Gujarat Titans will aim to tighten their grip on the top spot and move closer to securing a play-off berth when they take on a faltering Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Monday.
It is a delight for a coach when a blend of youth and experience works in tandem to create magic for the team and Anil Kumble isn't complaining either. He couldn't have asked for more in the manner seasoned Ravichandran Ashwin and rookie Jayant Yadav combined to outwit the dogged defiance of a stodgy England line-up during the comprehensive victory in the second Test at Visakhapatnam. While Ashwin is donning the role of an all-rounder batting at No 6, where he is making useful contributions on a regular basis, there are talks about his enormous workload as his phenomenal success in sub-continental conditions is known to one and all.
Gujarat Titans will look to bounce back from the carnage that wonder boy Vaibhav Suryavanshi inflicted on them when they face a stuttering Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Shaken by the abrupt suspension of their previous match due to the India-Pakistan conflict, a struggling Delhi Capitals will look to regroup and address bowling concerns when they face table-toppers Gujarat Titans in a reverse-leg IPL clash in Delhi on Sunday to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Pandya's inclusion obviously adds firepower to batting and he can also open the bowling if necessary.
With 288 runs at a strike rate of 225, Nicholas Pooran is the top run-getter in IPL 2025, while Mohammed Siraj has been brilliant in Powerplay overs with 10 wickets in five games.
'Since the time I remember, since I have started playing serious cricket, not in the streets but in an academy, I have dreamt of this day'
Middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav joined rookie opener Jay Bista in the list of Mumbai centurions as the Ranji Trophy champions amassed an imposing first innings score of 603 against Rest of India in the Irani Cup match in Mumbai on Monday.
Resuming on the fourth day in the second Test at 140 for 5, New Zealand folded up for 167 in the second innings after India set them a mammoth 540-run target.
Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill, both in strong form after their Champions Trophy triumph with India, look to lead their respective teams, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans, to IPL glory in the 2025 season.
Reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders will hope that their strife-ridden batting unit will tighten its act against in-form table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the IPL match in Kolkata on Monday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's bowling unit will face a different challenge when they take on Gujarat Titans in an IPL match on Wednesday.
It must be mentioned here that veteran bowler Ishant Sharma has already told DDCA that he won't play red-ball cricket anymore now that he is no longer in contention for a national comeback.
Jayant Chaudhary has plenty of time to make his own mistakes. But this election is a crucial test of his leadership.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, reeling from three consecutive defeats, will face a resurgent Gujarat Titans in their fifth IPL encounter on Sunday.
Varun Aaron and Jayant Yadav claimed three wickets apiece to help India 'A' stage a superb fightback courtesy of their bowlers and take a narrow two-run lead against Australia 'A' on day two of the first unofficial four-day Test at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane, on Friday.
Ajinkya Rahane led from the front with a magnificent century while Royston Dias claimed five wickets as Mumbai outclassed Haryana by 152 runs to storm into the Ranji Trophy semi-finals.
'It depends on how Gujarat Titans can use that situation. But remember that GT are not bad playing a 150-160 game.'
The Gujarat Titans have cemented their status as a dominant force in the IPL. With a strategic blend of experience and youth, the team is poised to make another strong bid for the title in IPL 2025.
Mitchell Starc smashed an unbeaten half-century to steer Australia to 256 for nine on a difficult pitch on the opening day of the four-match series in Pune on Thursday.
K L Rahul's much-anticipated return to Ranji Trophy lasted a mere 37 balls as the India opener was dismissed for 26, leaving Karnataka at 267/5 against Haryana.
They are scheduled to play their next four games in Delhi against Rajasthan Royals (twice), Chennai Super Kings and SunRisers Hyderabad.
The success of fringe players has left Kohli's India in a good space as they head to South Africa in a week's time for a three-Test series.
Yadav, playing in a Division One game for Middlesex against Lancashire, toiled for his five-wicket haul as he returned with figures of 33-4-131-5 in a drawn game at Manchester.
Days after Jayant Chaudhary's terse 'not a coin, won't flip' response to the BJP's apparent attempt to woo him, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Rashtriya Lok Dal chief was a 'kid with little knowledge of history'.
On paper, the squad may not create too much optimism among fans but it still has a balanced look with a good mix of young players and experienced international names.
The squad also includes Punjab opener Prabhsimran Singh and Punjab pacers Siddharth Kaul and Baltej Singh.
Congress veteran Kapil Sibal had on Wednesday filed his nomination as an SP-backed Independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls.
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.
All about IPL 2025 which kicks off on March 22, Saturday.
Siraj had played a crucial role in India taking a 2-1 lead in England in the five-Test series last year. The final Test was played in July when England won to level the series.
'The 2018 series win in Australia stands out in his captaincy.'
North bowlers made optimum use of it to reduce North East to 58 for 3 at close. NE trail by 607 runs.
However, the RLD leader gave a terse response. 'Invite those +700 farmer families which you have destroyed, not me,' he tweeted in Hindi.
Defending champions Mumbai got their Ranji Trophy campaign back on track with an emphatic nine-wicket win over Maharashtra in their second group A league game in Mumbai on Monday, offsetting the heavy loss to Baroda in the opening game.
Jadeja, 33, was forced to withdraw from India's Asia Cup campaign after the group stages in order to undergo surgery for a chronic knee problem. Jadeja missed the whole T20 World Cup, despite India coach Rahul Dravid's initial optimism that he may recuperate in time to participate in India's campaign.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
He is the prime force behind the feeder-line created for the senior national cricket team and India A and U-19 chief coach Rahul Dravid on Sunday lauded Test captain Virat Kohli and chief coach Anil Kumble for creating an environment where youngsters are feeling comfortable. Dravid believes that success of Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav, who are products of the A team, is purely because of the "process" that has been put in place. "It's great to see these young boys coming through the 'A' team set-up and from domestic performances. It is a tribute to I think the environment created in the national set-up that they are coming through feeling comfortable and performing straightaway. Credit to Virat and Anil for the set-up and what they have been doing at the national level. So we are seeing the results, Nice to be a part of that process," Dravid told 'bcci.tv' on Sunday.
RR could not have asked for a better start to the season, registering four consecutive wins from as many games.
