Rohit Sharma has quietly grown into the team's undisputed talisman leading their blemish-free campaign in the home World Cup.
England are an ageing side alright, but few will dare to bet against Jos Buttler's men successfully defending their World Cup title in a few weeks time.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Images from the ICC World Cup match between India and England in Lucknow on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals would be banking on their near-perfect combinations in almost all departments of the game to put up another commanding performance when they take on a strong Punjab Kings.
The Gujarat Titans captain registered match-turning figures of 3/17 to help his team outclass the Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
Pandya said he had controlled his natural aggressive batting to adjust to the conditions.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's batting will have to guard against the wily leg-spinner Chahal,
New Zealand speedster Trent Boult on Wednesday surpassed legendary Kiwis all-rounder Richard Hadlee to register the most five-wicket hauls for his country in ODIs.
The dismissal raked up the debate over the spirit of the game but three years down the line the duo are set to share the dressing room with Rajasthan picking Ashwin at the IPL auctions last month.
Blowing hot and cold, Lucknow Super Giants will look to return to winning ways when they clash against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals
Jonny Bairstow was initially included in the selection but the England and Wales Cricket Board later said he had been ruled out of the rest of the summer and the T20 World Cup after suffering a lower limb injury in a freak accident while playing golf in Leeds on Friday.
Hardik Pandya has quit Gujarat Titans to rejoin his former team Mumbai Indians, following a trade between the two franchises.
Wayne Parnell struck twice in the powerplay before the South African spin duo of Keshav Maharaj (3-17) and Tabrazi Shamsi (2-6) ran through New Zealand's batting line up.
Rajasthan Royals are better placed than Punjab Kings on the net run rate but both will have to rely on other results to advance.
Mark Wood and Alzarri Joseph scarred the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan in Delhi's line-up in the first two games. Now, when these talented but low on confidence willow wielders face an attack comprising Trent Boult, KM Asif and Jason Holder they will have to negotiate speeds of mid-130 kmph.
England find themselves in a three-way tussle for a place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
The balance may have been affected due to Hardik Pandya's untimely ankle injury, but even then the Indian team has hardly faced a tough test in the ongoing World Cup, feels former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith.
On the eve of their World Cup match against New Zealand, at a venue whose outfield is in focus, Australian skipper Pat Cummins expressed hope that his teammates would be cautious while fielding.
'The opposition would prefer me to panic and get out, just try to hang in there. I knew at some point I would get away. I trusted myself. Today, it came late in the innings.'
The top four run-getters in IPL 2023 -- Faf du Plessis (38), David Warner (36), Virat Kohli (34) and Jos Buttler (32) -- are all above 30.
The Rajasthan Royals suffered an epic collapse following Yashasvi Jaiswal's runout and it was a blow they couldn't recover from as Gujarat Titans clinched a comfortable win.
The Royals can take solace from the fact that they emerged victorious earlier in the season against GT.
Klaasen smashes ton as South Africa thump England at World Cup
Ahead of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023, here's a full list of the final squads of all ten teams.
Glenn Maxwell battled cramps to produce an innings of a lifetime to guide Australia to a three-wicket win over Afghanistan.
'Credit to the way England played, they put us under pressure. They played beautifully, hats-off to England, they were clinical.'
England and Pakistan to use T20 series to gauge World Cup readiness
It was a dream comeback to the XI by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit 2 sixes and 9 boundaries for his 41-ball 68.
For England, it was their second successive game that was affected by rain.
England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler described Ben Stokes as a 'once-in-a-generation player', while his predecessor Eoin Morgan hailed him as a 'true leader'.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott asserted on Saturday his side has what it takes to beat any team in the ongoing World Cup, taking in his stride the two defeats so far in the tournament.
But just like everyone wants a slice of '92 from Babar's team, the core of this current English team also has a date with history
IMAGES from the 3rd ODI played between England and India at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Both Jaiswal and du Plessis, the leading run-getters in IPL 2023 so far, are in scintillating form. While du Plessis is leading the scoring charts with 576 runs from 11 innings, including six half centuries and a best of 84, Jaiswal is a close second with 575 runs from 12 matches, which includes four fifties and a 124-run knock.
'Whenever I walk out to bat, people assume I just took that decision and came out, but that's a role given to me.'
