IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test between England and India at Headingley in Leeds on Saturday.
Led by Shubman Gill, a defiant India put on a mentally strong and technically disciplined response to keep the series alive with England 2-1 up. While there were plenty of positives to take forward, a few concerns continue to linger as the series heads to a decider at The Oval.
Earlier, Mukesh bowled with venom, taking three wickets to help India crawl back into the contest as England Lions stumbled to 333 for five at lunch on Day 3.
Captain Rishabh Pant on Monday admitted it was difficult for his side to fill the void created by the absence of key bowlers
IMAGES from the Ranji Trophy final played between Mumbai and Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
As India prepares to take on England in the first Test at Leeds, all eyes will be on pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
This was India's seventh defeat in their last nine matches as their poor run in Test cricket continues following successive series defeats against New Zealand at home and in Australia.
IPL 2025: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya registers unwanted record with 11-ball over against GT
Shardul Thakur pulled off a breathtaking catch that sent the Lucknow crowd into a frenzy and derailed Titans' late charge.
Gill second successive ton as skipper takes India to 310 for 5
Avesh Khan held his nerve in the death overs, bowling yorker after yorker to perfection, to help Lucknow Super Giants pull off a thrilling two-run win over Rajasthan Royals.
Thakur, who was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 10.75 crore, had taken 15 wickets in 14 games, including career-best figures of 4/36, in the 2022 edition but leaked close to 10 runs per over.
Tom Haines smashed an unbeaten century to lead England Lions' strong reply after Karun Nair's double century had powered India A to a massive 557 on Day 2 of the first Unofficial Test.
India internationals Shardul Thakur and Shivam Dube starred with the ball and the bat respectively as 41-time champions Mumbai took an upperhand over Assam on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Mumbai on Friday.
With their respective leaders switching camps and squads undergoing major overhauls, both Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, under new captains, will be eager to make a strong start to their IPL campaign when they face off in Visakhapatnam on Monday.
Jurel has produced a solid body of work in first-class and Test cricket alike, even though he displayed a completely different avatar for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a finisher since his debut in 2023.
Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, both struggling in the Indian Premier League, will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they face each other on Friday.
K L Rahul drove his way to a sublime 47 after England negated India's advantage by totalling 465 in their first innings as the visitors had another ordinary day in the field on Day 3 of the first Test in Leeds on Sunday.
Lucknow Super Giants silenced all doubts with a dominant run chase, storming to their first victory of IPL 2025.
Reader Sameer Ahmed Taj sent us this photograph with Shardul Thakur.
LSG were outplayed with both bat and ball by Mumbai Indians as some of their biggest names failed once again to deliver under pressure.
'But the way the home team should get support, everyone needs to know this is our home team that is playing in Lucknow and what can we do to help them win? 'Everyone's contribution is important. We will find a way anyway to win matches.'
Lucknow Super Giants spinner Digvesh Rathi, known for his wicket-taking ability and equally noticeable celebrations, was at the centre of an on-field drama after dismissing Abhishek Sharma.
Deservingly, Shardul Thakur got the Player of The Match award fir his four wickets and Marsh couldn't have been more generous in his praise.
Rathi said he always bowls to take wickets and wants to be mentally strong like West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, who plays for KKR.
Both DC and LSG have 10 points and a win will keep them safely perched in the higher echelons of the points table ahead of the jostlers.
Nicholas Pooran's power-hitting and Aiden Markram's calm demeanour shaped Lucknow Super Giants' comfortable six-wicket win over Gujarat Giants.
None more eye-catching than Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who posted on X, "Woke up to watch an 8th grader play in the IPL!!!! What a debut."
His availability will be a massive boost for LSG's bowling department, with Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan and Akash Deep doing most of the heavy lifting.
RCB were in red-hot form before the league's 10-day pause due to the India-Pakistan military conflict, winning four matches on the trot. But the break appears to have disrupted their momentum.
For the home side, it has been a season of mixed returns so far. After early defeats to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians, KKR roared back to form in their last outing -- a commanding win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In a display of raw power and audacious stroke play, Rajasthan Royals' 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi tore into the Gujarat Titans bowling attack with a scintillating knock during which multiple records fell by the wayside in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday.
Shardul Thakur replaced spinner Axar Patel, who was transferred to the list of standby players.
Chennai Super Kings have never experienced a worse phase in the Indian Premier League and their faltering batters will have to deliver to arrest their steep slide in a must-win game against an upbeat Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on Monday.
More than the numbers, it was the swagger. The intent. The ease with which he handled the pressure. Vaibhav didn't look like a passenger in the IPL -- he looked like he belonged.
Gujarat Titans eye top-two finish as struggling LSG look to salvage pride
'He knows that cricket has given him an identity without which nobody will care about who Shardul Thakur is.'
Tilak Verma, who has two T20I hundreds for India and is one of the pillars of the core MI set-up, had scored just 25 off 23 balls, inclusive of two boundaries, when Mitchell Santner, with a career IPL strike-rate of 106, was sent in.
The squad also features Karun Nair, who returns to the national set up after a long gap of eight years.
Skipper Rishabh Pant, visibly relieved, credited his team for staying focused on the "controllables," a lesson he learned from MS Dhoni.
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