The domestic season-ending five-day Irani Cup game between newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai and the Rest of India, commencing in Mumbai from Sunday, will provide fringe players a good opportunity to stake claims for the national team. The first class match is the last occasion for hopefuls from both ranks to impress the five-member national selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil before attention shifts totally to the T20 format, commencing with the ICC World T20 Championships. With the country expected to play over 15 Test matches post Indian Premier League till the end of next season, this match is the ideal platform for these players to strengthen their claims for the long Test haul. Mumbai, who clinched the Ranji crown for the 41st time last week by defeating Saurashtra by an innings, have a settled combination led by wicket keeper batsman Aditya Tare. They appear to be better prepared than the motley bunch of Rest of India, being led by Madhya Pradesh stumper Naman Ojha. However, they would take the Rest of India lightly at their own peril as the latter have a good bowling attack at their command even without originally named Barinder Sran and Nathu Singh who have been injured and replaced by Ankit Rajpoot and Anureet Singh, according to their coach Ashish Kapoor.
Young wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav feels that he can dismiss David Warner 'anytime' as the Australian vice-captain seems 'under pressure' while facing him.
Jharkhand claimed the pole position in group B with an emphatic innings and 93 run win over eastern neighbours Odisha in a final group B league encounter of the Ranji Trophy on Saturday.
With her big-hitting prowess, a rarity in women's cricket, 16-year-old Shafali Verma was bound to succeed at the highest level. However, a lot of improvement is needed for her to sustain the sensational six-month run she has enjoyed since making her India debut, feel her coach Ashwani Kumar and former India wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, both of whom have tracked her nascent career closely.
Baroda defeated Haryana by four wickets in the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy.
The likes of Robin UthaManoj Tiwaryppa, Manoj Tiwary and Kedar Jadhav will get another chance to impress the selectors and push their case for a comeback to international cricket when Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka clash against Rest of India lock in a five-day Irani Trophy match, in Bangalore, starting on Tuesday.
Skipper Virat Kohli slammed his third double century of the year.
Robin Uthappa scored a whirlwind century to put Karnataka on brink of victory against Haryana.
Hosts Haryana bowled out Andhra Pradesh for 202 and then scored eight without loss in their Ranji Trophy opener.
BCCI vice-president and Congress MP Rajiv Shukla on Sunday rejected speculation of star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar campaigning for his party in the upcoming assembly elections and termed such reports as "baseless".
Chasing a target of 203, Baroda were 129 for five against Haryana on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy tie.
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi announced his candidature against Arun Jaitley for the post of the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) president in the upcoming association elections scheduled for December 30.
Anirudh Singh slammed a fine 95 to help Hyderabad gain a first innings lead of 82 runs against Services.
Their fairy tale run in the Ranji Trophy came to an end with a crushing quarter-final loss but Jammu and Kashmir captain Parveez Rasool said his team is not disheartened and will emerge stronger next season.
Stuart Binny celebrated his maiden call-up into the Indian team with a scintillating 88 as table toppers Karnataka asserted their supremacy with a solid performance, scoring 226 for 5 at stumps on the second day of their final Ranji Trophy match against hosts Delhi, who are almost out of the race for a quarter-final berth.
For anyone, who has followed Jayant Yadav over the years, his maiden Test century won't come as a surprise. - Scorecard Brought into the Indian team primarily as an off-spinner, Haryana's Yadav boasts of an impressive first class record with the bat -- having scored 1665 runs in 44 matches at an average of nearly 30, comprising of two centuries. With the ball too he has a very good record, claiming 125 wickets in 44 games and recently did well during India A's tour of Australia where he took seven wickets in the two four-day unofficial Test matches.
Hyderabad took a first innings lead of 160 against Haryana, and were 168 for six in the second
The visitors were 229 for 5 on the close of the third day's play against Haryana in the Ranji Trophy Plate Group 'A' league match.
A summary of the day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at different venues around the country.
The much talked about young duo of Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant will also be seen in action for India 'A' during the two-day warm-up match against Bangladesh, starting in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
When India played their last time, the two four day games were played at Rustenberg and Pretoria while the tri-series was entirely played in Pretoria. The 'Test' series was drawn 1-1 while List A tri-series was won by India. The current tour has been scheduled after the 10th edition of Indian Premier League where all the top players are expected to play. "The A tours give ideal opportunity to the performers in domestic cricket to showcase their talent. Look at the likes of Priyank Panchal, who has scored over 1000 runs or youngsters like Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan who have caught the attention -- the selectors will get a chance to test if they are ready for the next level or not," a top BCCI source said.
Ireland will make a giant leap when they host their first ever Test match, against Pakistan in Dublin
Shreyas Iyer's blazing form will be some sort of an assurance for his franchise Delhi Daredevils as his quickfire unbeaten 79 off 49 balls helped Mumbai beat Ranji Trophy champions Gujarat by 5 wickets in a West Zone leg game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in Vadodara, on Monday.
Amit Mishra, currently at the business end of intense rehabilitation, is puzzled by rumours that he failed the YoYo test alongside Suresh Raina and M S Washington Sunder.
It was more out of compulsion that the 15-year-old slugged it out with boys in her bid to play cricket for India, a dream she shared with her father Sanjeev.
Domestic giants Mumbai continued its winning run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy thrashing Madhya Pradesh by nine wickets in Mumbai on Monday.
Chahal, who has been an automatic choice in the limited overs format has not played any first-class cricket since December 2016 (against Haryana in Ranji Trophy), but the Indian team management and especially skipper Virat Kohli has indicated that he wants the wiry leg-spinner for five-day matches also.
If the dew sets in, the toss may play a determining role in favour of the side batting second during the second India vs England ODI in Cuttack on Thursday.
Injured pacer Mohit Sharma is disappointed at missing India's limited-overs tour of Australia ahead of the more significant World T20 and says he will take at least a month to recover from a stress on his left ankle.
Shahbaz Ahmed, in his mind, had a questionnaire for Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers before getting started with what was to be his maiden Indian Premier League season. But the Bengal all-rounder will have to wait to don the Royal Challengers Bangalore red and gold as the possibility of having even a curtailed IPL is getting slimmer by the day with the rise of coronavirus positive cases in India.
A summary of the day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches.
A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches played on Monday
Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar retired from all forms of cricket, bringing down curtains on a 16-year first class career during which he played in 26 Tests and 191 ODIs besides leading Mumbai to their 40th Ranji Trophy title last season.
HR guru Mayank Rautela provides a three-point plan.
Rookie off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who is set for his maiden India tour of Zimbabwe next month, says he will never attempt to bowl a 'doosra' since it cannot be done without a bit of elbow kink.
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi is well aware that it is a near-impossible task for him to beat Sneh Bansal in the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association's presidential elections on December 30, but he is not ready to go down without a fight against the "shameful activities" of the current regime.
A summary of the opening day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches, at various venues over the country.
Well aware of the burden of expectations that comes with a legendary surname, former India player Rohan Gavaskar is miffed at the way the cricket fraternity is following each and every move of Sachin Tendulkar's 14-year-old son, Arjun.
Krunal Pandya on Saturday became the costliest uncapped buy in IPL history, going for a whopping Rs 8.8 crore to Mumbai Indians as rookie players, both Indian and overseas, turned overnight millionaires in the auction in Bengaluru.
Talented Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma made a comeback to the Test squad for the West Indies series, which will also mark the farewell and landmark 200th Test of batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, next month.
