Riding on Samson's record-breaking unbeaten 212 off just 129 balls, Kerala posted a mammoth 377/3 on the board and restricted Goa to 153/3 after play was called off due to inclement weather.
Their bowling attacks struggling to find form, Kings XI Punjab and SunRisers Hyderabad will look towards their power-hitters to do the job when the two erratic teams go head to head in an IPL match, in Dubai, on Thursday.
Leaving behind the bashing they suffered in the opening match, Indian bowlers bowled with supreme control to bundle out West Indies for 143 in the second and final Twenty20 international in Florida on Sunday. Leg spinner Amit Mishra (3/24) provided the opening breakthrough by dismissing Johnson Charles (43) and R Ashwin then combined with paceman Jasprit Bumrah to tighten the noose around the West Indies with regular strikes.
Jasprit Bumrah's form and fitness will be one of India's primary concern during the World Cup in England and the Gujarat pacer may get some well deserved rest for a few games during the twin ODI series against Australia and New Zealand.
Joe Root passed fifty for the fifth time in the series to lift England to 385 for seven and a lead of 237 runs at the close on the second day of the fifth Test against India at The Oval on Saturday.
CSK have better resources but they must utilise them to the hilt. Teams:
Former captain Rahul Dravid heaped praise on Ravichandran Ashwin for his century in India's first innings in the first cricket Test against the West Indies on Friday and said a lower order batsman making handy contribution with the bat was a good sign for the country's cricket.
Three experts on cyber security, digital forensics, networks and hardware were roped in by the Supreme Court on Wednesday to "enquire, investigate and determine" whether Pegasus spyware was used for snooping on citizens and their probe would be monitored by former apex court judge R V Raveendran.
India suffered a late batting collapse, allowing the West Indies to sneak back into the contest after Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha struck fighting centuries on day two of the third Test in Gros Islet, St Lucia.
Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni dropped down the ladder to No 4 and 10 respectively, while Shikhar Dhawan retained the seventh rung in the latest Reliance ICC ODI batsmen's rankings, released on Monday.
Should Rohit Sharma get another chance or should he make way for off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin? Be the selector, pick your team for the fourth Test.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead an 18-man squad for the Test series against England. Opener Gautam Gambhir, whose last Test was in 2012, makes a comeback while two uncapped medium pacers - Ishwar Pandey and Pankaj Singh - find a place in the team after Zaheer Khan, who had to set out of the India leg of the Indian Premier League following a back injury, was overlooked.
It remains to be seen how the BCCI selectors pick the best players for every series in a cramped calendar, where the players have openly stated being fatigued by the bio-bubble life due to non-stop cricket.
Australian batsmen yet again took the Indian bowling attack to the cleaners as they scored a massive 359 for five, equaling their highest ever total against India, in the second cricket ODI in Jaipur on Wednesday.
Karnataka pacer Abhimanyu Mithun picked a five-wicket haul in their Group B match against UP. While Delhi's Ricky Bhui put his team in a good position against Andhra. A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Australia captain Steve Smith slammed a half-century to break Don Bradman's record for the most runs in a Test series against India and put the hosts in control on Day 4 of the fourth and final Test in Sydney.
On paper, it is difficult to imagine how Bangladesh will even be able to compete in a format which has been their weakest till date.
Paceman Mohammed Shami is improving but he is not certain for the next match.
On a roll after three successive wins in the ongoing cricket World Cup following today's nine-wicket spanking of minnows UAE, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his "complete unit" has been doing well with consistent performances in all departments of the game.
Injured opening batsman Murali Vijay has kept his place in India's squad for the final two Tests against Australia, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya dropped out with a shoulder problem.
Hosts India would look to do an encore by putting England through another rigorous spin test when the two teams square off in the third Test starting in Mohali, on Saturday.
Images from the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Chennai, on Sunday.
Rising Pune Supergiants now face an uphill task of taming the rampaging Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League clash, in Pune, on Friday.
India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been suffering from viral illness for the past two days, rendering him doubtful for the opening Test against South Africa, starting in Cape Town, on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the Chennai Super Kings record in the IPL over the years.
The left-hander smashed a 113-ball 151 (8x4, 10x6) to power Madhya Pradesh to victory.
That Rohit will make a comeback was indicated by skipper Kohli in England and that was precisely the reason why he was rested for the limited overs series against West Indies.
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Kings XI Punjab and much more.
Amidst controversies, the National Sports Awards were presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday.
India pulled off a brilliant all-round performance to trounce New Zealand by 178 runs in the second Test and clinch the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead, a win that propelled the team to the top of the ICC rankings, dethroning arch-rivals Pakistan.
Mumbai Indians are all set to open the defense of their title against new outfit Rising Pune Supergiants.
Retiring legend Kumar Sangakkara was unable to get a big knock in his swansong Test appearance but Sri Lanka overcame an early jolt to post 140 for 3, after dismissing India for 393 in the first innings, on Day 2 of the second Test in Colombo on Friday.
Images from Monday's match between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Mohali.
Besides Kohli, seam bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma could also be rested for the game, according to reports.
India take on a war-ravaged-but-resilient Afghanistan in their first ever Test match, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Critical of the way Mahendra Singh Dhoni rotated Indian bowlers during the crushing loss to South Africa in the ODI series-decider, former skipper Sunil Gavaskar said the captain was just not flexible enough in his approach.
A dominant India remained in pursuit of a comprehensive victory after Bangladesh finished the penultimate day at a precarious 103 for three, chasing a mammoth target of 459 in the one-off Test in Hyderabad.
India pacer Ishant Sharma wrecked havoc with the ball as he claimed a five-wicket haul to leave the Sri Lanka Board President's XI in tatters on Day 2 of the three-day tour match, in Colombo, on Friday.
Ravichandran Ashwin produced another magical spell to scalp five wickets as India notched up a series-levelling 278-run victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka, denying the legendary Kumar Sangakkara a fairytale farewell from the game.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Friday.
