Indian batsmen, including flamboyant and in-form skipper Virat Kohli, were made to toil hard before Ravichandran Ashwin's counter-attacking 57 enabled the hosts to reach 271/6 at stumps on the second day of the third cricket Test against England on Sunday.
Seeking to continue their winning momentum and take an unassailable 2-0 lead, India were dealt a blow ahead of the third one-dayer against England at Trent Bridge on Saturday as opener Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the remainder of the tour because of injury.
India need one more wicket to thrash England in the third Test at Trent Bridge after the hosts ended the fourth day on 311 for nine, 210 runs short of their target.
Steve Smith made a brave unbeaten 78 to lift Australia to 287 for three on the first day of the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval on Thursday.
Number 11 Nuwan Pradeep survived five dramatic balls from Stuart Broad to help Sri Lanka avoid defeat after James Anderson ripped through the visitors to almost force an England win in the first Test at Lord's in London.
Pakistan's Rahat Ali removed England's top three batsmen as the first Test at Lord's hurtled towards an exciting climax on Sunday's fourth day. At lunch, England were 90 for three in their second innings, needing a further 193 runs to reach their victory target of 283. James Vince was a Test-best 41 not out and the recalled Gary Ballance 15 not out after Rahat had taken three wickets for 36 runs in eight overs. England captain Alastair Cook launched the chase with a four off the very first ball of the innings when he cut a loose Mohammad Amir delivery to the boundary.
The fitness of Ben Stokes remains an issue. The all-rounder did not bowl in the first Test due to a back problem and could play again as a specialist batsman ahead of Vince.
Shane Watson's magnificent 176 put Australia in command at 307 for four on the first day of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England at The Oval on Wednesday.
Chris Rogers became the second oldest Australian to hit a maiden Test century as he led his team to 222 for five on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test against England in County Durham on Saturday.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara hit centuries and shared a stand of 209 to lead India to 319-4 in their first innings on the third day of the opening Test in Rajkot, on Friday, trailing England by 218 runs.
India put themselves on the cusp of completing a comprehensive series victory with England caught in a spin web following skipper Virat Kohli's career-best 235 at the end of the fourth day of the fourth cricket Test. - Scorecard Records tumbled one after another as Kohli's third double ton in as many Test series was complemented by Jayant Yadav's maiden hundred with India piling up a mammoth 631 thereby taking a lead of 231 runs. In reply, England were left tottering at 182 for 6 needing another 49 runs to avoid innings defeat as the hosts are now all but assured to regain the Anthony De Mello Trophy that they had lost back in 2012.
Steve Smith scored a sparkling century and put on 128 for the sixth wicket with Brad Haddin to rescue Australia and push the hosts to 326 all out shortly before close of play on the first day of the fifth Ashes Test against England on Friday.
England must chase down a world-record 474 to win the second Test while South Africa have two full days to bowl them out after the tourists' batsmen provided the strongest possible platform for victory on the third day in Nottingham on Sunday.
Fans and fellow musicians have paid glowing tributes to legendary musician Prince, who passed away on Thursday in his Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the best sporting action from the week gone by.
For the Indian team, the Trent Bridge Test will be their last chance to save the series after being outplayed in the first two Test matches -- by 31 runs Edgbaston and then by an innings and 159 runs at the Lord's.
Joe Root's third hundred powered England to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the fifth One-day international in Pallekele on Thursday and kept alive their hopes in the seven-match series. After rain forced play to be suspended on Wednesday, the visitors returned to chase down a 240-run victory target and won with five balls to spare.
Stuart Broad became the first England player to bag two Test hat-tricks and Liam Plunkett claimed his maiden five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 257 on the opening day of the second Test.
It will have all the bright colours of spring.
The Indian cricket team has a chance to go up a rung and be third in the ICC rankings if it beats England in the upcoming five-Test series starting July 9.
Factbox on the fifth Ashes Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Sri Lanka's bowlers ripped through a fragile England batting line-up to win the second one day international at Chester-le Street by 157 runs to tie the five match series 1-1.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara led India's determined response to England's mammoth first innings total of 537 as they struck dogged hundreds to guide the hosts to 319 for four on the third day of the first Test in Rajkot, on Friday.
Photos of the first Test match between West Indies and England, eing played i Antigua
James Faulkner scored an unbeaten 69 as Australia scored a thrilling one-wicket victory over England in the second one-day international in Brisbane on Friday.
England completed a crushing 347-run victory over Australia with a day to spare in the second Ashes Test on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Fashion conscious Kate Middleton will reportedly be packing 12-15 outfits for her six-day visit to India and Bhutan after an advance team completed a recce of locations, including the iconic Taj Mahal.
England captain Eoin Morgan was "gutted" after his team's premature exit from the World Cup on Monday and confessed he was clueless about what the future holds for the team.
India captain Virat Kohli struck a sublime double century before his bowlers picked up six England wickets to put the hosts on course for a series-clinching victory in the fourth and penultimate Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Moeen Ali and James Anderson made light of the injured Stuart Broad's absence with a devastating bowling display for England on Saturday as they skittled out India for 161 to win the fourth Test and take a 2-1 series lead.
"There could be up to eight guys who might not ever play Test cricket again in this touring squad. That's a big number... half the squad," Ponting was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.com.
Captain Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara made centuries and shared a stand of 226 to put India on course for a big first-innings total against England on the first day of the second Test on Thursday. - Scorecard: Kohli was unbeaten on 151 and Ravichandran Ashwin on one as India reached 317 for four at the close after winning the toss in the first ever Test match in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
Did you know Turmeric Latte or Haldi Doodh is trending abroad?
Australia sealed a dominant 10-wicket victory over England before lunch on day five of the series-opening Ashes Test on Monday, having chased 170 runs without loss in a blow to the tourists' pride.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers from the first Test in Rajkot.
England's cataclysmic Ashes loss with two Tests to spare has sparked the usual calls for heads to roll in all departments, but confusion reigns as to whether Andy Flower will man the guillotine or put himself beneath the blade.
Kumar Sangakkara scored a world record equalling half century as Sri Lanka reached 214-4 at the end of the third day to leave the second Test against England delicately poised on Sunday.
Gary Ballance scored an unbeaten 104 as England fought back in the evening session to finish the fourth day on 267-8 and lead Sri Lanka by 389 runs going into the final day of the first Test at Lord's.
IMAGES from the Day-Night Test, the first played between New Zealand and England at Auckland on Thursday
David Warner struck a scintillating hundred to guide Australia to a comfortable three-wicket victory over England in the opening match of the tri-nation One-day series in Sydney. Images the match.
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