England, who were blown away by the visitors at Southampton, will back themselves to make a strong comeback.
Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are expected to spit fire on a track that will offer steep bounce as India's top-order gears up for its toughest test in adverse conditions against a top-notch South African side in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.
'His legacy as captain in IPL cricket would be one that didn't win.'
Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli slammed half-centuries as India edged Australia by six wickets in the third and final T20 International in Hyderabad on Sunday, to claim the series 2-1.
Many seniors including captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are all set to be rested for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, with an eye on the marquee tour of England in July.
The Most Valuable Player Index table is telling another (worrying?) story: Performance from players in teams that are not going to make the top four is dropping somewhat alarmingly. The IPL is gruelling and cruel. It can do wonders to your career, but can also seriously hurt your international prospects if you get injured in a match that is essentially inconsequential. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after Game 63.
IMAGES from the 1st T20I played between India and Australia in Mohali on Tuesday.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's position in group A of the BCCI central contracts could be up for deliberation
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 11.
After the first phase, which saw CSK openers dominating the proceedings, it's their bowlers who are coming to their own in the second phase.
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
IMAGES from the opening T20I played between India and South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal were among the big names to be released ahead of the mega auction.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has surpassed India's Virat Kohli in becoming the world No.1 T20I batter for the longest period of time after he maintained his top spot in the latest ICC T20 batting rankings.
India batter Shreyas Iyer, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal along with Australian dasher David Warner are expected to be the top draws as over 1,200 players registered themselves for the Indian Premier League mega auction scheduled for next month.
Mumbai Indians are enduring a poor start to IPL 2022, having lost their first three games.
Siraj bowled as many as 74 dot balls in IPL 2021 with an improved economy of 7.34.
Earlier this month, pacer Dale Steyn had announced that he would not be available for selection for IPL 2021 and as a result, he has also been released.
Ahead of Saturday's event, here's a lowdown of ready references for the auction.
Images from the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals, in Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
Chennai Super Kings's fragile bowling vis-a-vis Royal Challengers Bengaluru's struggling batting line-up put them on even keel when they face-off in an important mid-table clash of the IPL match in Pune on Wednesday.
Suryakumar Yadav smashed a magnificent century but England held their nerve in a high-scoring thriller to win the third and final T20I by 17 runs and avoid the series sweep, in Nottingham, in Sunday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 29.
India are likely to rest most of their senior players during the T20I series against New Zealand at home, which starts less than a week after the final of the T20 World Cup next month.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was on Saturday appointed mentor of the new Lucknow franchise for IPL 2022.
Images from the Indian Premier League 'Eliminator' between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Sharjah.
Rajasthan Royals' director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara said all-rounder Chris Morris knows that he has not done a good enough job in the last few games.
Virat Kohli, who has given up the RCB captaincy, was retained along with Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and young pace bowler Mohammed Siraj.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings, in Sharjah, on Friday.
IMAGES from the IPL 2022 game between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Mumbai, on Tuesday
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli was all praise for his bowlers after victory over Delhi Capitals by one run in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Tuesday .
While Rohit Sharma will be eager to test his ultra-aggressive batting template against the Asian giants, for Virat Kohli it is the perfect platform to return to form after enduring a tough phase in the last few years.
Both DC and RCB have looked solid so far and are placed atop the standings with three wins out of four games each.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for Friday's second T20I against New Zealand?
RCB had a horror showing in IPL-10, finishing at the bottom of the eight-team team competition with just three wins from 14 games.
Both RCB and PBKS will have new captains at the helm in Faf du Plessis and Mayank Agarwal respectively
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli refused to get carried away after pulling off a stunning victory over SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Chennai on Wednesday, insisting his players are 'not over-excited'.
Round-up of Ranji matches played on Tuesday.
