A dominant Sri Lanka made it to the final of the ICC World T20 for the third time, knocking out defending champions the West Indies by 27 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method after thundershowers stopped proceedings in the 14th over of the second innings.
If KL Rahul is fit, Abhinav Mukund will be expectedly left out, a strange coincidence because he was the original back-up opener in this Test squad ahead of Shikhar Dhawan.
Having focused more on Test cricket over the last year, Man of the Series Ravichandran Ashwin has come to terms with the fact that cricket's longest format is no "child's play".
Brought into the squad only after first-choice opener Murali Vijay was ruled out due to injury, Dhawan made full use of the opportunity and played an entertaining 168-ball innings that was studded with 31 fours. This was his fifth Test hundred.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be gunning for the No.1 spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers as an interesting contest promises to develop with Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who wrested the top spot following a 10-wicket haul in the Lord's Test that ended on Sunday.
Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler
Sri Lanka are never anybody's pre-tournament favourites but when the dust settles there they are.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmdullah finished as the MVP in the recently-concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament ahead of compatriot Sabbir Rahman, who was named as the man of the series. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present the latest edition of the MVP rankings.
Mithali Raj will come out with her autobiography next year which will provide a candid and revealing look into her personal and sporting life.
Despite scoring a world record 264 in India's 153-run victory over Sri Lanka in the fourth One-Day International at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, Rohit Sharma feels he still has a lot more to achieve in the game. An odd failure, he insists, will not check his progress.
Relishing the prospect of leading the side in the the first three ODIs against Sri Lanka, India's stand-in skipper Virat Kohli today said the hastily-planned series would be an exciting one, especially with World Cup spots up for grabs.
Photos from Day 3 of the third Test played between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday
Sri Lankan batting legend Kumar Sangakkara fought back tears in an emotional farewell where the country's President Maithripala Sirisena stumped him by offering the High Commissioner's post to United Kingdom, in Colombo, on Monday.
While India have been busy with their preparations in Sri Lanka, focus among the locals is slowly shifting to their heroic batsman Kumar Sangakkara.
Kumar Sangakkara displayed his class with a breathtaking 84-ball 103 as Sri Lanka recovered from a middle-order batting collapse to score a thrilling two-wicket over India in the Asia Cup, at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah, Bangladesh, on Friday night. Chasing 265, the islanders rode on the 36-year-old batsman's 84-ball 103 to clinch victory with four balls to spare.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji check out how Team India fared on the Sri Lanka tour and find out which cricketers were truly valuable to the team.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.
The emergence of young Jasprit Bumrah as a potent death overs bowler has come as a huge relief for Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who complimented the Gujarat lad for being equally effective with the new ball.
Boosted by their 3-0 clean sweep of Australia Down Under, a confident India would seek to continue their winning momentum when they take on a depleted and new-look Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 Internationals, in Pune, on Tuesday.
Rohit Sharma blazed his way to a record-breaking knock of 264 as India trounced Sri Lanka by 153 runs in the fourth One-day International to take a 4-0 lead in the five-match series, at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Thursday. The Mumbai right-hander launched an all-out assault on the Lankan bowling as a result of which India amassed a mammoth 404 for five while batting first. In reply, the islanders were dismissed for 251 in 43.1 overs.
Their World Cup build-up halted by West Indies team's sudden mid-series pullout, India would resume the preparations for the mega-event when they square off against under-cooked sub-continental rivals Sri Lanka in a hastily-arranged ODI series starting in Cuttack on Sunday.
South Africa won the fifth One-Day International against India by 214 runs on Sunday, to win the five-match series 3-1, their first ODI series win on Indian soil. Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from the match played in Mumbai.
Will India go into the 3rd T20I vs Sri Lanka with the same squad or will Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey get a look in?
The Virat Kohli-led team must take inspiration from the last trip to Sri Lanka, in 2010, when India beat Sri Lanka by five wickets, thanks to hundreds from Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.
Captain Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu played crucial knocks after Harbhajan Singh's impressive showing with the ball as Mumbai Indians notched up a thrilling five-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in their rain-affected Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
Featuring Gayle, Kohli, Root, Dilshan and Butler.
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.
The Sri Lankans have played 17 Tests in India in 35 years, but failed to win a single one.
With it's scandalous past, still fresh in the minds of fans and critics alike, the Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers will look to ensure that the focus remains firmly on cricket when the cash-rich event gets underway with a glamorous opening ceremony on Tuesday.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
This was the 36th tie in one-day international history and the 8th involving India.
The 2016 World T20 was the most exciting ever, what with that dramatic last over finish on Sunday night.
As we write this we still await the crucial India-Australia knock-out in Mohali. But India's individual performances in the T20 World Cup so far haven't been truly impressive. A look at the most valuable player index (MVPI) table reveals that there's no Indian player in the top 20. MVPI merges a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'. The formula to compute the MVP is devised to reward batsmen who score runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take wickets at low economy rate and fielders who field the best (take a lot of catches and participate in run-outs). Since this is a relatively low scoring tournament we have assumed a team's par score to be 150, and each wicket to be worth 15 'runs'. It isn't a surprise that players from New Zealand dominate the rankings so far, although Joe Root tops the table after his 83 in 44 balls against South Africa.
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com assesses the Indian side after the 2-1 series triumph in Sri Lanka.
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.