Australian captain Steve Smith said the pitch for the fourth and final Test match at the Narendra Modi Stadium potentially looks to be the 'flattest day one track' of the series.
Jasprit Bumrah blitzed England with the bat and then blew away their top order with the ball to put India in a strong position in the rescheduled fifth and final Test at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Who do you think should be part of the Indian team for the opening match against Ireland?
Batsman Ajinkya Rahane is expecting the Kanpur wicket to assist the Indian spinners and says the team's performance in the first Test will set the tone for a long home season, comprising 13 five-day games.
Fast bowling sensation Shamar Joseph should be fast-tracked into the West Indies squad for the home T20 World Cup in June, said former captain Chris Gayle.
Cornwall first played first-class cricket in 2014 and has 260 wickets from 55 first-class matches along with 2224 runs. He recently scored two half-centuries in two unofficial 'Tests' against India.
England pace spearhead James Anderson is not keen to participate in domestic Twenty20 leagues like the Indian Premier League, saying that whatever he has left in his career is dedicated to playing Test cricket for his country.
Paine has also been recently announced as an assistant coach for Australia A ahead of their upcoming series against New Zealand A which is set to begin next week.
We did not expect pitch to help spinners so much on Day 2: Deepti Sharma
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 1st Test played between India and England in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Former star spinner Harbhajan Singh picked Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of all-rounder Shardul Thakur for India's upcoming Boxing Day Test clash against South Africa in Centurion.
India rarely took the foot off the pedal on a batting-friendly surface, garnering nearly five runs per over.
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has endorsed Pat Cummins as the Test side's next captain and Steve Smith as the fast bowler's deputy while ruling out himself as a potential leader for the team.
New Zealand will look to score around 450 runs in their first innings on Saturday and pick a few early wickets to put the hosts under pressure in the second and final Test, opener Martin Guptill said.
Ravichandran Ashwin won the ICC men's Player of the Month for February 2021, following his impressive performances in India's Test series victory against England.
Ravichandran Ashwin tore through Australia in their second innings to set up a comprehensive victory for India by an innings and 132 runs inside three days of the spin-dominated opening Test.
Seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday went past Harbhajan Singh to become the third highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket, reaching the mark in his 80th match.
Sunil Gavaskar has welcomed the return of Harbhajan Singh to the Indian cricket team after more than two years, saying the off-spinner looks in good form even though he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone with close to 700 international wickets under his belt.
The SA skipper also defended his decision to bat first after winning the toss.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the first Test between India and the West Indies, at Windsor Park in Dominica, on Friday.
The last time India won a Test inside two days was in 2018, beating Afghanistan in Bengaluru.
Mohammed Shami claimed his 200th Test wicket and completed figures of 5-44 as hosts South Africa were bowled out for 197 on the third day of the first Test.
West Indies beat England by four wickets on the final day of the first international Test since the coronavirus break on Sunday, taking a 1-0 lead at the Ageas Bowl in a three-Test series thanks to a 95-run knock by Jermaine Blackwood.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara shared a century stand as India made a strong start in their reply to England's total of 400 on the second day of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and Australia, at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, on Saturday
A round-up of the first day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country, on Tuesday.
In all likelihood, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane would get another chance but over the past two years, his inconsistency has hurt this team badly.
The body language and intensity were not up to the mark, said a disappointed India skipper Virat Kohli, counting the many errors his team committed in the massive 227-run loss to a "more professional and consistent" England in the opening Test in Chennai.
'And I think Pat really hit that home. Let's be calm. Let's go do the basics really well and when our chance comes let's be ruthless.'
Kagiso Rabada is already in the pantheon of great South African fast bowlers, but if the Proteas play only a limited number of Tests a year, he can never surpass Dale Steyn's record of 439 wickets, reckoned Makhaya Ntini on Tuesday.
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.
"Now he played after nearly two years again and has been dropped again. Would love to know the rationale," said Harbhajan, one of the four Indian bowlers to have taken 400-plus wickets.
India will be hoping to repeat their success of two years ago when they registered their first-ever Test series win in Australia, while the hosts would be keen to avenge that loss.
The former India captain said even after breaking his jaw he felt it was his responsibility to get some wickets for the team.
India, resuming the day at 344 for three, went on to declare at 622 for nine post tea, thanks to half centuries from Ravichandran Ashwin (54 off 92), Wriddhiman Saha (67 off 134) and Ravindra Jadeja (70 not out off 85).
'Lyon has improved as a bowler in the last four-five years. He likes to bowl and he wants to bowl as many overs as possible. His line length is very good and has improved a lot, I feel.'
After winning their fifth IPL title in 2020, Mumbai twice crashed out in the league stages in two successive seasons in 2021 and 2022, while they made it to the play-offs last year, but lost in the Qualifier 2 match to the Pandya-led Gujaraat Titans.
The "baggy green" cap awarded to late Australian cricketing great Don Bradman on his Test debut in 1928 has been sold to a local businessman for A$450,000 (US $340,000) after it failed to sell at auction last week.
'The results speak for themselves, they have been doing it for a while. There isn't much to tell them, it is about giving them the freedom to express. The experience these guys have on pitches like this is always a luxury.'
