Former India captain Ravi Shastri has been the team's Director since last year and guided the team during the just-concluded World Cup. This is an exclusive column for PTI
Hardik Pandya is not only one of cricket's most exciting talents -- someone who can change the outcome of a game in a heartbeat -- he is also one of the modern game's endearing characters.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
West Indies' splendid victory over England in the first Test in Southampton drew rich praise from around the cricketing world, including top players like Virat Kohli and former greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Vivian Richards. West Indies beat England by four wickets on the final day of the first international Test since the coronavirus break on Sunday, taking a 1-0 lead at the Ageas Bowl in a three-Test series thanks to a 95-run knock by Jermaine Blackwood.
Pakistan's chief selector Moin Khan believes the national team's much-awaited World Cup game against India will be the best opportunity for them to break their win-less jinx against the arch-rivals in the tournament history.
'They defended very well and they were very organised'
There were no demons in the wicket, says Virat Kohli.
The 19-year-old won the accolade ahead of Argentina's Maico Casella and Blake Govers of Australia, who finished second and third respectively.
PM Modi says Mithali Raj is inspiration to both men, women cricketers
Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan conveyed their appreciation to the team, and congratulated the nation on the feat.
According to Shreyas Iyer, the other major moments of the game were Deepak Chahar, who took a record breaking six-wicket haul including a hat-trick, taking two wickets in his first over and rookie Shivam Dube dismissing a well set Mohammad Naim and Afif Hossain off consecutive balls in the 16th over.
It was a "dream" he had nurtured while putting in hours of hard work for years, and Axar Patel couldn't be happier that he has finally realised it at the biggest cricketing stage against teams like England and New Zealand.
The 31-run victory in Adelaide was India's first series-opening win on Australian soil.
Belgium won their first Olympic men's hockey title, beating Australia 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out after the final finished in a 1-1 draw, in Tokyo, on Thursday.
The 43.43 metre tall rocket lifted off at 5.28 pm from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
It will be another test for the Indian batsmen if the hosts have to bat first in a must-win contest, in Wednesday's second ODI in Mohali.
A sense of euphoria gripped Pakistan soon after the Greenshirts upstaged a strong Indian side in the Champions Trophy final at the Oval on Sunday.
India skipper Mithali Raj has sounded a warning shot to England ahead of Sunday's summit clash in the ICC Women's World Cup, saying the hosts should expect a tough contest from her ever-improving and gritty team.
His breathtaking knock included a dozen sixes and 13 boundaries as he literally toyed with the opposition bowlers.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Saturday.
'With the lockdown now in full force, we're mindful of the difficulties facing our cricket community.'
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and England, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and England, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai, on Friday.
India's Most Wanted hosts yet another screening.
Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumari confessed on Monday that she needs to stop buckling under the pressure of performing at the Olympic Games and approach the biggest sporting stage from a different perspective to achieve desired results in future.
The 27-year-old midfielder is first from the country to win the accolade since the awards were introduced in 1999.
Images from Day 5 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Tuesday.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between Australia and India, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Saturday.
Several former players, including India's Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman, on Thursday said that the turning Motera pitch, on which India defeated England by 10 wickets inside two days, was not ideal for Test cricket, an opinion that was not shared by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
The meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi assumes significance against the backdrop of the situation in Afghanistan deteriorating amid pitched battles between the Taliban and Afghan forces
India's sporting fraternity on Monday led by cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir congratulated the Central Government for abolishing Article 370 that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
P V Sindhu will have to quickly recover from her painful loss against Tai Tzu Ying in the semi-finals and make a fresh start when she faces China's He Bing Jiao in Sunday's bronze medal play-off match at the Tokyo Olympics, her father P V Ramana said.
Ravindra Jadeja made a memorable comeback to Test cricket with a five-wicket haul as India scored a resounding 108-run victory against South Africa in a low scoring Test match. Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 3 of the first Test match, in Mohali, on Saturday.
Man Of The Match Shaheen Afridi stole the show on Sunday with his brilliant bowling against India. The Pakistani pacer sent back the in-form opening pair of K L Rahul and Rohit Sharma with unplayable balls to set the tone for Pakistan's imposing victory by 10 wickets.
'We have played just two matches, and we have played well, that too against two powerful teams. It gives us that added motivation and confidence that in football, anything is possible'
'Rahane hasn't lost the game as captain, he was really brave yesterday to give India a little sniff. I thought the runs were always too much for them, but he gave them a sniff.'
'The National Team gaining its best ranking since December 2005 shows that we are on the upsurge. The ranking enables us to be placed in pot two when the draw for the Asian Cup Qualifiers UAE 2019 is to be conducted later this month'
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