Yuzvendra Chahal shone with the ball, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni rekindled his love affair with final flourishes, anchoring India to their maiden bilateral ODI series triumph in Australia.
Rajasthan Royals, struggling at the penultimate spot on the points table after two wins and four straight defeats, need something special against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sunday's IPL match in Dubai.
India have not lost a series at home since the defeat to South Africa in October 2015.
Virat Kohli on Sunday said Hardik Pandya's blistering half-century at a crucial stage was the game-changer for India in the first One-day International of the five-match series against Australia, in Chennai.
Rewarding for his all-round show during the on-going India 'A' ODI series against Bangladesh, the Indian selectors have picked up youngster Gurkeerat Singh Mann for the three T20 Internationals and the first three ODIs for the upcoming home series against South Africa.
Peter Handscomb struck his maiden ODI hundred and Ashton Turner smashed a blistering 84 not out to secure Australia's series-levelling four-wicket victory against India in the high-scoring fourth one-day international in Mohali on Sunday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his 'Dad's Army' moved to within one win of a third IPL title.
Bowler Jaydev Unadkat in another player to watch out for as the three-match series in the shortest format kicks off in Johannesburg on Sunday
Having won the series, India would like to carry on momentum forward, especially with the three-match T20I series to follow soon after. Yet, the visitors would also like to find a balance between going all out in a dead rubber and resting a few players keeping in mind a long overseas schedule later this year.
India have accumulated 122 points on the back of series wins over Australia and New Zealand and are placed behind England.
Describing India's defence of the World Cup title as shaky, former Australia captain Ian Chappell has advised them to keep star batsman Virat Kohli at number three to negate any opposition plans to bounce them out with short-pitched deliveries on lively pitches Down Under.
Under-fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni marked his return to form with an unbeaten 92 as India recorded a 22-run victory over South Africa in the second One-Day International to level the five-match series 1-1 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, in Indore, on Wednesday.
Afghanistan's controversial campaign, marred by poor on and off-field decisions, has gone from bad to worse. They now face the onerous task of squaring off against a galaxy of world class players, whose performance graph is on the upswing.
India would be aiming for a clean-sweep to dent England's confidence a bit more in the third and final One-Day International, their final ODI outing before the ICC Champions Trophy in less than five months, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
- India are strong contenders to get into semi-final along with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - Rohit is a class player and if he gets going at the top of the order, then he also has the ability to single-handedly win matches for India
India sailed into the ICC World Cup semi-finals and eliminated opponents Bangladesh after Rohit Sharma's century and Jasprit Bumrah's four-wicket haul secured a 28-run victory over their neighbours on Tuesday.
Injuries to key players such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is giving them the jitters but India would still be firm favourites when they take on a depleted and struggling Sri Lanka in their penultimate league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
Desperate to break their title jinx, Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kedar Jadhav claimed three wickets each followed by Rohit Sharma's quickfire half-century as India registered a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Pakistan.
Inspired by skipper David Warner's whirlwind fifty, Sunrisers Hyderabad outplayed Chennai Super Kings by 22 runs to notch up a much-needed win and hand the table-toppers their second consecutive defeat in the IPL match on Saturday.
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.
Stuart Binny struck a match-saving 78 on debut as India overcame some anxious moments to force a draw in the first Test against England in Nottingham on Sunday.
The Australians only had themselves to blame for their defeat on Friday as they had several opportunities to turn the game their way.
Yuvraj Singh is hopeful that he can make a 'meaningful contribution' in India's Champions Trophy title defence during the June 1-18 marquee event in England.
Swashbuckling opener David Warner butchered the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers with a whirlwind century to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a convincing 48-run victory, in their Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
New Zealand survived Ravindra Jadeja's late onslaught to stun India by 18 runs in a low-scoring thriller on Wednesday and reach the ICC World Cup final for the second time in a row.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com picks his IPL Dream Team of Season 9. Check it out!
The likes of Virender Sehwag, David Miller and Glenn Maxwell have not managed to live up to expectations for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 8.
India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar Monday joined the players in backing Mahendra Singh Dhoni and expressed surprise that the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman is frequently criticised for his strike rate
After putting a stop to their prolonged losing streak, Delhi Daredevils will look to carry forward the momentum when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League encounter in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
Bishen Singh Bedi has praised Ravichandran Ashwin for his consistent showing in the three matches but came down hard on the other bowlers.
Indian ODI captain MS Dhoni has joked that the performance by the bowlers in the fifth match against South Africa was so pathetic that he would not count it as "bad" even.
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 17 runs in their Indian Premier League match, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Having conceded 25 runs in the first three overs, SRH were back in the game and it got better for them with the introduction of T Natarajan (2/30) into the attack as the left-arm pacer bowled Ruturaj Gaikwad (16).
India lost the No 1 ODI ranking after a 15-run defeat in a rain-truncated second One-Day International against New Zealand, in Hamilton, on Wednesday. The victory gave the Kiwis a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Images from India's World Cup warm-up match against Bangladesh, in Cardiff, on Tuesday.
Inclement weather poses a threat to the India-Australia T20 international in Rajkot on Thursday, with the Met department forecasting rainfall over the next 48 hours.
Ian Bell returned to form in spectacular fashion with a superb 167 and debutant Jos Buttler also shone to help England strengthen their dominant position over India on the second day of the third Test on Monday.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says the Indian team has an advantage in the upcoming five-match ODI series against Australia as the home team's bowling attack looks thin in the absence of the 'Two Mitchells' -- Johnson and Starc.
'The only way in that scenario would have been a bat-pad opportunity. There was a slip in place so I chose the wrong 'un'
