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.
A merciless England, however, wrecked their title defence, crushing them by eight wickets with nearly 18 overs to spare.
England battled back into contention on the third day of the second Test against West Indies as Mark Stoneman's first half century and captain Joe Root's unbeaten 45 helped wipe out a sizeable first-innings deficit on Sunday.
A demoralising defeat in their own den will certainly serve as a wake-up call for the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers as they take on a menacing Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn made short work of a challenging target as two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets to make a confident start to their campaign in the 10th edition of the Indian Premier league, in Rajkot on Friday.
England -- fourth with eight points and two games left -- must now keep one eye on other results with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka breathing down their necks.
Sri Lanka, the 1996 winners, kick-started their bid for a place in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup semi-finals in dramatic fashion with a 20-run win against hosts England at Headingley. It took them to six points and off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva insists they can still finish in the top four of the group despite suffering a pair of washouts in Bristol.
It remains to be seen if he gets a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the BCCI, which has maintained a tough stance in not allowing Indian cricketers to participate in T20 leagues such as BBL, CPL and BPL.
Pakistan showed yet again on Monday why it's always a good idea to predict the unpredictable when it comes to their cricketing fortunes. As far as the early stages of their ICC Men's World Cup 2019 campaign are concerned, it has been a case of well beaten one minute, dynamic the next for Sarfaraz Ahmed's team.
Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne slammed unbeaten centuries to steer Sri Lanka to a convincing nine-wicket victory against England in the ICC World Cup.
Under-fire captain Alastair Cook at last found his form but fell for 95 as he and century-maker Gary Ballance put England in control at the end of the first day of the third Test against India on Sunday.
England captain Eoin Morgan's century led his team to an impressive series opening 72-run victory against top-ranked South Africa in their opening One-Day International at Headingley.
Bairstow, who scored 138 in the fourth game in Dunedin, smashed a 58-ball century with eight boundaries and six sixes as he combined with Alex Hales (61) in a 155-run opening stand in perfect batting conditions.
It will not be the first time that the competition has had to be held outside India.
Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq will quit international cricket after the three-Test series in West Indies beginning later this month, the veteran batsman announced on Thursday.
Root's innings was always going to be crucial to his team's chances of chasing down a record 354 at Adelaide Oval and although the innings limped on into a second hour, the hope raised among the English on Tuesday was gone.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 is all set to resume on Sunday with Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) locking horns against each other.
Australia will be desperately hoping to play a full game under clear skies when they face arch-rivals England in their must-win Champions Trophy clash in Birmingham on Saturday.
A total of 62 players were sold at the auction for the 13th edition with the eight franchises spending a total of 1.403 billion rupees ($19.73 million). Australia's Pat Cummins became the most expensive overseas buy ever in the Indian Premier League when the Kolkata Knight Riders paid a staggering Rs 15.50 crore ($2.18 million) for the fast bowler in Thursday's auction in Kolkata on Thursday.
Mercurial paceman Kagiso Rabada produced the second best match figures by a South African to propel his side to a consolation 280-run victory over a feeble England on the last morning of the fourth and final Test.
Kagiso Rabada became the youngest South Africa bowler to take seven wickets in an innings as the hosts took charge of the fourth and final Test against England on Sunday.
Penpix of England players in England's Ashes squad.
England captain Joe Root refused to blame his senior players for the tourists' stunning Ashes defeat but lamented his own failures to lead the way with the bat against Australia.
IMAGES from the Day-Night Test, the first played between New Zealand and England at Auckland on Thursday
Mumbai Indians will be fretting over their team combination as they take on a marauding Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
'He is great to have as a captain -- he just keeps everything simple and doesn't change his emotions too much, which in the heat of the battle, (helps) to keep your mind clear'
England lost the series-opener by four wickets with Jermaine Blackwood leading West Indies to a memorable victory.
Ravindra Jadeja struck a career-best 70 not out as he and his lower order colleagues earned India a substantial 71-run first innings lead by lunch on the third day of the third Test against England on Monday. - Scorecard: The hosts were 354 for seven at the break with Jayant Yadav batting on 26, the pair having already amassed 53 runs for their flourishing eighth-wicket partnership.
Limited overs specialist Jos Buttler will replace the struggling Ben Duckett in a rejigged England batting line-up, skipper Alastair Cook confirmed ahead of his team's third Test against India beginning on Saturday.
As the teams gear up for the second ODI at Cuttack, the visiting England team will certainly feel a bit deflated after failing to defend a total of 350 despite having got four top-order batsmen back in the hut for less than 100.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test, is back in the mix as Shardul Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at Lord's on Monday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 29.
But nightwatchman Dominic Bess (40 not out) and Dawid Malan (27 not out) saw out the session to take England to 199 for three in reply to Pakistan's first-innings total of 174.
Skipper Virat Kohli scored his 23rd Test century as a dominant India took giant strides towards victory in the third Test against England.
A brilliant partnership between James Taylor and Jos Buttler helped England beat India by three wickets at the WACA on Friday and enter the tri-series final, where they will meet Australia.
West Indies ended the fourth day of the unexpectedly enthralling second test requiring 317 more runs to win after England turned the contest firmly in their favour.
An inspired Ben Stokes revived England with ball and bat on the third day against Bangladesh on Saturday to put the visitors firmly in control of the opening Test in Chittagong.
Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils, desperate for a victory under their belt, will try to outdo each other in Saturday's Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru.
Kolkata Knight Riders will look to regain their momentum and remain in the hunt for the knockout stage when they clash with laggards Royal Challengers Bangalore in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Sunil Narine hammered a quickfire half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders outclassed Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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