Hardik Pandya made a memorable comeback to the Indian team, smashing a blistering half-century to power India to a thumping 101-run win over South Africa in the first T20 International.
Virat Kohli smashed record-extending 52nd ODI to guide India to a 17-run win in the series opener, getting India off to a winning start in their three-match series.
Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh expressed disappointment at the loss but praised India's all-round performance.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir threw his weight behind under-fire batter K L Rahul ahead of the second Test against New Zealand, starting in Pune from Thursday.
The second and final Test starts in Guwahati from Saturday with India trailing 0-1 after the defeat on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata.
As India gear up for the T20 World Cup at home, the selectors have backed a squad built on impact, and versatility.
The last time two specialist keepers played together in a Test was in 1986, when Kiran More and Chandrakant Pandit featured in the same XI, with Pandit playing as a batter.
Jitesh Sharma, who has emerged as India's preferred wicketkeeper-batter in T20 format with less than two months left for the World Cup, has played down his 'competition' with Sanju Samson in the squad, saying it only brings out his "A-game" to the fore, strengthening the side.
Cricketer-turned-MP Gautam Gambhir shared a heartwarming picture featuring wife Natasha Jain and their daughters Aazeen and Anaiza against a snowy backdrop in Gstaad, Switzerland, simply captioned, 'Snow and Us'.
K L Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran will open the batting for India if captain Rohit Sharma is not available for the first Test against Australia in Perth, said head coach Gautam Gambhir.
'Gautam Gambhir and Morne Morkel will need to provide Rohit with more inputs like whether to bowl bouncers or bowl round the wicket or whether we are allowing the game to drift.'
Tilak Varma, India's match-winner in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan, received a grand welcome on his return to Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Ignored by the national selectors for T20 set-up, Yashasvi Jaiswal sent another stern reminder to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee with a blistering 48-ball century as defending champions Mumbai crushed Haryana by four wickets in a high-scoring Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League B match, in Ambi, Pune, on Sunday.
'What solution can Gambhir or Nayar possibly give, apart from telling him to not play those deliveries?'
Gambhir has made his selection process clear by stating his strong belief in players featuring across all three formats.
'I have always taken pride while donning the Indian jersey during my playing days and it is going to be no different when I take up this new role.'
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir put up a stout defence of under-pressure skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli ahead of tour of Australia.
Rishabh Pant's place in the playing eleven is far from guaranteed, while Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy are locked in a tight contest for the additional all-rounder's slot as India confront several selection dilemmas ahead of the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi.
Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill rewrote the record books on Sunday, putting together a blistering 105-run stand-the best-ever opening partnership for India against Pakistan in T20Is.
Although Shubman Gill's return to the T20 side has cast a shadow over Sanju Samson's place in the playing XI for the Asia Cup in the UAE, the hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batter will be counting on head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has often spoken highly of his positive attitude.
The Men in Blue, led by newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir, arrived in Sri Lanka for a six-match white-ball series on Monday.
Former England cricketer Graeme Swann believes Kolkata Knight Riders team mentor Gautam Gambhir will be a 'brilliant' head coach for India.
'We knew it won't be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides.'
With the departure of seniors Rohit Sharma and Kohli from the T20 International scene, workload management of someone like Jasprit Bumrah assumes greater significance, Gambhir said.
Ravichandran Ashwin exposed India batters' lack of quality to battle ball tweakers by claiming that if legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar or past domestic heroes Amol Muzumdar, the India women's team head coach and Mithun Manhas had played against spinners on such a track, the Test would have gone to four days, unlike India's harrowing 30-run defeat against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
'I am here for a noble cause and don't want to talk about that.'
The 42-year-old Gambhir, a key member of the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning Indian side, led Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
The central theme of their discussion was 'desh ke liye karna hai', reflecting a mutual belief in serving the country.
Dinesh Karthik on Tuesday said head coach Gautam Gambhir's display of aggression in the past has generally come out in "protection of his players".
'I've never seen anything like it in my life.'
With Gautam Gambhir now part of the setup, there is renewed hope for a turnaround in Rahul's Test career. Gambhir's belief in Rahul's abilities, combined with his guidance, could help unlock his true potential and bring the expected consistency.
Patil, a member of India's World Cup winning team in 1983, hoped Gambhir will continue to have success at international level after excelling in the IPL.
'M S Dhoni stands as a towering figure in Indian cricket, arguably the most successful captain ever.'
With no ODI series in Australia in the next two years, it is impossible to think that the legendary duo will again be seen Down Under in India blues.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Team India are going through a transition as Gautam Gambhir steps away from the franchise to pursue national objectives.
Gambhir has ability to derive the best out of his players: Childhood coach Bharadwaj
After taking a dig at former India skipper Rohit Sharma on his fitness, Congress leader Shama Mohamed, on Wednesday, again sparked controversy, drawing a religious angle to cricketer Sarfaraz Khan's omission from the India and India A squads announced recently by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
India's Test No 3 Sai Sudharsan said his primary aim is to win matches for the team rather than focusing on individual goals.
Shubman Gill, the vice-captain of India's white-ball teams, praised the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, for his clear thinking
