers Hyderabad open their campaign against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the 12th Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, o
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the 'Firsts' in IPLs so far...
Robin Uthappa smashed his way to a quickfire half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders notched up a comfortable six-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Tuesday.
Ishant is on course to become only the second Indian fast bowler, after the great Kapil Dev, to complete 100 Tests for the country.
Dwyane Bravo recorded his best IPL figures with a four-wicket haul before Aaron Finch smashed 74 runs off 47 balls as Gujarat Lions thumped hosts Kings XI Punjab by five wickets to make a winning entry into the Indian Premier League match in Mohali.
Kings XI retains Chris Gayle. Steve Smith returns to the IPL. Delhi Daredevils sacks 10 players!
A formidable Karnataka continued their winning streak in the Super League stages of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy after they trounced Delhi by 8 wickets in Group B match, in Indore, on Sunday.
Pace spearhead Trent Boult led the way with three wickets after David Warner's brisk half-century laid the foundation as Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded a 20-run win over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Monday.
The choice of Jayant Yadav as back-up off-spinner in Test squad, or picking Baba Aparajith over the likes of Mandeep Singh and Sheldon Jackson in India A, could raise pertinent questions as to whether enough respect has been given by this committee when it comes to selecting performers in domestic cricket.
Andre Russell's spectacular all-round performance powered defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing four-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, in Pune, on Saturday.
Before the two teams face off in a much-anticipated four-Test series starting on December 17, Australia A are scheduled to play two three-day tour games against India A, which features Test specialists.
The teams for both the matches are a mix of experience and youth.
Wicketkeeper Kona Bharat has showcased his skills with the gloves and bat in the several games he has played for India 'A' in the past year or so and is close to selection in the Test team.
India's out-of-favour seniors Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag have been omitted from the Board of Control for Cricket in India's contracted players' list for 2013-14. The retiring Sachin Tendulkar, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin are the five players in Grade 'A', and will pocket Rs 1 crore for the 2013-14 season.
It is an perfect stage for India's mercurial skipper Virat Kohli, who loves to bring his A game to the fore when the chips are down.
Prithvi Shaw, who last played for India in October 2018, returns to the side after Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the ODI and Test series due to a left calf muscle strain.
A look at the newly-laid dark coloured Chepauk track is an indication that unlike the strip used during the first Test, this one will offer turn earlier than expected.
Rajneesh Gupta's fascinating figures from the Kolkata Test.
One of India's greatest wicketkeeper, Syed Kirmani, feels that Bengal veteran Wriddhiman Saha deserves to play the second Test against the West Indies instead of Rishabh Pant, who still has a "lot to learn".
Abhimanyu Mithun claimed a third five-for of the season as Vidarbha collapsed for 185 before Karnataka were left reeling at 36 for three on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final in Kolkata.
Dhoni's contract not being renewed is not exactly a surprise as he has not played a competitive game since that World Cup semifinal on July
If the Australian summer was the stuff of dreams, the showing at home against a quality England side across formats brought about hopes of a bright future.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in another must-win Indian Premier League encounter
Their nothing to lose attitude has kept them afloat for a play-off berth and Kings XI Punjab wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha said his team will look to employ a similar approach in their do-or-die IPL encounter against Rising Pune Supergiant.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the performance of India's top-order batsmen save Murali Vijay terming their effort as "below-par" despite the pitch being a tricky one.
