His long-standing feud with Steve Waugh was out in the open once again when spin legend Shane Warne slammed the former Australian captain as being a 'selfish cricketer'.
'Maybe, if Mr Modi can fire over Patel's gigantic shoulder, people will start to think that he is very much like Patel?' 'It's a long shot, but the Modi sheen has worn awfully thin, and after five years and a long, much-frayed rope, he faces real accountability from voters.' 'He needs any help he can get,' says Mitali Saran.
Kusal Mendis led a strong Sri Lankan second innings effort but the West Indies still held the advantage at stumps on day four of the first Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Saturday. Set a daunting target of 453 when the hosts declared their second innings at 223 for seven just after lunch, the visitors reached 176 for three by the close with Mendis unbeaten on 94.
Lavishing praise on his bowlers for their disciplined show on day two, West Indies' coach Phil Simmons said they would now look to get the remaining Indian wickets and urged the batsmen to step up to help them bounce back in the second cricket Test.
He may have only got a little taste of the Caribbean conditions, but young pacer Shardul Thakur says he expects slower wickets in the Test series against the West Indies beginning on July 21, much like the ones laid out for the two practice games at St. Kitts. The second practice match too ended in a draw with West Indies Board President's XI scoring 223/6 and 180 in their two innings, while India made 364 all out in their only essay.
India will look to plug the chinks in its armoury and provide finishing touches to its preparation for the four-Test series when it takes on the West Indies Cricket Board Presidents' XI in the final warm-up match, starting in Basseterre, St Kitts, on Thursday.
Spinner Amit Mishra shone with four wickets but the Indian fast bowlers were far from impressive as their two-day warm-up match against West Indies Cricket Board President's XI ended in a draw at St Kitts. Shai Hope's unbeaten century was the highlight of West Indies Cricket Board President's XI innings on the second and final day of the opening practice game. WICB Board President's XI were 281 for seven when play was called off.
Brendon McCullum blasted the fastest Test century to rescue New Zealand before Australia were reduced to 57 for one by the close of day one of the second Test on Saturday.
'This is a landmark moment for Lord's, with women's cricket now documented in the dressing rooms for the first time.'
Shane Warne's tell-all autobiography is every bit as controversial and engrossing as his cricketing career, notes Dhruv Munjal.
Former Ashes-winning captain Andrew Strauss has expressed his interest in the newly-created director of English cricket role for the ECB.
'It's Test cricket and (Shannon) is an emotional guy trying to do everything he can to win a Test match. Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret'
Graeme Swann called former England teammate Kevin Pietersen 'childish' after the South African-born batsman replied to a verbal attack from Matt Prior by suggesting the wicketkeeper would find it hard to win a test recall.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting will retire from all cricket after playing in the Champions League T20 in October, he said on Thursday.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter endorsed a German proposal for stronger integrity checks to vet top soccer officials as the sport's global governing body grapples with the fallout of a massive corruption scandal.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum broke the world record for the fastest Test century held jointly by his idol Viv Richards on Saturday without ever being aware he was about to make cricket history.
There was general consensus in Australia on Wednesday that retaining the Ashes this year got a little bit harder after the appointment of wily compatriot Trevor Bayliss as England's new head coach.
- 'We have great players, but great players don't win the World Cup, great teams do' - 'You need to have everybody contributing'
India's middle-order mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara scored his last half-century six innings ago but the Saurashtra batsman is 'not too worried' about his own form, saying he is happy as long as he is contributing in the team's success.
'What is the use of conducting an inquiry?' 'The BCCI will ask them about leaving out Mithali, but they can get away saying it was the team management's decision.' 'I can tell you nothing will come out of this,' former Indian women's team coach Tushar Arothe tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian.
The challenge for Virat Kohli's team is not just winning the four-Test series, but winning it handsomely.
Saker took the unusual step of publicly criticising his bowlers in the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney last month, revealing discord with staff over tactics.
Masaba Gupta gets ready for the next phase in her life: her wedding.
The bilateral talks took place as the formal heads of government meeting got underway in London on Thursday, following a formal launch by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
'The moment you are representing your country, you are supposed to do whatever you are assigned. When I was carrying drinks during the Champions Trophy, I had no ego issues. That's how I am as a person' 'The biggest lesson of life for me is to keep things simple'
Roston Chase joined an elite group, scoring an unbeaten century as West Indies staged a great escape in the second Test against India in Jamaica on Wednesday.
The weather stands in the way of India going 2-0 up in the series after rain forced an early end to play on day four with the West Indies in deep trouble at 48/4 in their second innings and 256 runs behind the visitors, in Kingston, on Tuesday.
India spinner R Ashwin said he was surprised with West Indies' decision to bat first on a sticky wicket, even as he returned with a five-wicket haul on the opening day to dismiss the hosts for a paltry 196 in the second cricket Test in Kingston, Jamaica.
Fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who took four wickets in the first innings to help India enforce the follow-on, said considering the slow nature of the pitch, bowling as many maiden overs as possible was their plan to create pressure on the West Indies' batsmen.
India's skipper Virat Kohli scored a splendid unbeaten century to guide his team to a comfortable 302 for the loss of four wickets at stumps on day one of the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua on Thursday. At the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Kohli carried his limited-overs form into Tests and scored an effortless 143 off 197 balls, which was laced with 16 boundaries.
India's star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that his team will look to come hard at the West Indies batsmen in the first innings and knock them over early during the four-Test series.
West Indies fast bowling legend Curtly Ambrose says Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar were two of the greatest batsmen of their generation, but it is difficult to compare them because both were so different.
The pitch was slow and shot-making difficult but India batting coach Sanjay Bangar said these factors cannot cover up for the fact that batsmen 'let the team down' in the lost fourth One-Day International against West Indies, on Sunday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Ajinkya Rahane scored his seventh Test hundred to help India take a huge first innings lead before rain forced play to be called off early on day three of the second Test against the West Indies, in Jamaica, on Monday.
Indian bowlers, with the exception of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, were far from impressive as they struggled for wickets on the third and final day of the second tour match against the West Indies Board President's XI which ended in a draw in Basseterre, St. Kitts on Saturday.
Ravindra Jadeja continued his impressive form in India's second and final tour match against West Indies Board President's XI as he followed up his three-wicket spell with a fine half-century on the second day.
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq equalled Viv Richards's record for the fasTest Test century while his team stood six wickets away from a memorable 2-0 series win against Australia on Sunday.
After so many false dawns, West Indies cricket fans will be wary of reading too much into Sunday's third Test win over England but in drawing the three Test series, the Caribbean side showed some significant signs of improvement.
