Following a 434-run victory against England on Sunday at Rajkot, star India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja stated that he was looking to build a partnership with skipper Rohit Sharma in the first innings of the third Test as the three wickets fell very quickly at Niranjan Shah Stadium.
High-flying Rajasthan Royals will look to continue their winning momentum and consolidate their position at the top when they take on a resurgent Lucknow Super Giants, who would be gunning for revenge at home in an IPL match in Lucknow on Saturday.
Australian batting mainstay Steve Smith conceded that he has let seasoned Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dictate terms in their duels so far, something that 'I have probably never let any spinner do in my career.'
Skipper Joe Root, who led England to a series-levelling win at the Headingley, expects an Indian backlash in the penultimate Test and said they're ready for all combinations including facing the "world-class" R Ashwin at Oval.
KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir rates Sunil Narine as one the greatest bowler in the history of IPL.
The legendary Muttiah Muralitharan only sees Ravichandran Ashwin achieving the 700-800 Test wicket mark among the current crop of spinners and feels Nathan Lyon, who is set to play his 100th Test in Brisbane, 'may be not good enough to reach that far'.
E A S Prasanna, whom Ian Chappell rates as the greatest off-spinner ever, tells Harish Kotian what worked for Moeen and what didn't for Ashwin.
'I would have picked Ashwin for his batting, let alone his bowling. That is why I can't believe he isn't playing because he has got five Test centuries as well. It is very strange.'
England batting great Kevin Pietersen has said his relentless defensive drills at the nets was the mantra to his success during the triumphant 2012-13 tour of India.
It wasn't very difficult to read between the lines as to what he meant after Ravindra Jadeja was preferred in the West Indies.
Ashwin termed Sri Lanka's tour of 2015 as a landmark for Indian team for their come-from-behind 2-1 series win. "In 2015, we were sandwiched into the middle of a leadership takeover. Virat had just taken over in Australia and we came here having played one Test in Bangladesh. We had set ourselves a lot of goals for each other and I would say we have achieved them and come out with flying colours over the last couple of years as a group"
Skipper Sanju Samson's departure left Rajasthan Royals in a tight spot but the team still should have won the IPL match against Delhi Capitals in New Delhi, says their head coach Kumar Sangakkara.
Former opener Gautam Gambhir backed Ravichandran Ashwin's return to the One-Day International squad ahead of the World Cup, saying a finger-spinner like him could be as effective as a wrist-spinner in English conditions.
Skipper Ben Stokes expressed pride in how England have fought toe to toe with India despite not having 'a chance in hell of competing' with the hosts.
Playing as an 'Impact sub', Rohit scored just 11 runs off 12 balls during Mumbai Indians' 24-run defeat to KKR. The result has almost put the five-time champions out of the reckoning for a play-offs berth.
'Over the years he's proved himself with the red ball and even in white ball he doesn't have a bad record. The way he has come back and bowled in Dubai and then two games here. It shows the quality that he has.'
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for the fifth Test against England?
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against England?
India might have felt the absence of their injured No 1 spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Indian conditions up there with the hardest: Ben Foakes
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the fourth Test against England?
Having found no success in dismissing Buttler, who was firing on all cylinders, a desperate Ashwin did the unthinkable when he 'mankaded' Buttler in controversial circumstances in the 13th over with the batsman going strong on 69 off 43 balls.
'I don't give myself one second of sympathy. That's why I put that tweet because I wanted closure. I hated the fact that people are giving me sympathy, I just couldn't take it anymore.'
Ashwin and opener KL Rahul played pivotal roles as Kings XI produced a superb all-round performance to script a comfortable 12-run win over Rajasthan Royals in a second leg IPL clash to bring their campaign back on track on Tuesday.
'Muttiah Muralitharan and Ravichandran Ashwin can't be compared in a strait-jacketed manner.'
TV replays showed that Ashwin had waited to let Buttler move out of the crease before removing the bails.
'You are playing a World Test Championships final, and you don't pick the number one bowler in Test cricket.'
India captain Rohit Sharma on Friday said left-arm spinner Axar Patel is likely to miss the first two ODIs against Australia next week while middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is "99 percent" match-fit.
'It's always disappointing being on the losing team. Looking back at when we had our chance to bat yesterday, cricket is always skill against skill.'
'He felt a twitch in the back -- that's what he said. We need to assess and monitor what he's going to do over the next couple of days'
Indian Olympic medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal reached Uttar Pradesh on Sunday to take part in the Ram Temple 'Pran Pratistha' ceremony to be held in Ayodhya on Monday and expressed their delight, saying that she feels fortunate to have come for the event.
Ravichandran Ashwin may have had a huge role in instilling self doubt in the England batsmen but his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja reckons that is has also got a lot to do with which team is dominating the proceedings.
India's bid to win a 17th consecutive home Test series, however, hinges on the success of their three-pronged spin attack comprising Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
Mhambrey said the team has taken tough decision to bench players of the caliber of Shami, Suryakumar and Ravichandran Ashwin
IMAGES from the 1st Test, Day 1 between India and England played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on Thursday
England getting bamboozled on turning tracks is no longer a "foregone conclusion" and the shock loss in the opening Test has given India a lot to think about ahead of the second game, says visiting team's pace ace Mark Wood.
India finished as the number one team with 72.2 percentage points in the WTC points table, the factor that determined the final placings rather than total points won, following a change to the points system owing to the Covid-19 disruption.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between India and England at Visakhapatnam.
On being asked about his consistent performance, R Ashwin, who became the fastest Indian bowler to claim 150 wickets in 29 Tests, said, "I think two things. I have got a good stock of my bowling at the crease."
Ravichandran Ashwin has been on a downward spiral in one-day cricket but India skipper Virat Kohli feels it's unfair to be critical of him.
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