Opener Mayank Agarwal continued his rich vein of form with a cracking 161 as India Blue batsmen were engaged in a run-feast scoring 336 for 3 against Green on the first day of the virtual "semi-final' clash of the Duleep Trophy, in Greater Noida on Sunday.
Double centuries by in-form Baba Aparajith and Manish Pandey helped South Zone amass 553 for 7 against West Zone on the second day of their four-day Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Chennai on Friday.
Ranji Trophy, India's premier tournament which was cancelled for the first time in 87 years in 2020, has been planned between December and March in the upcoming season.
Veteran all-rounder Shardul Thakur said a cooling off period is essential for players of this era where they go through hectic schedules.
The Indian men ruled white-ball cricket, while South Africa ended decades of hurt by winning the World Test Championship at Lord's. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted their maiden IPL title, though the celebrations were dimmed by a deadly stampede. Above all, it was India's women who won a billion hearts by finally adding an ICC World Cup trophy to the cabinet.
Central Zone's Madhya Pradesh duo of Jalaj Saxena and wicketkeeper batsman Naman Ojha took full advantage of dropped catches and took an inexperienced North Zone attack to the cleaners as they posted 344 for three at stumps, on the first day of their Duleep Trophy semi-final, at Mohali, on Wednesday.
Rahane (207 batting) and Jaiswal (228) toyed with the North East bowling line-up
Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal is likely to lead India 'A' in three four-day 'Tests' against New Zealand 'A'
Tanush Kotian once again showcased his ability to absorb pressure with a fighting fifty to shore up West Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinals
Young chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav kept the opposition batsmen on tenterhooks with a maiden five wicket haul as he took India Red on the cusp of an outright victory against the Green team in the inaugural Day/Night Duleep Trophy encounter in Greater Noida on Thursday. Chasing a mammoth victory target of 497, the Green team was tottering at 217/7 at the end of penultimate evening with another 280 runs to win the match. Suresh Raina was at the crease batting on 35.
Opener KL Rahul continued his dream form as he blazed his way to a brilliant unbeaten 121 after a classy 185 in the first innings as South Zone looked in cruise control in pursuit of 301 against Central in the Duleep Trophy final.
In a week's time, Arshdeep will be operating with a white ball in the Asia Cup in the UAE.
India Red entered the final of the Duleep Trophy after the rain-affected game against India Blue ended in a draw with entire fourth day's play being washed out due to inclement weather and wet outfield. With only 78.2 overs of play possible through out the entire four days, both teams got a point each and Yuvraj Singh's 'Red' team with seven points from two games ensured that they are through for the summit clash.
India wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who played in the fifth and final Test at The Oval against England in their last assignment, has been named Iyer's deputy.
At the end of third day's play, West Zone were 376 for 3, courtesy Jaiswal's unbeaten 209 off 244 balls
'He has not played a lot of cricket in the last 2-3 years.'
Deepak Chahar recently shared how he forgot his wife's birthday after a long day on the field - and how love and patience came to his rescue.
Chesteshwar Pujara displayed his appetite for a big score with a superlative unbeaten 256 as India Blue piled up a mammoth 693 for six in their bid to outbat the Reds on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final.
Avesh Khan hogged the limelight with his maiden first class half-century
Dinesh Karthik and Sheldon Jackson added 85 runs at a fair clip in only 16.2 overs before a sharp evening downpour rendered the outfield unplayable in the rain-hit Duleep Trophy cricket match between India 'Red' and India 'Blue' in Greater Noida on Wednesday. Jackson impressed with a strike-filled, unbeaten 48 off 55 balls, which contained eight hits to the fence.
India Green, resuming the day at 98 for two and chasing an improbable 474-run target, were dismissed for 303 in their second innings with Sharma taking six for 94 to take his match tally to 10 for 133, his best figures in first class cricket.
At 29, when most fast bowlers are either established or quietly drifting out of the spotlight, Auqib Nabi Dar has finally arrived through patience, persistence and a refusal to let geography decide his fate.
Skipper Abhinav Mukund and Baba Aparajith smashed hundreds as South Zone took a firm grip of the Duleep trophy semi-final against Central Zone by reaching 479/9 on the third and penultimate day of the match in Chennai on Saturday.
'My son looks a little depressed, but that is bound to happen.'
Under scanner left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha today found a surprise visitor in legendary Bishan Singh Bedi, who dropped in at the Feroz Shah Kotla on the final day of the Duleep Trophy final to have an interactive session with him and three others.
Poor drainage facilities at Shahid Vijay Singh Patheek Stadium again came to the fore as a total of four hours and 45 minutes of play was wasted during the fourth day of the Duleep Trophy final that has already turned into drudgery.
'My motivation is to stay fit and be available for Indian team.'
Skipper Gautam Gambhir's 37th first-class century might have made his case stronger for an India comeback but his knock could not help North Zone overhaul Central Zone's imposing first innings score on Day 3 of the four-day Duleep Trophy semi-final in Mohali.
An incisive spell of seam bowling by Karnataka's Abhimanyu Mithun helped South Zone reduce Central Zone to 123 for five on a rain curtailed first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Chennai.
Under pressure to retain his place in the Test XI, Cheteshwar Pujara overshadowed Rohit Sharma by scoring a solid hundred as India Blue made full use of a placid track to amass 362/3 against India Red on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida.
'India gave me its heart first. So India will always have mine.'
The preference would be for a fast bowler 'who still has seven to eight years of cricket left in him rather than someone who'll be turning 35 soon.'
Grind pays off for Ruturaj Gaikwad, now upto him and luck to prove his 50-over mettle.
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir and young Mayank Agarwal helped themselves to half centuries before torrential rain played spoilsport in the Duleep Trophy match between India 'Blue' and India 'Red' in Greater Noida on Monday. Only 34.2 overs of play was possible which saw 'Blue' team skipper Gambhir (51 batting) and Agarwal (53 batting) put on 105 runs for the opening wicket. The two openers were solid without being flashy as they maintained a decent run-rate of just over 3 runs per over.
Spinner Ravindra Jadeja reaped rich dividends for reading the pitch well and grabbed 5 for 95 as India Blue looked all set to win the first-ever day/night Duleep Trophy, having secured a huge 337-run first-innings lead.
Skipper Shubman Gill had a long batting stint while the troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel returned to action for India's final training session here on Wednesday before the first Test against the West Indies.
Bengal will be bolstered by the return of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami who has who has been out of India contention since the Champions Trophy.
'I see them as well rested India players. Could have been selected for the Duleep Trophy.'
It is learnt that police did not issue the clearance certificate because of the ongoing probe into the June 4 stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium that left 11 fans dead and scores of others injured.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw included in Maharashtra squad for Buchi Babu tournament