Skipper Shubman Gill, who missed the second Test due to a neck injury, struck a defiant tone of unity and resolve after India's 0-2 series loss to South Africa, saying the team would "rise stronger" despite the setback.
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The Indian team's heavy reliance on all-rounders will be tested by a plucky Australia in the second ODI but the spotlight will continue to stay firmly on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both of whom would look to turn back the clock with series-saving knocks in Adelaide on Thursday.
Ahead of India's Test and T20I series against Bangladesh, Head Coach Gautam Gambhir made a pilgrimage to the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati.
The Proteas arrive high on confidence, having fought out a hard-earned 1-1 draw in Pakistan last month under challenging conditions.
'When you are playing on spin-friendly pitches, you need to prepare differently.'
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
Speaking on Taruwar Kohli's YouTube channel, Vijay praised Dhoni's power-hitting, mental strength and unmatched impact on the game.
Former South Africa pace ace Dale Steyn feels Suryakumar Yadav's "secure, welcoming, and willing to adjust" captaincy brings out the best in the players, who in turn back their skipper.
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Senuran Muthusamy became only the third South African batter to register a Test century batting at No 7 or below against India in India.
Dressed in a yellow kurta and white pyjamas, the cricketer was escorted to the deity where he offered prayers and sought the deity's blessings on the second day of Shardiya Navratri.
Rahul, who initially batted at No. 6 in the first two games, didn't look comfortable and fared far better at the familiar No. 5 position with a useful 40 off 29 balls in India's one-sided 142-run victory in the third ODI in Ahmedabad.
Gambhir also backed Shubman Gill and urged people not to mix-up formats while comparing performances.
'Here we are putting an end to all the masala and spice.'
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh finds it a bit unfortunate that the future of legends like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is being decided by "people who have not achieved much" but he nonetheless expects the duo to carry on till the 2027 ODI World Cup.
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni made the players feel comfortable by backing them, while Virat Kohli's aggression and uncompromising standards proved vital in moments of crisis.
'In the last Test match... I had to be honest with myself. I wasn't hitting the ball well. I didn't want to put myself there only because we had dropped the other guys who were struggling as well.'
Formidable India have their tails up as they head to the gargantuan MCG for the second T20I against Australia here on Friday, thanks to the influx of young talent and the return to form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
Fans thronged the airport to catch a glimpse of the 38-year-old, who stopped graciously to sign autographs and pose for selfies before heading home.
'Am I the reason team will lose? Kuldeep might think, I am bowling so well, even after that I am not playing, then am I the problem in this team?'
Marco Jansen demolished the Indian batting line-up with a six-wicket haul before South Africa extended their lead on Day 3 of the second and final Test.
On Raksha Bandhan, the coach got Aazeen and Anaiza to tie rakhis to each other as their mom Natasha Jain holding a thaali of sweets, looked on.
The head coach gets to pick the support staff, and Gambhir is no exception. However, the board has reportedly nixed his first choices for bowling and fielding coaches.
Sai Sudharsan and Dhruv Jurel faced spinners while wearing only one pad to counter the turning deliveries, a method that comes with an element of risk, in Kolkata on Monday.
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This is the first time in nearly seven decades that India have suffered two successive series whitewashes at home.
Kohli has assured the BCCI that their past differences won't affect their work together.
Gautam Gambhir put up a stout defence of under-pressure skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli.
A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
Ravi Shastri guided India to back-to-back series wins in Australia and his short advice to current head coach Gautam Gambhir is to "stay calm" over the course of five Tests Down Under and avoid knee-jerk reactions.
Gambhir, currently the mentor of IPL 2024 Champions Kolkata Knight Riders, wants complete control of the team if he takes over as head coach.
Gambhir has taken over from Rahul Dravid at a time when the team is gradually embracing a transition phase, and in that context, he wanted the team to follow a result-oriented approach.
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Ravichandran Ashwin's three-word post on X featured the Nike tick symbol in the Indian tri-colour with the words 'Just leave it'.
Simon Harmer picked up four wickets as South Africa staged an incredible fightback to shock India by 30 runs in a low-scoring first Test match.
To be or not to be could well be the dilemma in Shubman Gill's mind as he crisscrosses formats, having tweaked his technique from an unorthodox style to a more classical one that is not quite yielding the returns he may have envisaged in T20 Internationals.
