After eight defeats in 11 outings, Chennai Super Kings will look to give their forgettable campaign a semblance of respectability when they take on in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in Dubai on Sunday.
The nail-biting win over defending champions Mumbai Indians was certainly a morale-lifter but the inconsistent Kings XI Punjab have another tough battle at hand when they take on table toppers Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
A World Cup year tends to dominate discussion on ODI cricket, and bilateral series are usually quickly forgotten. Before the series against Australia begins, let us take a look at India's best ODI players during the ongoing 2019-2020 season.
KKR are gradually emerging as a strong contender for a third IPL title
Their bowling attacks struggling to find form, Kings XI Punjab and SunRisers Hyderabad will look towards their power-hitters to do the job when the two erratic teams go head to head in an IPL match, in Dubai, on Thursday.
A batsman of Russell's calibre may just prove to be the difference between the two sides.
Images from Tuesday's IPL Qualifier 1 between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, in Chennai.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir led from the front with two half-centuries in the initial phase and when he failed to contribute, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey have stepped up to do the bulk of scoring.
It will not be the first time that the competition has had to be held outside India.
Apparently hinting at Amar Singh, UP CM says 'we will not let outsiders drive a wedge between us'.
Neither side will be at full strength, as a string of first-team players will be missing due to injuries, when India and New Zealand meet in the opening match of the ODI series on Wednesday in Hamilton.
Indeed, this might be the easiest way to select India's World Cup team of 15, by picking the top 15, with only No 16 Vijay Shankar perhaps replacing No 13 Khaleel Ahmed to bolster the batting!
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Two persons, including a guard of the Mathura jail, have been arrested in a firing incident, believed to be a fallout of gang war, that took place inside the jail premises two days ago.
The match, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, will also be a face-off between skippers KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, both seen as future India captaincy material.
India bowling coach Bharat Arun strongly feels that Shivam Dube has all the ingredients to become a good all-rounder
'Even a hardcore nit-picker will struggle to find faults in this extraordinarily crafted television series that I rate as a must watch, an instant classic,' says Sukanya Verma.
Check out the complete schedule of Indian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics
'The character is so popular that even now, there is a new meme on me every day.'
Mumbai Indians have won three out of the four IPL finals they have been part of, including the two against CSK in 2013 and 2015.
Vinesh Phogat, the only Indian woman wrestler to have qualified for Tokyo Olympics, has pulled out of the national camp citing health safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a decision which has irked the national federation.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players.
The legendary Kapil Dev heaped praise on India's current pace battery, saying the fast bowlers have changed the face of Indian cricket in the last four to five years.
A win for Punjab will elevate them to the top four, while a victory for KKR will take them to 14 points
Short of match practice, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ashish Nehra and Ajinkya Rahane will captain the India A team for two warm-up matches against England at CCI, Mumbai next week. Dhoni, who has not played a competitive game in over two months, will lead the India A side in the opening warm-up here on January 10. Rahane, who is coming back from an injury, will captain the team in the second warm-up on January 12.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday
Kolkata Knight Riders will have no margin for error when they take on hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad, who will fancy their chances despite coming off a defeat, in the Indian Premier League match in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Sukanya Verma looks at 12 times the superstar offered food for thought on subjects as varied as nation building, team spirit and the stupidity of big fat Indian weddings while wolfing down a meal.
Former Army Chief General K V Krishna Rao was on Sunday cremated with full military honours in New Delhi.
Despite three half-centuries being scored, Rajasthan's bowlers emerged on top, having reduced Baroda to 324 for eight at the end of the third day's play in the Ranji Trophy Super League final in Vadodara on Thursday. At stumps, on the third day of the five-day match, Baroda still trail by 70 runs, in reply to the visitor's 394.
Rajneesh Gupta explains how team India performed during the year across all the three formats.
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted at number seven against , promoting the likes of Sam Curran, Jadhav and Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of himself but the ploy backfired badly
It all starts in Guwahati on Sunday as the biggest city in Assam is slowly getting back to normalcy after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
India are eyeing a 10th straight bilateral series win over the Caribbean side.
Young Rishabh Pant's competition for the second wicketkeeper's slot with veteran Dinesh Karthik will be the highlight of the discussion.
Will India get their bowling combination right after the debacle in Chennai when they take on a buoyant West Indies in the second ODI
Rishabh Pant of the Delhi Daredevils, with a most valuable player index of 897, is the most valuable player of IPL 11.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in another must-win Indian Premier League encounter
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.
Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare hit unbeaten half-centuries to put Mumbai in a commanding position against Madhya Pradesh on day three of the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Cuttack, on Monday.
