Mahendra Singh Dhoni's astute captaincy will be Chennai Super Kings' biggest weapon against a clinical Kolkata Knight Riders, whose troika of top-notch spinners promise to hold the aces in the high-octane Indian Premier League final in Dubai on Friday.
The in-form Virat Kohli was on Monday rested for the forthcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, while Delhi's left-arm spinner Pawan Negi was a surprise inclusion for the three-match series.
Young Karan Sharma led from the front with a calm and composed 93 not out as Uttar Pradesh knocked out favourites Karnataka with a five-wicket win in their Ranji Trophy quarter-finals.
After eight defeats in 11 outings, Chennai Super Kings will look to give their forgettable campaign a semblance of respectability when they take on in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in Dubai on Sunday.
Lockie Ferguson's inclusion gave the much-needed impetus to the side, but KKR are still struggling with their star all-rounder Andre Russell who capped yet another flop show with the bat.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India released Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny from the Indian Test squad to play for their respective states in the next round of Ranji Trophy.
For KKR, the biggest cause of concern will be the availability of big-hitter Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday.
tung by the defeat in the series opener despite putting up a big score, India will have to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on Australia in the second One-Day International on Friday, fully aware that any slip-up will make their task of bouncing back difficult.
Defending champions Karnataka also remained in the hunt for the last-eight berth, securing a five-wicket win over Uttar Pradesh that took their net run-rate to 0.292.
Punjab looked on course for a crushing victory after bundling out Uttar Pradesh for a paltry 95 in their second innings, on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Group A match in Hyderabad, on Monday.
Captain Kane Williamson, all-rounder Vijay Shankar and comeback man Wriddhiman Saha will look to score in the key match.
MS Dhoni hinted that Ajinkya Rahane may not feature in the playing eleven for the first One-day International against South Africa.
A summary of the first day's proceedings in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
The Virat Kohli-led RCB has won five of its eight games on the back of all-round performances but seemingly blundered in the eight-wicket defeat to laggards KXIP on Thursday.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar says the Indian team has an advantage in the upcoming five-match ODI series against Australia as the home team's bowling attack looks thin in the absence of the 'Two Mitchells' -- Johnson and Starc.
Yuvraj Singh-led Punjab go into the game after an innings victory at home over Railways that came about after a strong all round show with their batsmen mustering over 600 runs and their bowlers backing up well.
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RCB suffered four consecutive defeats to finish the league stage at the fourth spot, SRH registered a hat-trick of wins to edge past Virat Kohli's men in the standings.
Veteran Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to reach the landmark of 11,000 runs in Ranji Trophy during Day 2 of Nagpur's Group A match against Baroda on Wednesday.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag offers a straight bat on the best batsmen in contemporary cricket, IPL team Kings XI Punjab, of which he is mentor, and why he is comfortable doing cricket commentary. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
Rajasthan Royals, who have won their last two games, will look for another victory against RCB and keep their hopes alive of making it to the IPL play-offs.
Warner would be looking to make the most of the early start and put runs on the board again.
Team Director Ravi Shastri claimed the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side can certainly arrest the slide in the ODI series against Australia if the inexperienced bowling line-up learns from its mistakes.
Claiming to be short of a seamer all-rounder, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he has no option but field three fast bowlers and two spinners in a five-pronged attack for India's first ODI of the five-match series against Australia, in Perth, on Tuesday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's unbeaten half-century was in vain as Delhi scored a 99-run victory over Jharkhand in a lop-sided second quarter-final in the Vijay Hazare trophy, One-day tournament, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore have won only three games out of 10 in IPL-12 so far.
Despite the win against KXIP, RCB remain at the bottom of the points table and remain to win all their remaining league games to have any hopes of progressing in the tournament.
In charge of a house in complete disorder, Virat Kohli will hope that Royal Challengers Bangalore play in the manner that defines his cricket when they meet Delhi Capitals in the IPL match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Both teams have been more than disappointing thus far in the IPL and need a win to revive their respective campaigns.
With Jasprit Bumrah "ready and roaring" after an injury scare, Mumbai Indians will fancy their chances against an erratic Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two star-studded teams square off in the IPL, in Bengaluru, on Thursday. The big sub-plot of the contest will be the world's best ODI batsman -- Virat Kohli -- taking guard against the world's best ODI bowler -- Bumrah -- in a format notorious for its unpredictability.
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Thanks to Taylor's 102 and Latham's 108 (both retired out) on a flat Brabourne Stadium track, New Zealand notched up a mammoth 343 for nine in the allotted 50 overs.
Virender Sehwag's wretched run in domestic cricket continued as the veteran opener failed to open his account but Delhi did manage to comfortably beat Punjab by four wickets to notch up their maiden win in the North Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Delhi's performance at home is woeful, but having registered a win after two consecutive losses at the Kotla, the Shreyas Iyer-led outfit is high on confidence.
CSK captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missed the game against SRH due to a stiff back but is likely to be back for Sunday's match against Virat Kohli-led RCB.
RCB to ring in changes against KKR in search of first win
Royal Challengers Bangalore will have rise to the occasion when they take on the already-eliminated Delhi Daredevil
They endured a disastrous run the last time around to finish at the bottom of the heap and Kings XI Punjab would be aiming to make amends this season when they begin their campaign against newbies Gujarat Lions in their IPL opener in Mohali on Monday. Kings XI Punjab did not make any big buys this year and have a new captain in South African David Miller in place of Australian George Bailey who was released after leading the side to the last place in the previous season. Virender Sehwag has also retired and he will serve as team mentor this season. The Preity Zinta-owned side continues to lack the team balance as it has not added any significant player, only snapping the likes of all-rounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis, seamer Mohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Last season, their batsmen lacked consistency and whenever they did well, the bowlers let the side down. On the other hand, debutants Gujarat Lions have a balanced side with top-class performers in both batting and bowling. They have explosive batsmen in Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and a plenty of top-notch all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner.
On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders are overwhelming favourites against King's XI Punjab.
Senior pros Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir failed with the bat as Jammu and Kashmir powered by their skipper Parvez Rasool shocked Delhi by two wickets in the opening match of the North Zone leg of the National One-Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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