As Cheteshwar Pujara plays a landmark Test against Sri Lanka, Rajneesh Gupta salutes the batsman's career thus far in numbers...
England will play two Test matches in India as scheduled next month despite militant attacks in Mumbai, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Lalit Modi said on Thursday. Modi said the first Test would go ahead in Ahmedabad from December 11-15 but the second, scheduled for Mumbai from December 19-23, could be moved to a southern Indian city.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's senior selection committee, under the chairmanship of K Srikkanth, will meet in Bhubaneshwar on Thursday morning to name the squad for the sixth and seventh ODIs against England. The sixth match will be played in Guwahati on November 29 and the last ODI in New Delhi on December 2.
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Ajay Shirke could find himself in trouble over reports that he tried to sabotage the forthcoming limited overs series between England India, starting in Pune on Sunday.
Claire Taylor of England, India captain Jhulan Goswami and Australia's Lisa Sthalekar are on top of the world in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Women's Rankings which were launched in Mumbai on Thursday. Thirty-three-year-old Taylor spearheads a strong field of six England batters in the top 20 while fast bowler Jhulan leads the bowlers' chart and Sthalekar is just ahead of her team-mate Shelley Nitschke in the all-rounders' listing.
Australian cricketers will miss the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League later this year due to touring commitments.
Delighted with the perfect start to the seven-match series against England, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said losing the toss was a blessing in disguise, for he too would have opted to field first in the first ODI against England.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar refused to draw comparison between the country's most successful ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his predecessors, declaring that the wicketkeeper-batsman's record surpasses that of all his seniors.
Statistical highlights of the first cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo on Saturday.
India, along with the mighty Australia, will start as title contenders in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Though India and Pakistan have 108 points, the latter take fifth spot with a decimal points difference.
When Kashmir willow sees biz boom and cricket raises Afghan hopes
India's captain defended his decision to bowl first, saying 'there was a lot of rain in the air and the wicket looked a bit tacky'.
India moved up two places to third in the LG International Cricket Council's Test rankings following their series win in England.
Statistical highlights of the second One-day International between India and England at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Wednesday.
India captain Rahul Dravid sent out a warning to his rivals in Ireland and England, saying his team could have a 'very good series' if it plays to its true potential.
Australia regained the prestigious ICC Test mace and also won a cash award of $1million after beating New Zealand in the Christchurch Test by seven wickets and winning the series 2-0 on Wednesday. Australia finished two points ahead of India with 112 points in the final series before the April 1 cut-off date.
'The past few weeks in England will be remembered as much for Kohli's skilled conquest of his English demons as they will be for his dreadful reading of pitches, curious selection choices, sporadic tactical lapses, and overall inability to help his side cross the finish line,' notes Dhruv Munjal.
A national selector said the former India captain is likely to be included in the provisional squad list for the ICC Champions Trophy.
India will eye revenge for their defeat in one-day series as they meet fierce rivals Australia in three Twenty20 Internationals, starting on Tuesday, January 26 at Adelaide Oval. Games will also be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (January 29) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 31). The matches will see some of the world's explosive batsmen in action, while the series is also tipped as a much-needed preparatory ground ahead of the crucial World T20 scheduled to be held in March in India.
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India will take on Australia in the second ODI of the tri-series, also involving England, on January 18, after Cricket Australia decided to swap the first two matches to give appropriate recovery time to the Indian players following the rescheduling of the four-Test series.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted he is struggling to identify his playing eleven for the high-voltage World Cup clash against arch-rivals Pakistan next Sunday.
Irfan Pathan is the highest ranked Indian bowler, at eight, in the ICC ODI rankings.
After taking an unassailable 3-0 lead following the nine-wicket victory in the fourth One-Day International against England, India is likely to give a break to some of their key players in the inconsequential fifth and final match at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
RatanTata is the only Indian among five foreigners to be awarded Britian's civilian honour this year.
Seedings for the 2007 World Cup will be based on one-day international team standings on April 1 this year.
Anju Jain's 68-run knock helped India to enter semi-finals of the Women's World Cup in South Africa.
Former England captain Michael Atherton gives some credence, if reluctantly, to the view that England and Australia feel they have no choice but to grant India power in a way that will encourage them to run the world game responsibly - and even suggests India has now been affected with the arrogance of old colonialism.
Ajit Agarkar believes in being prepared when opportunity presents itself. Irfan Pathan's side strain has given him a chance to return to the team.
Sri Lanka closed the gap to Australia at the top of the ICC ODI Championship to 15 points after winning the tri-series.
Powered by his marauding knocks in the World Twenty20 so far, Indian batsman Virat Kohli on Tuesday became the top-ranked batsman in the ICC rankings, while India remained static at the No.1 spot in the team list. Kohli, who averages 92 after scoring 184 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of over 132, had entered the tournament 24 points behind Aaron Finch, but has now opened up a 68-point advantage over the Australian, the ICC said in a statement. In the bowlers' table, West Indies' Samuel Badree has displaced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to return to the number-one position. Badree has taken six wickets in four matches to date, while Ashwin has dropped to third after managing just four wickets in as many matches.
Pakistan will play India in next year's Champions Trophy, dubbed the 'mini World Cup', to be staged between 10-25 September in England.
Meet the 15-member Indian squad selected for the ICC ODI World Cup, starting next month in Australia-New Zealand.
Australian opener David Warner has been fined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after an on-field dispute with Indian batsman Rohit Sharma.
Former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent has provided officials from the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit "with a treasure trove of information about matches which were targeted for spot-fixing and the names of players who were involved", the London Telegraph reported.
Rajneesh Gupta gives us all the numbers.
Without intending to undermine India's brilliant showing so far in the cricket World Cup, former all-rounder Kirti Azad feels the pitches being prepared for the showpiece event are a lot flatter than the ones used during the tri-series preceding the tournament.
