Skipper Rohit Sharma would fancy a perfect culmination to Indian team's World Cup preparations as hosts eye a rare clean sweep of Australia in the third and final ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday.
Two teams with fault lines in their batting, up against two of the best bowling sides in the game today -- the question that determines the outcome is, is your weakness greater than mine?
Indian men's hockey team beat Great Britain 4-2 in shoot-out to enter the semi-finals and remain on course to win its second consecutive Olympic medal.
Jamie Dwyer's 49th minute goal sealed India's fate as Australia beat them 1-0 to move into the final of the Four Nation Hockey Tournament in Darwin on Saturday.
Reigning men's Olympic hockey champions Belgium beat New Zealand 2-1 on Sunday as the Red Lions took the lead in the Pool B standings after a twisting shot found the top corner of the goal, salvaging the win after a sluggish performance.
Allowing India to play all their matches in Dubai robbed Pakistan of the honour of hosting the final and disrupted the schedule of the knockout matches.
This crushing defeat is a major wake-up call for Team India. They now face the real possibility of losing a home series for the first time in over a decade, warns Harish Kotian.
The Indian men's hockey team climbed two places in the latest FIH rankings following back-to-back wins in the Pro League matches.
'We know if we continue to play and give our best in the game, we can defeat any team.'
Tendulkar praised Team India and said in every session there was a new hero who stepped up to the occasion to deliver for his side.
'They haven't done a lot wrong. That's without some of their stars actually performing in that final.'
Mitchell Santner's experience of playing for Chennai Super Kings in various Indian grounds has proved to be very handy for the New Zealand side, which will bank on its premier spinner to inflict damage on hosts when the two teams lock horns in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Beau Webster believes playing against India pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be an enormous challenge for the Australian pacers on the seamer-friendly SCG pitch.
Since hockey's introduction at Commonwealth Games 24 years ago, World No.1 Australia have been the most dominant force, having won all six gold medals till date.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between India and New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Saturday.
Virat Kohli's former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate AB de Villiers has advised the struggling Indian batter to "reset" his mind
The first Test, beginning in Chennai on Thursday, is expected to be played on the red-soil trampoline which often offers good purchase to pacers, but the black-soil composition is more likely to assist the spinners.
Those three wickets for six runs, in a manic final 15 minutes of the day's play, undid all the good work that had gone before, asserts Prem Panicker.
The pitch in Guyana has favoured the bowlers in the past by slowing down as the game goes on.
The Miracle Makers is an account of India's historic Test series of 2020-2021.
IMAGES from the Group B Champions Trophy match between Australia and England in Lahore on Saturday
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson doffed his cap to pacer Mohammed Shami and the India team after his side was outplayed in the World Cup semi-final.
'We are committed to leveraging our influence constructively to support the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in fostering cricket development and ensuring playing opportunities for both men and women in Afghanistan'.
The Sydney Cricket Ground track was "not ideal" for a Test match, according to batting great Sunil Gavaskar, but India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir praised the wicket as "spicy" and "result-oriented".
Australia beat India by nine runs to win the Commonwealth Games women's T20 cricket gold medal on Sunday but the real winner was the sport which delivered compelling competition and boosted its case to be included in the Olympics.
The Ranji Trophy resumes on Thursday, promising a star-studded spectacle as Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant headline a host of big names returning to action.
Jasprit Bumrah was left frustrated after missing out on another chance to bowl on the "spiciest wicket of the series". However, India's premier pacer emphasized that sometimes it becomes imperative for a player to respect his body.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan rated Australia's World Cup triumph as the best in the tournament's history after they upstaged a rampaging India in front of a vociferous crowd.
P R Sreejesh emerged hero with a superb performance under the bar as the Indian men's hockey team beat Great Britain 4-2 in the shootout to enter the semi-finals.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf on Friday gave a pep talk to the Pakistan cricket team ahead of its much-anticipated World Cup match against arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Harmanpreet Singh got his mojo back as he scored a hat-trick to lead India to a rare 5-4 win over Australia
Varun Chakravarthy now holds the best figures by an Indian bowler on Champions Trophy debut. His five wicket haul in just his second ODI is the earliest by an Indian in 50 overs cricket.
The last time Team India won an ICC World Cup was in 2011 in India. It was a 50-over ODI format that was won under the astute leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
A confident and wiser Australia are well-equipped to take the fight to India in a series that could literally be decided by a coin-toss, according to former Test bowler Ryan Harris.
'I feel like we are so lucky to be here giving this happiness to people back home. We hardly see these kind of events back home where they could celebrate and enjoy those moments. That's something which really, really satisfies me.'
"The Indian team is good enough to beat Australia on their home soil. I hope we win a series in Australia for the first time," Chauhan said in a felicitation function in New Delhi on Saturday.
Six medals from a 117-strong contingent is not ideal but India had its moments of joy, hope, frustration, and heartache.
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon termed Indian players as superstars' while hoping to revive his on-field rivalry with India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
A look at how India's athletes fared on Day 4, Tuesday, July 30, 2024:
A mouth-watering four-Test series between the top two teams in the World Test Championship standings will get underway with a pink-ball conTest at Adelaide from December 17.
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