England's Ben Foakes made a memorable debut to help the tourists recover from a terrible start and reach 321 for eight wickets on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Tuesday.
Virdi, who has taken 69 wickets in his 23 first class matches at an average of 28.78, says his strength lies in his aggression as he is always looking for wickets.
Since 2011, England have managed to eke out just a single draw in 13 Ashes Tests over three tours and their last two Tests in Sydney have resulted in humiliating defeats.
'... this was a chastening defeat... but that's what the challenge is playing away from home, the same way as it is when you go to Australia and we used to have to cope with the bounce at Perth.'
India skipper Virat Kohli was pushed to the fifth spot by his English counterpart Joe Root, who rose two rungs to third in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen, even as Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin moved up in the bowlers' chart.
India head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday said the repeated failures of his batters in the third innings of a Test match and the inability of the bowlers to take 10 wickets in the fourth innings is a matter of concern.
Johnny Bairstow scored England's first century of the series as the tourists staged a fightback after a torrid start to the third day of the fourth Ashes Test on Friday, but Australia remained in command with a lead of 158 at the close of play.
Rashid signed a white-ball only contract with his county Yorkshire in February but said he 'was not finished' with the longest format of the game.
Spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali made a comeback to Test cricket as they were included in England's 13-man squad for the first Test against India, starting in Edgbaston, on August 1.
The Motera pitch came in for sharp criticism from some former players after England were bowled out for 112 and 81 in the two innings as India crushed them by 10 wickets to grab a 2-1 lead
Denly fell six runs short of his maiden Test century and Ben Stokes made a sparkling 67 in bright sunshine at The Oval to put England in a strong position to level the series at 2-2.
Root cut a rather forlorn figure as Australia celebrated moving 2-1 ahead in the series but insists he is still the right man to lead England forward.
Australian media can't have enough of 'miracle man' Stokes after Headingley thriller, compare him to Ian Botham.
England battled to 96 for four in their second innings by the end of a dramatic fourth day at Lord's to lead Australia by 104 runs and leave the second Ashes Test on a knife-edge.
Images from Day 5 of the second Test between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday.
Jasprit Bumrah will have to squeeze every ounce of energy from his already overworked body, while Ajinkya Rahane will hope to get one final chance to save his international career when India take on England in the fifth and final Test, chasing a historic series win, in Manchester on Friday.
New Zealand's Tom Latham managed to score his 11th Test century before heavy rain washed out the final session of the first day of the second Test between against England at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
Coach Mark Boucher appears to have brought some steel back to the South African squad as they subdued an England side battling with illness and which has recently struggled to pick up wins on the road.
England captain Joe Root hit a brilliant century to put his team in a strong position in their quest for a series-clinching victory on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Friday.
India's quality pace attack, comprising a world-class operator in Jasprit Bumrah, could prompt the hosts to prepare seamer-friendly pitches instead of the traditional sub-continental spinning tracks in their upcoming Test series against England, said opener Rory Burns.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 5th Ashes Test played between England and Australia on Thursday.
The Australia batsman has overtaken New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and is now only nine points behind India skipper Virat Kohli.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test, is back in the mix as Shardul Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at Lord's on Monday.
'If we're going to be the best team in the world we're going to have to play on good wickets which are flat in certain periods. We're also going to have to be able to learn to deal with the scoreboard pressure. We should also be able to deal with the pressure of spinning wicket towards the back end of the Test match.'
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Ashes Test played at the Gabba in Brisbane on Friday.
England were in a strong position to win the second Test against New Zealand and level their two-match series as they extended their lead to 231 runs when bad light stopped play three overs early on the third day at Hagley Oval on Sunday.
India's captain Virat Kohli will have to think overtime about the balance of his squad, with a long tail, often bushy with runs, and just two openers -- one untested (Rohit Sharma) but very capable and another supremely talented (KL Rahul) but highly reluctant starter.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Ashes Test, at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Ireland's dream of pulling off one of the biggest shocks in the history of Test cricket by beating England at Lord's were shattered as they collapsed to 38 all out to lose by 143 runs.
Saker took the unusual step of publicly criticising his bowlers in the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney last month, revealing discord with staff over tactics.
It is an perfect stage for India's mercurial skipper Virat Kohli, who loves to bring his A game to the fore when the chips are down.
A look at the newly-laid dark coloured Chepauk track is an indication that unlike the strip used during the first Test, this one will offer turn earlier than expected.
The 29-year-old, who got married this week, received a warm welcome from an unusually large crowd at the Glenn McGrath Oval and looked his usual twitchy self at the crease as he rattled off a half century in 62 balls.
India stormed back in some style, after being surprised in the first game in Chennai, to thrash England in the next three and score an emphatic 3-1 triumph in the just-concluded Test series. A look at how the Indian players fared in the England series.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth and final Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
Darren Gough feels India have enough firepower in their pace attack to cover for the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah i
All that's transpired on and off the cricket pitch on Wednesday.
20 years ago this week, India and Australia played one of the greatest Test matches in cricket history. Sreehari Nair relives the sound and the fury of that unforgettable game at the Eden Gardens.
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