Keaton Jennings impressed on his debut for England with a century but off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin brought India back with a late three-wicket burst on the opening day of the fourth cricket Test in Mumbai on Thursday. - Scorecard England were going strong by taking tea at 196 for two but India reduced the visitors to 288 for five at stumps as Ashwin removed Moeen Ali (50) and Jennings (112) in space of three balls and later got rid of Jonny Bairstow (14). Ben Stokes (25) and Jos Buttler (18) were the unbeaten batsmen at close after an unfinished stand of 39 on a track that would be difficult to negotiate with passage of time.
Ahead of the first Test between India and England in Rajkot, Rajneesh Gupta looks at the two teams and their numbers.
Kartik Tyagi blew away Australia's top-order with a sensational spell of fast bowling to power India to a 74-run victory and a place in the semi-finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, in Portchefstroom, South Africa, on Tuesday.
India will go for the kill against a determined England in the Garden City, setting the stage for a tantalising series-deciding third and final Twenty20 International in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Unlike in the T20I series, England do not have the option of battling this phenomenon with a practice outing against the spin-bowling machine, Merlyn. With both teams travelling to London on Friday, there might not even be enough time to sit down for some video analysis. In that light, the English batsmen will have to contend mentally with how to play Yadav on Saturday.
'Did the Moneyball philosophy get redefined in the domain of the cash-rich IPL, which has become an integral part of the cricketing ecosystem?' asks Atanu Biswas.
As the teams gear up for the second ODI at Cuttack, the visiting England team will certainly feel a bit deflated after failing to defend a total of 350 despite having got four top-order batsmen back in the hut for less than 100.
India put themselves on the cusp of completing a comprehensive series victory with England caught in a spin web following skipper Virat Kohli's career-best 235 at the end of the fourth day of the fourth cricket Test. - Scorecard Records tumbled one after another as Kohli's third double ton in as many Test series was complemented by Jayant Yadav's maiden hundred with India piling up a mammoth 631 thereby taking a lead of 231 runs. In reply, England were left tottering at 182 for 6 needing another 49 runs to avoid innings defeat as the hosts are now all but assured to regain the Anthony De Mello Trophy that they had lost back in 2012.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the 50 Most Valuable Players in the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Kohli's 147 -- his 15th Test hundred -- and an equally confident 136 by Murali Vijay enabled India to extend their first-innings lead to 51 runs in reply to England's 400.
a red-ball warm-up game will be the most welcome distraction for Virat Kohli and his men as a precursor to the two-match Test series starting next week.
India pulled the curtains down on England's winter of discontent, in a manner befitting their dominance, as the hosts clinched the five-match series 4-0 with an innings and 75-run victory in the fifth and final cricket Test in Chennai on Tuesday.
The 16-man squad includes batsmen Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan and fast bowler Jake Ball, who have 11 Test caps between them, as well as three uncapped players in paceman Craig Overton, spinner Mason Crane and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.
India would be aiming for a clean-sweep to dent England's confidence a bit more in the third and final One-Day International, their final ODI outing before the ICC Champions Trophy in less than five months, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between India and England, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai.
The No. 4 slot is considered the most vital position for any successful ODI side, yet India are struggling to find a solution to their revolving door conundrum for some time now.
Three-time former champion and last tournament's losing finalist Australia and dark horse Afghanistan progressed from Group B to the next round of the ICC U19 World Cup on the final day of the first round matches on Wednesday.
Hosts India would look to do an encore by putting England through another rigorous spin test when the two teams square off in the third Test starting in Mohali, on Saturday.
Skipper Virat Kohli will usher in a new era in Indian cricket when he leads the side in the ODI series-opener against England in Pune on Sunday in place of the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who recently relinquished the captaincy in the limited over formats.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have captain written against his name one last time when the talismanic wicketkeeper-batsman leads out India 'A' against England in the first practice match, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
India are leading the five-match series 3-0 and should they taste success in the final Test, it will be their biggest against England, the previous being the 3-0 whitewash in 1992-93 under Mohammed Azharuddin's captaincy.
A dominant India will be eyeing to clinch the five-Test series against England with yet another comprehensive victory when the two teams square off in the fourth match of the series starting from Thursday. With an unassailable 2-0 lead after three Tests, the confidence of the Virat Kohli-led team is sky high and they would like to regain the Anthony de Mello Trophy which they had lost to Alastair Cook's side back in 2012. Even if England manage a draw, India will win the series after the visitors' hat-trick of wins- 2011 in England, 2012 in India and 2014 in England again.
Afghanistan caused a major upset in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup when it defeated three-time champion and last edition runner-up Australia by 36 runs at Abu Dhabi Oval 2 on Monday.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada produced the best bowling performance of the tournament to date as South Africa beat three-time former champion Australia by 80 runs in the second semi-final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2014 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
He expressed hope that it will also benefit a large number of Hindi-speaking umpires and those giving training in this field, to whom the rules in English are hard to understand.
Holders Manchester City held their nerve to beat Leicester City 3-1 on penalties and reach the League Cup semi-finals after an entertaining last-eight tie ended 1-1 on Tuesday.
Ireland crashed out of the men's hockey World Cup after losing 2-3 to England
With only a day to go for the start of the much-anticipated five-match Test series between India and England, all eyes would be on aggressive skipper Virat Kohli as he readies to motivate his boys and avenge the 2012 home series loss against Alastair Cook's men.
Although Spurs always looked more comfortable on the ball it was Sean Dyche's side, who have just a point from their opening five games, who had come the closest.
India will look to make the most of their only warm-up game, beginning, in Sydney, on Wednesday against Cricket Australia XI.
Rodriguez whipped Everton in front from the edge of the box, and Michael Keane and Calvert-Lewin ensured it was two wins from two in the Premier League so far this season.
Wayne Rooney scored twice to help Manchester United stretch their unbeaten run to 12 games in an entertaining 2-2 Premier League draw at Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool were upset 3-1 at HullCity on Sunday.
Home favourites Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca will be out to prove American Kerri Walsh Jennings's dream of a fourth successive Olympic gold is built on sand when beach volleyball returns to its spiritual home at the iconic Copacabana beach.
The Auckland Aces fast-bowler has been cleared fit to play after fracturing his right thumb in Sri Lanka last month and will join Blackcaps teammates Tim Seifert and Colin Munro in the 12-man squad.
Premier League Hull City were given a fright as they had to come from behind twice to beat obstinate third tier side Sheffield United 5-3 in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday to reach the final for the first time.
Harry Kane's injury-time goal gave England a 2-2 draw after a crazy finish to their World Cup qualifier against Scotland on Saturday with Leigh Griffiths having struck twice for the home side in the final three minutes.
Under fire after a below-par show on a good batting strip, the Indian spinners will aim for an improved show on a comparatively more helpful track as they take on a gritty England in the second Test, starting in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Australia and South Africa advanced to the semi-finals of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup after winning their respective quarterfinal matches on Sunday.
The Nike swoosh decorates the outfits of Brazil, France and England, the sides in the quarter-finals most favoured by betting websites to win the World Cup, plus Croatia.
Manchester City continued their imperious start to the season with a 2-1 win over Swansea City to reach the fourth round of the League Cup on Wednesday but it was a testing night for rivals United who eventually overcame Northampton Town 3-1.
