After England tore the prediction books for an epochal 28-run victory in Hyderabad in the first Test, India now find themselves in a tight space, mentally and technically, ahead of the second match starting in four days in Visakhapatnam.
The Indian squad is packed with quality players but either wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal or Washington Sundar should have found place in the home team's line-up, reckons 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh.
RR played their first two 'home' games at Guwahati and the contest on Wednesday night will be their first at home at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
India captain Virat Kohli said his spinners could have been more effective in the drawn third Test against Australia but for the softness of the ball used in the contest.
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is adding a surprise leg-break to his already formidable bag of tricks but is convinced that the controversial 'doosra' cannot be bowled with a straight arm.
The legendary Anil Kumble has heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja for his ability to change angles and advised the batters to display more attacking intent if they have to get on top of the left-arm spinner.
An annoyed Sunil Gavaskar pleaded with those questioning the Indian team selection for the upcoming Asia Cup and asserted that this 17-man squad should form the nucleus of the 15-member World Cup side.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel scored 177 runs in India's 400 in the first Test in Nagpur, while in Delhi they contributed 134 priceless runs out of a team total of 262.
'Hard work is there, but I believe in visualisation and manifestation. Whatever match or series, one or two weeks prior I start preparation looking at the bowling line-up, who will bowl and how will I play them. I play out the scenarios and it helps.'
MSK Prasad advised the team to take the final call depending on the conditions at that time.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly feels that India's pace trio of Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami have to lift their game as one can't expect Ravichandran Ashwin or a Ravindra Jadeja to pick fifers consistently on good pitches against quality opposition. "On a Day 1 pitch like this (Rajkot), the fast bowlers need to come into play. That's why I keep harping that play on good pitches in India, so that you learn how to play overseas," Ganguly told ESPN Cricinfo. Not one to hold back, the straight talking former skipper said that pitches that they played against South Africa (2015) and Australia (2013) were absolute "minefields" (common terminology for underprepared tracks).
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has criticised the Indian bowling attack terming it as an unit that "lacks depth" as the only wicket-taking bowler is off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
The process of healing after Amitabh Bachchan's recent injury on the sets of Nag Ashwin's Project K in Hyderabad is taking longer than expected.
A team full of left-handers, Australia are working overtime to tackle the Ravichandran Ashwin threat.
The batters could be in for some challenging times with the Supersport Park track expected to aid the fast bowlers as rain threat looms large over the opening Test between India and South Africa, curator Bryan Bloy said on Saturday.
Subramaniam, who is best known as Ravichandran Ashwin's childhood coach, will join the team before the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, starting August 3.
The BCCI top brass will be hoping to convince Rohit Sharma to lead the India team in T20 Internationals despite his reluctance.
India spinner Axar Patel has admitted that he was upset after missing out on the ODI World Cup at home due to an injury and it took him about a week to get over the disappointment and focus on recovery.
India's ace bowler Ravichandran Ashwin hailed M S Dhoni as an illustrious leader and said a lot of leadership lessons can be learnt from him. He also said Virat Kohli, who will now captain the Indian team in all formats, is no less a player and in the right phase to take over. "I think he (Dhoni) is going to be available as a player, his career was wonderful and illustrious. As a captain there are lot of leadership lessons from Dhoni for even big leaders out there," he told reporters in Chennai.
Praising Ravichandran Ashwin for becoming the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings, former spinner Venkatapathi Raju says his wicket-taking ability is amazing and he does not have to do anything different to remain a match-winner. "He (Ashwin) has got fantastic variations and he adopts himself in three formats of the game which is difficult. I think, in between he tried something which did not click and he came back to his own bowling.
World No 1 India may feel they have never had a better chance of winning their first ever Test series in South Africa.
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Rohit Sharma's request to the BCCI for a break from white-ball cricket in South Africa despite being offered T20 captaincy has been accepted, while Jasprit Bumrah has been named his deputy for the two Tests starting December 26.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between Bangladesh and India, at Chattogram, on Thursday
Rajasthan Royals are better placed than Punjab Kings on the net run rate but both will have to rely on other results to advance.
K L Rahul came in for harsh criticism from former India medium pacer Venkatesh Prasad who claimed the opener's selection was based on "favouritism'.
India would be pressing for a decisive first-innings lead in the contest when play resumes on Friday.
Former all-rounder Shane Watson advised Australia's batters to avoid using the cross-bat shots against India's spinners in the upcoming four-Test series.
Arjun Menon looks at some Tamil films from the last decade that tick all the right boxes, and lists where you can watch them.
An expressionless Virat Kohli gave a quick handshake and hug to an equally expressionless Shubman Gill before going to collect his runners-up medal. It was the most poignant moment of a teary Sunday night for the Indian cricket team.
Navdeep Saini, who made a comeback to the Indian Test squad, will miss three matches for his English county side Worcestershire.
Kohli has reached the UK along with Mohammad Siraj, and the team is training at Kent Cricket Ground ahead of the final.
'I was confident that I would surely get into any of the IPL teams, but I was not picked.'
Former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly backed spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to shine in the forthcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
At Friday's mini-auction for IPL 2023, five-time champions Mumbai Indians are expected to revamp their bowling attack.
Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel among others, will be the 'differentiator' in the three remaining Tests
Rohit Sharma's buoyant India will look to continue its winning run and extend domination over the West Indies when they clash in the second T20 International in Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, on Monday.
While Kuldeep has played more white-ball cricket in past 8-10 months, switching the format has never been a problem for him as wrist spin doesn't depend on the surface a lot.
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