Rediscovering himself in the twilight of his career, a rejuvenated Mahendra Singh Dhoni would look to continue his regained form and guide India to a series-clinching win when the hosts take on New Zealand in the fourth One-Day International, in Ranchi, on Wednesday.
Stung by an improved New Zealand the other night, a wary India would like to quickly get their house in order when they square off with Kane Williamson's boys in the third ODI in Mohali on Sunday. While the six-run defeat in Delhi has given India plenty to ponder about, it has also renewed interest in the contest which had been dominated by the home team prior to Thursday, stretching from the one-sided Test series to the first ODI in Dharamsala. From the New Zealand point of view, a victory was all that they needed after a string of deflating defeats. As a result of their first win on Indian soil in 13 years, one can expect a certain spring in the stride of the visitors when they take the field at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
At the face of it, there is apparently no danger to Dhoni's captaincy since the team is still winning matches. But if one digs deeper, Kohli has slowly and surely been the man everyone is looking forward to as the leader, across all formats for India.
A summary of the second day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches played at various venues across the country.
Karnataka took control of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Mumbai by taking a commanding 222-run lead over the 41-time champions on day two of the five-day game at the Vidharbha Cricket Association stadium in Jamtha.
'Twenty20 cricket can be a lottery at times, but I think we'll definitely reach the semifinals.'
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday
Jolted by the loss to Australia in their opening match, India will look to plug its bowling loopholes and ensure a stronger batting display when they take on England in their second ODI tri-series match in Brisbane on Tuesday. Both sides will be looking to register their first victory in the tournament, the hosts having stolen a march on them with two successive wins.
Young pacer Tushar Deshpande recorded his career-best figures of six for 70 to help Mumbai earn a sizeable first innings lead against Railways on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Group A encounter in New Delhi on Saturday.
Shreyas Iyer's 51-ball 86 run blitzkrieg helped Mumbai sail past a tall Vidarbha total to notch up a five-wicket win in the Super League phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Group A match in Mumbai. Chasing Vidarbha's score of 181 for four, built mainly around opener Jignesh Sharma's punishing knock of 56 off just 30 balls, Mumbai cantered home in 18.5 overs to register their second straight victory in as many days in the tournament, at the Wankhede Stadium. Iyer and skipper Aditya Tare (41 in 24 balls) steadied the Mumbai innings after the early loss of left-handed opener Akhil Herwadkar (4) through a brisk second-wicket partnership of 71 runs in 7.2 overs.
'India have a good bunch of fast bowlers.' 'Umesh is doing really well and so are Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant.'
South Africans take the top 3 slots in Most Valuable Player Index.
- 'Yuvraj's ommission from the sqaud was shocking' - 'Over the years we just neither showed enough vision nor bothered to nurture talented players' - 'Australia and South Africa have good chance to win'
A round-up of results from the matches played at the Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 cricket tournament across the country.
Hosts Karnataka amassed three points on the basis of their crucial first-innings lead as their Elite Ranji Trophy Group A game against Mumbai ended in a tame draw in Belagavi.
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.
Captain Gautam Gambhir led from the front with a gutsy century to lift Delhi to 260 for six at stumps on the first day of their opening Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra
Most of these incredible performances came against one team -- the Gujarat Lions.
Featuring Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Marcus Stoinis, Ashish Nehra.
A summary of the first day's play at different venues in the Ranji Trophy.
Delhi suffered another batting collapse to brighten Punjab's prospects of recording an outright victory in their Ranji Trophy Group B match in New Delhi on Thursday.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final matches played on Saturday.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 44 games in IPL-12.
A summary of Friday's Super League matches in the Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 35 games in IPL-12.
A summary of the second day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches played at various venues across the country.
As he approaches what could be possibly the last phase, or the last few years, of an illustrious career, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a month shy of his 35th birthday, stressed that maintaining his fitness level to keep up with the demands of international cricket is priority.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
A round-up of Ranji matches played across India on Saturday
A summary of the day's play in the Vijay Hazare One-day tournament.
Cheteshwar Pujara surpassed Vijay Merchant's record for the most double hundreds by an Indian in first-class cricket -- a record that stood for almost 70 years. A roundup of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches on Thursday.
Led ably by Shardul Thakur, Mumbai bowlers put up a much better display than the previous game and shot out Railways for a paltry 217 on day one of their four-day Group 'B' Ranji Trophy tie at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
IPL 9 was not just about unfancied Sunrisers Hyderabad's triumph, Virat Kohli's run spree or Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman's economy rate.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday
A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy group matches played on Thursday.
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.
Swapnil Singh broke an eleven-year jinx as he scored his maiden first class century, a knock of 164 without a blemish, to help Baroda take a massive first innings lead of 404 runs against Mumbai on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy Group C match.
It was another Ranji Trophy match at Bansi Lal Stadium that turned out to be farcical contest as Baroda beat Bengal by 21 runs with 40 wickets falling well inside two days.
In-form Virat Kohli leads the MVP rankings in the IPL with a MVPI of 1062 but David Warner, enjoying a sensational run with the bat and currently at third with a MVPI of 878, has the RCB captain in his sights.
A look at the squads for the seventh season of the Indian Premier League at the conclusion of the two-day auction in Bangalore.
