IMAGES from the T20 World Cup semi-final match played between India and England in Adelaide on Thursday.
The Indian team is still searching for the right middle-order combination with the World Cup just a few months away.
Many seniors including captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are all set to be rested for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, with an eye on the marquee tour of England in July.
India skipper Virat Kohli and his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni are among the top players who are retained by their respective Indian Premier League franchises, Royal Challengers Bangalore and comeback outfit Chennai Super Kings respectively.
Buoyed by an overwhelming victory in the previous game, a resilient India would look to continue the momentum and seal off their second successive T20 series win when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final Twenty20 International, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. India shrugged off their embarrassing defeat in opening T20 match in Pune with a commanding show in Ranchi, where they outclassed the island nation by 69 runs to level the series. The Indian batsmen had struggled to cope with the 'green' track in Pune but adjusted well on a slow strip at Ranchi, where they did not put a foot wrong. The bowlers, too, were in complete control, never letting the Sri Lankan batsmen dominate. Moreover, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy was impressive and all his experiments, be it reshuffling of the batting order or bowling tactics, paid off. India not only mastered the conditions but also executed their plans to perfection.
Rahul Tripathi batted like a man on a mission before Umran Malik sizzled with his pace as Sunrisers Hyderabad kept their slim IPL play-off hopes alive with a narrow three-run win over Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Bolstered by Shreyas Iyer's return, Delhi Capitals will look to maintain the form they showed in the first half of the season as they resume their IPL campaign against a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Having sealed the series with a comprehensive win in the second T20I at Lucknow riding on skipper Rohit Sharma's brilliant ton, the home team would look to give reserve bench players like Shreyas Iyer, MS Washington Sundar and the uncapped Shahbaz Nadeem an opportunity before it embarks on the tour of Australia.
Daredevils once again had a stop-start campaign in the ongoing IPL and are standing on the verge of yet another early elimination.
Gujarat Lions will have their task cut out when they lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah earned his maiden call-up to the Test squad, while Parthiv Patel made a comeback for the three-Test series in South Africa.
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.
"India have to be honest now. What happens when India arrive at a World Cup? Everyone plays them up. Nobody wants to criticise them because you get hammered on social media and pundits worry about losing work in India one day," he wrote. However, Vaughan feels now is the "time to tell it straight,"
Kohli started his English summer on a bright note hitting an unbeaten 52 off 55 balls while Mahendra Singh Dhoni also played some delightful strokes square off the wicket.
Pacer Mohammad Shami, who is recuperating after shoulder surgery, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, back with a re-modelled action, are among 30 players named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's senior selection committee for a preparatory camp ahead of the South African team's upcoming tour of India.
Factbox on Saturday's World Cup Pool B match between India and Zimbabwe at Eden Park in Auckland.
Hardly challenged in a dominating run this season, India once again start as overwhelming favourites when they take on an inconsistent-but-gritty New Zealand in a three-match One-Day International series, starting in Mumbai, on Sunday.
The last wicket pairing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami produced a stunning rearguard century partnership as India recovered from a dramatic middle-order collapse to post a commendable 457 in their first innings on Day 2 of the opening Test match against England, in Nottingham, on Thursday.
Virushka's wedding was, of course, the biggest Indiansports shaadi of the year, but other athletes too tied the knot this year.
One of the finest fast bowlers in current times, Mohammed Amir would be pitted against the talismanic Virat Kohli in what could turn out to be a battle primarily between India's vaunted batting line-up and against Pakistan's potent bowling attack.
Former selector Sarandeep Singh highlighted the selection blunders in India's T20 World Cup squad and said though Rohit Sharma is the obvious choice to lead the side in white-ball formats, he is not a long-term option.
Senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the big surprise in India's squad for the T20 World Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates next month.
Talented Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma made a comeback to the Test squad for the West Indies series, which will also mark the farewell and landmark 200th Test of batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, next month.
Factbox on Saturday's World Cup Pool B match between India and United Arab Emirates.
Chennai Super Kings seem to hold a slight edge going into the match as they have not only got the better of their southern rivals twice in the league stages but also have the winning momentum going into the match on what promises to be a bouncy track.
CSK and Sunrisers Hyderabad (since inception) have traditionally been two of the most balanced sides in most IPL editions but both have ensured scratchy starts this year
Senior Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik on Thursday earned a recall to the Indian team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy after Manish Pandey was ruled out due to a side strain.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has picked young leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal as the best young talent from the just-concluded IPL-9, terming the Royal Challengers Bangalore player the best in terms of talent and temperament. 25-year-old Chahal took 21 wickets from 13 matches to finish IPL-9 as second highest wicket taker behind pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 23 from 17 games. "I am considering those who have temperament and not just talent. Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant and Krunal Pandya are the top three. I will pick Chahal at the top as he has got the right temperament," Gavaskar said. "He (Chahal) is not afraid of tossing up the ball and he kept on doing that. When there is some turn on the pitch, there have to be big edges from the batsmen's bat. Chahal also has a big heart and he is not afraid of a big hit. On many occasions, he came back after being hit for sixes to claim wickets," he told NDTV.
The No. 4 slot is considered the most vital position for any successful ODI side, yet India are struggling to find a solution to their revolving door conundrum for some time now.
After winning the 2nd T20I with ease, the Windies go into the decider with confidence and the tie will certainly not be a cakewalk for the hosts, who will look to seal their second T20I series this season.
tung by the defeat in the series opener despite putting up a big score, India will have to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on Australia in the second One-Day International on Friday, fully aware that any slip-up will make their task of bouncing back difficult.
It was a tale of contrasting emotions as curtains came down on the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.
An under pressure India will face their stiffest test in recent times when they try to bounce back in the three-match ODI series against a refreshed New Zealand in the must-win second game in Pune, on Wednesday.
Having regained his form with two unbeaten knocks in the league stage of the cricket World Cup, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has gained two spots to be placed eight in the latest ICC batting rankings.
A 3-0 lead in the five-match series will be a perfect parting gift for Ranchi's favourite son, who, in all likelihood, will be seen wearing the India Blues for the last time at his home ground.
A first T20 series victory in New Zealand will be the icing on the cake for the Men in Blue, who have far exceeded expectations during their three-month sojourn in this part of the world.
Rohit Sharma stamped his class with an authoritative hundred in the company of magnificent Virat Kohli as India annihilated Bangladesh by nine wickets to set up a bumper summit showdown with arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy, in Birmingham, on Thursday.
Paceman Bhuvaneshwar Kumar followed up his team's superb collective batting effort with a four-wicket haul as India Blue lifted the NKP Salve Challenger Series Trophy with a convincing 50-run victory over Delhi in the final.
Out of India's total tally of 842 runs in five matches, the duo has rattled up 471 runs -- which accounts to 55 percent of the runs -- at a strike rate of 160.
Injuries have forced India to make changes to their winning combination. With Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha returning home, the visitors are likely to field a new combination.
