'I think McCullum wants to take this up because he sees this as a major challenge.'
The Indian team management on Wednesday confirmed that injured opener Virender Sehwag will stay back in England and continue treatment on his troublesome shoulder.
Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar's timely strikes in the middle overs paved the way for Mumbai Indians' stunning come-from-behind victory against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL match in Chennai on Tuesday.
Harshal Patel and Glenn Maxwell led a clinical bowling performance to help Royal Challengers Bangalore register a 13-run win over Chennai Super Kings, pushing the defending champions to the brink of elimination.
KKR with 12 points from 12 games would like to win the next two encounters to ensure a smooth passage while CSK, currently at the bottom of the eight-team table, are only playing for pride.
Kallis joined the side in 2011 as a player before replacing Trevor Bayliss as head coach in October 2015.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and elected to bowl in the third and final Test in Wellington, on Friday. For India, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who missed the last match due to injury, came back into the playing eleven to replace Dinesh Karthik.
Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina were named in the 16-member squad for the Twenty20 match against Australia, followed by the tri-series.
Issue of workload management may not arise due to 3-week gap, says KKR CEO
Chasing a daunting 678 for victory, South Zone squandered the fine start given by their openers Robin Uthappa (94) and M Vijay (63) to end the fourth and penultimate day of the Duleep Trophy final against West Zone at a precarious 232 for four in Chennai on Sunday. Still 446 runs adrift of an unlikely win, the hosts had captain and first innings centurion Subramaniam Badrinath (35 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (27 not out) at the crease at stumps.
West Zone took command of the Duleep Trophy final after scoring 459 in the first innings and then reducing South Zone to 106 for 4 by stumps on the second day of the five-day match in Chennai on Friday. Skipper Subramaniam Badrinath, who was unbeaten on 54 at stumps, holds the key to South's fortunes. Keeping him company at stumps was Dinesh Karthik on 5. Earlier, West, resuming at the overnight score of 303-5, were dismissed for 459.
The opening batsman was unbeaten on 192 as India amassed 352 for 3 on Day 1 of the second Test against Pakistan.
After a win like that, the morale of any team would be high but Delhi will need to find a way to bat well against the star studded RCB.
Images from Sunday's IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Abu Dhabi.
The world champions, having already sealed the series 4-1, fielded an unchanged side after opener Matthew Hayden failed to recover fully from his hip injury.
Arun Karthik hammered nine boundaries and three sixes, in his match-winning knock and fittingly finished the game with a boundary.
Players like Rohit Sharma or Dinesh Karthik who could never command more than Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh can now hope to hit Rs 30 lakh for new deals. Bowler Sreesanth's endorsement tag has shot up from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 40 lakh.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the left-hander would replace Dinesh Karthik for the semi-final match against Australia at the Twenty20 World Cup.
The bowling of Sam Curran and Wood, with support from Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes, has carried England through.
The 21-year-old Uthappa, called in to replace Dinesh Karthik, scored an unbeaten 47 to lead India to a daunting target of 317 with two balls to spare.
Sharma (62) combined with captain Kohli (60) in a 113-run partnership to set up their successful chase before Ambati Rayudu (40) completed the formalities with Dinesh Karthik, who was 38 not out, as India romped home with seven overs to spare.
India produced a strong batting performance to post a healthy score of 254 for 3 at close on day two of the second Test.
Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal. Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Umesh Yadav and Umran Malik. Sam Curran, Harry Brook, Jofra Archer and Kagiso Rabada.
India included young Ishant Sharma in place of Ranadeb Bose for the three-day match.
The Indians included both V V S Laxman and Yuvraj Singh, while Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were rested for the four-day tour match.
The Indian captain was involved in a world record 106-run partnership with Wasim Jaffer on Friday.
Kolkata Knight Riders may not have been consistent so far in this year's Indian Premier League but chief coach Jacques Kallis believes it's a matter of playing two good games which can seal a play-off berth for them.
Images from the first T20 International between India and West Indies at the Brian Lara stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad on Friday.
It is expected that Dinesh Karthik will open the innings along with Wasim Jaffer in the first Test.
'I absolutely love playing on this ground. Right from the nets at the back, as soon as I enter, it makes me feel at home,' Kohli said after the match.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for their T20 World Cup match against South Africa on Sunday?
The in-form Rajasthan Royals will be confident of a third consecutive victory when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
The Asia Cup defeats had not dampened the squad's spirits, said Rohit.
Brinda examines some alarming aspects of religious fanaticism through the narrative engine of a well-oiled serial killer mystery, observes Arjun Menon.
Dinesh Karthik, who had a reasonably good Test series, made way for M S Dhoni in the team for the first two ODIs against Pakistan.
Virat Kohli was magnificent at the death, finishing 82 not out after digging India out of trouble
Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes India's lack of success away from home in Test cricket is down to lack of a seam-bowling all-rounder like England's Ben Stokes.
After restricting former champions Tamil Nadu to 206, defending champions Mumbai were 20 without loss at close on the first day of their four day Elite 'A' Ranji Trophy match at the Guru Nanak College ground in Chennai on Thursday.
It remains to be seen whether Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan too get a recall to the Indian squad for the three-Test series against Pakistan.
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