Mahendra Singh Dhoni, despite being a cricket star like no other, was never entirely a cricket story. He was, still is and will always remain a social story.
India remained fourth even as England took an outright lead as the number one team after claiming the three-match Test series against the West Indies 2-0 in the latest ICC Test Championship table.
Rain on the final day too forced the umpires to abandon the third Test between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston as a draw on Monday.
Under-fire Alastair Cook has been given no assurances about his future as England's One-day International (ODI) captain but the stout opener is determined to lead the team in next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
West Indies pace bowler Tino Best smashed 95 on Sunday to record the highest score by a number 11 batsmen in the history of Test cricket on the fourth day of the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston.
Rain washed out the second day of the third and final Test between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston on Friday. Play was called off at 1350 local time without a ball being bowled.
Persistent rain fell all day, after heavy rain overnight, and play was finally called off at 1535 local time. By that stage almost all of the spectators had left and they will be entitled to a full refund on their tickets.
India and England are set to lock horns in a five-match Test series.
Amidst talks that he may be rested for the third Test against the West Indies, young England paceman Stuart Broad has said categorically that he does not want to be rested since he is in the 'best nick' of his life.
Pakistan have adjusted their plans for Alastair Cook and Joe Root ahead of Wednesday's third test at Edgbaston, the touring side's coach Mickey Arthur has said, adding he considers the duo as the backbone of England's batting. Root scored 254 and an unbeaten 71 while Cook made 105 and 76 not out as Pakistan were beaten by 330 runs on the fourth day of the second test at Old Trafford last week to level the four-match series at 1-1.
Captain Root mastered the pink ball to make 136 and Cook was unbeaten on 153 at the close as England recovered strongly from a perilous 39 for two to take control of the game at Edgbaston.
England would love to regain the Ashes in the next Test at Trent Bridge but the loss of leading bowler James Anderson to injury is a disappointment they must overcome, captain Alastair Cook said.
Morgan paid tribute to Brendon McCullum, saying the former New Zealand captain had made a deep impact on his leadership style.
The 21-year-old Jharkhand speedster revealed there's lot more to his bowling than just pace!
A merciless England, however, wrecked their title defence, crushing them by eight wickets with nearly 18 overs to spare.
While no one knows whether the Indian cricket team will be able to regain its number one Test nation status in the near future, the consensus is that advertisers will refuse to play ball for some time at least.
India coach Duncan Fletcher says the toss played an important role and losing Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar before lunch put India on the backfoot. Bikash Mohapatra reports from Edgbaston.
England captain Andrew Strauss says the third Test, beginning Wednesday, is an opportunity for cricket to provide a feel-good factor amid the escalating riots in London.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravi Jadeja are under consideration for an India recall against Bangladesh, as the two-time winners look to shake-up their team following a first World Cup defeat.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are India's main run-getters at the moment but they need some support from the rest of the batsmen, says former India batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Sunil Joshi is backing Bangladesh's spin bowlers, led by the in-form Shakib Al Hasan, to hold their own against India when their World Cup campaign continues next week.
When India lost the Wellington Test by 10 wickets, was it the worst defeat for Virat Kohli's team? Rajneesh Gupta has the answers.
Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) on Friday has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to not place the two neighbouring countries in the same group during upcoming international events. "Keeping in mind that the [Indian] government has adopted a new strategy to isolate Pakistan and in view of the public sentiment in the country, we request ICC not to put India and Pakistan in the same pool of the multi-nation tournaments," the BCCI president Anurag Thakur said.
England captain Eoin Morgan insisted that although they produced an aggressive brand of cricket, the real test would be to find consistency.
Leicestershire and Somerset have qualified for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament after winning their respective England domestic T20 semi-finals via one-over eliminators at Edgbaston.
India fast bowler Bumrah has achieved a career-high ranking of 33rd, after his three for 47 and three for 68 at Adelaide helped him to rise five places.
Srikkanth seemed pretty happy with the composition of the 15-member squad for the World cup, which he believes has all the ingredients to emerge victors.
James Anderson, England's bowling spearhead and one of their key performers with 18 wickets (@ 24.27) from the three Tests played in the series, is likely to be fit for the final Test at The Oval, beginning Thursday.
Alastair Cook hit a career-best 294 as a ruthless England buried India under a massive 486-run lead to leave the visitors with a daunting task of saving the third Test.
As a bowler, Stuart Broad recorded his best performance in a Test series, capturing 19 wickets at 11.73 runs apiece. His previous best tally in a Test series was 18 (ave.30.22) in the 2009 Ashes series (five Tests) against Australia.
A rampant England team brimming with confidence go into the third Test against India on Wednesday primed to claim the victory that would secure the world number one ranking from their opponents.
Chief Magistrate Emma Louise Arbuthnot granted him bail till December 4.
The opportunity to play Test cricket for England again may not have come the way he would have expected, but for Ravi Bopara it is an opportunity nonetheless.
England Cricket Board's Managing Director Hugh Morris believes the team's brilliant performance against world number one India in the ongoing Test series is a result of coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss' "outstanding leadership".
It was Kristyna's first win over a top-five ranked player and she will go on to play fellow Czech Barbora Strycova in the quarter-finals.
India will, in all likelihood, go into the second Test against England at Trent Bridge, beginning Friday, with two of their crucial players missing from the line-up. While Zaheer Khan is certain to miss the Test (and maybe the third in Edgbaston as well), Gautam Gambhir also appears heading in the same direction, having suffered an elbow injury while fielding at short leg during the opening Test.
Rajneesh Gupta lists some amazing coincidences in cricket -- a feature guaranteed to amuse you in these anxious times.
India launched their campaign in the Champions Trophy with a resounding 124-run victory over Pakistan, in Birmingham on Sunday, extending their dominance over the arch-rivals in major International Cricket Council tournaments.
India goes into the fourth Test against England on a track that is batsman-friendly, swing-less, as compared to other English grounds, and will assist spinners as the game progresses, says Bikash Mohapatra.
Rediff's resident expert Rajneesh Gupta replies to questions from readers.
