The pitches might not have been entirely in their favour, but the Indian pacers' ability to strike at vital situations has made a sea of difference in the Test series against England, reckons top-order batter Shubman Gill.
Yuzvendra Chahal last featured in the Indian ODI team in January.
Emotions were at an all-time high in the Indian team dressing room after they registered a historic win against England with a winning margin of 434 runs in the third Test of the series on Sunday in Rajkot.
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India made the blunder of reading the conditions wrong during the last WTC final in 2021 and shouldn't repeat the mistake this time as they eye their maiden ICC title in 10 years.
'I faced Ashwin a couple times in IPL before this, so don't have much experience of playing him in Test cricket. But we have batsmen who can play spin well'
'I am new to Kings XI, so it is going to be how we come together, how the team dynamics work and take it forward.'
Harbhajan Singh reckons the current team has not shown the fearlessness that one needs to win ICC titles
Although Manjrekar believes that Chahal will likely be chosen for the World Cup, he personally favours Kuldeep in the 50 overs format.
'You can't be just bowling the orthodox line when someone is sweeping you.'
India will need to be ruthless and tactful in equal measure while dealing with an unpredictable England when the third chapter of a riveting Test series begins in Rajkot on Thursday.
England succumbed to the pressure of standing up to a world-class band of Indian spinners
India's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said he is not intimidated by the Australian batsmen's strategy of attacking him as he has the ability to handle the onslaught and pick wickets as well.
Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal on Thursday congratulated Ravichandran Ashwin for being named as ICC Cricketer of the Year, saying the ace off-spinner truly deserves the award. "I think he truly deserves this award. From two-three years, he has been performing brilliantly, especially while bowling. This year especially, his performance has been phenomenal and he has won many matches for India," Lal told ANI. "There was never any doubt that he is a world class spinner.At present, I think he is the best spinner in the world," he added.
A reinforced skillsets and the ability to perfectly read the ebbs and flows of a match have made Kuldeep Yadav a tough customer, but back in 2019 the left-arm wrist spinner felt the need of a guiding force around him as his form went south while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders.
For the 'Bazball' inspired England, the win in Hyderabad has become a distant memory and a repeat of 2021 looks likely when India bounced back to win the four-Test series 3-1.
Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley said on Sunday the strip used for the first Test against India didn't offer much to the tweakers and he had to "keep a cool head" to make his debut memorable with a seven-wicket haul in a famous England victory.
'I can only advise the England batters to play with a straight bat.'
Apart from Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, India's batters struggled on a surface that proved to benefit the batters.
They are the team's leading performers, but Lokesh Rahul and Chris Gayle's batting in the Powerplay overs was one of the "massive problems", opined Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin after team failed to make it to the play-offs in Season 12 of the Indian Premier League.
India batting coach Vikram Rathour said that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is working closely with the medical team and the decision on his inclusion will be taken ahead of the start of the match on Friday.
India Test captain Virat Kohli has lavished praise on Ravichandran Ashwin.
Virender Sehwag's 'scientist' tweet on Ashwin goes viral
Each of India's top five batters, including debutant Devdutt Padikkal, managed 50-plus scores to power the hosts to a commanding 473-8 for a lead of 255.
Upset by Jimmy Anderson's comments about Virat Kohli, the usually calm Ravi Ashwin gives the English bowler a piece of his mind.
India opted to bring in Rajat Patidar as Kohli's replacement.
Cheteshwar Pujara defended teammate Ravichandran Ashwin after a poor outing by the premier off-spinner left India facing a daunting task in the fourth Test against England, in Southampton, on Saturday.
Ravichandran Ashwin says a stint in county cricket and tweaking his bowling action paid dividends.
Hurt India eye sweeping changes in approach against England's 'Bazball' in second Test
Ravichandran Ashwin's sense of humour is unmatched and he won a lot of hearts with a moving speech in which he even made up for a faux pas by former India keeper Farookh Engineer.
India's dependable No 3 landed and scored 162 for MRC against Crombest Club giving another example of his commitment towards the game irrespective of the level of competition.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is in favour of drafting left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha in the India side for the Perth Test in place of a struggling R Ashwin.
India's spin great Erapalli Prasanna rates Ravichandran Ashwin as the best spinner in the world currently but urged the off-spinner to give the ball more air.
'We in the dressing room know the value of a bowler's performance. According to me, Ashwin is one of the greatest match-winners of our country. He has won a lot of matches for us and has been a consistent performer.'
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the fourth Test against England?
A disappointed Rajasthan Royals will have to focus on better execution of their strategies for a swift turnaround when they face a highly inconsistent yet capable Punjab Kings in their Indian Premier League match in Mullanpur on Saturday.
R Ashwin has been among the more vocal cricketers in highlighting the existential threat posed by the deadly virus.
'Ashwin doesn't really need to be as attacking as Bhajji. His role within this side is well-defined by a slightly better fast bowling attack (as support cast) than what my generation was facing' 'Kohli would have done fine against Glenn McGrath'
Indian cricket team will not just be looking to win a third ODI global title but also look at saving the '50-over format' which has been battling identity crisis for at least five years now.
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