Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appears to have shed the maximum sweat among top leaders for over the last 45 days in the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections campaign.
Sources in various parties suggest that two lakh votes of the Patel community, locally known as OBC kurmi, for which mother-daughter led Apna Dal (S) and Apna Dal (K) are competing and over one lakh of OBC Rajbhars would be crucial in deciding the outcome of the assembly seats in Varanasi.
Skipper Manish Pandey's valiant century was in vain as India 'A' lost to Australia 'A' by one run in a high-scoring Quadrangular cricket series thriller in Mackay, Australia, on Tuesday.
Kedar Jadhav slams unbeaten 93, Shreyas Iyer scores half-century while Varun Aaron takes three wickets.
A roundup of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day matches played on Saturday.
Sitting atop the points table, Kolkata Knight Riders would look to consolidate their position when they clash with an equally confident Delhi Daredevils in what promises to be a thrilling IPL encounter, in New Delhi, on Monday.
Whether it is by choice or compulsion of injuries, Kohli's fetish for tinkering with playing XI is well documented -- something that wasn't questioned till the South African debacle happened.
Reacting to Nehwal's tweet almost one-and-a-half-hour later, Rashtriya Lok Dal president Chaudhary tweeted, "Sarkaari shuttler recognises BJP skill in smashing peoples' verdict! I think voters need to play a subtle drop shot on celebs trying to influence their decisions!."
Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils will look to salvage pride when they clash in the Indian Premier League in Kanpur on Wednesday.
It will be a different sort of challenge for Mahendra Singh Dhoni when he captains a new-look Indian cricket team against Zimbabwe in the first ODI of a short series starting in Harare on Saturday.
Fast running out of time, a struggling Rajasthan Royals will hope to complete the double against Mumbai Indians in a return-leg IPL fixture and revive their campaign in Jaipur Saturday.
The celebrated duo of head coach Ricky Ponting and mentor Sourav Ganguly has managed to instill belief in the team members and that is visible on the field. The team now seems to believe that it can win the title after a long spell as the perennial underachiever of the competition.
KXIP are riding a roller-coaster ride, having to endure a controversy involving their captain Ravichandran Ashwin who 'Mankaded' Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler in their first match, an act which was legal but criticised by some as against the 'Spirit of Cricket'.
The 'Group of 23' leaders who participated included Ghulam Nabi Azad, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, besides Sibal who hosted the post-birthday dinner for them.
England will not look to play for a draw on the final day of the fourth test against India but would rather try to score quickly to set the hosts a target and keep alive the series, fast bowler James Anderson said on Sunday. The touring side, down 2-0 in the five-match series, trail India by 49 runs with four second-innings wickets remaining at the close of the fourth day. On a turning Wankhede Stadium pitch, batting fourth will not be easy for the hosts, who made 631 in their first innings.
The ceremony on Friday will be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and chief ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states.
Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils, desperate for a victory under their belt, will try to outdo each other in Saturday's Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru.
'Make sure when we go there we also have 8 days gap after the 3 Tests and a 25-day gap between ODIs and Tests.'
SP leader Akhilesh Yadav has successfully poached a number of OBC leaders from the ruling party, including Swami Prasad Maurya, in his efforts to broaden his party's social base beyond the traditional Muslim and Yadav votebank to take it on this time round.
India A could not take advantage of a strong opening partnership and lost four quick wickets for an addition of just 16 runs as they ended the third day of their four-day game against Australia A at 158 for four, still needing 108 runs to avoid the innings defeat, in Brisbane on Saturday.
Virat's 248 runs in the second Test, the highest by an Indian captain against England. Ashwin, only the second Indian bowler to take 50 wickets in consecutive years. Rajneesh Gupta looks at the numbers from the Vizag Test.
Daredevils can be the banana peel and Mumbai Indians will be wary after Chennai Super Kings slipped in their penultimate game. The last time the two teams faced off, the Daredevils won by seven wickets in a last-over thriller.
Skipper Manish Pandey led from the front with a timely century while Dhawal Kulkarni showed his all-round prowess as India A defeated South Africa A by 3-wickets in the quadrangular One-Day series in Townsville, Australia on Wednesday. Pandey anchored the innings with a brilliant unbeaten 100 off 105 deliveries that had hit nine boundaries and a six. He was ably supported by Kulkarni, who chipped in with 23 as the pair added 47 runs for the unbroken eighth wicket stand after India A were in trouble at 187 for 7.
According to PTI, the chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma has asked the duo to regain form by playing Ranji Trophy.
'He is always going to be an attacking player but reading of the situation when one is playing red ball cricket is required. We are glad that he has been picked in the national team and I hope he takes this maturity and builds from thereon'
Only pride will be at stake when Delhi Daredevils host embattled Royal Challengers Bangalore in an inconsequential IPL game in New Delhi, on Sunday, with both teams seeking an end to their misfiring campaign on a positive note.
Rising Pune Supergiant, who have gone from strength to strength, will look to seal their place in the Play-offs with a win over inconsistent Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League in New Delhi, on Friday.
Mithun became the first bowler in the domestic circuit to claim hat-trick in all the formats.
Delhi Daredevils beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Tuesday.
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.
To repeated questions, the SP chief asserted that the Congress was 'very much in the alliance'.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar gave a thumbs up to the selection committee's decision to reward the domestic players while naming a new-look India squad for the upcoming limited overs series in Zimbabwe.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
Opener Faiz Fazal led Rest of India's dominating display with the bat as the visitors chased down a record target of 480 against Mumbai to win the Irani Trophy. Half-centuries from Karun Nair (92), Sudeep Chatterjee (54), Stuart Binny (54) and Sheldon Jackson (59) powered Rest of India to an unlikely-five wicket victory against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, on Day 5, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. Fazal top-scored for the visitors as he scored 127 but Nair fell for 92, the second time he was dismissed in the 90s in the match. Bengal's Chatterjee played a steady innings of 54 before Binny provided the late boost as he smashed 54 from 51 balls. Saurashtra's Jackson carried his team home as he finished unbeaten on 59. For Mumbai, left-arm Iqbal Abdulla claimed five wickets for 154 in 42.4 overs but was still unable to prevent the visitors from chasing down the highest total in the history of the Irani Trophy.
Delhi Daredevils snapped their five-match losing streak with a comfortable six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to keep their hopes alive of making it to the play-offs, in the Indian Premier League, at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow hit half-centuries and combined in a sixth-wicket stand of 110 to launch England's fightback against India in the second Test on Saturday. - Scorecard: The pair kept the hosts at bay all morning on the third day before being separated 10 minutes before lunch as England reached 191 for six at the break, replying to India's first innings 455.
'It is not just about one skill anymore, so everyone needs to contribute with whatever they can.' 'It certainly puts the opposition on the defensive when you know that all eleven can bat.'
After the gruelling league phase of the ongoing IPL, the stage is set for the play-offs with CSK and MI clashing against each other for a place in May 12 final.
A steadily improving Delhi Daredevils look all set to challenge the might of title contenders Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams clash for the second time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match, in New Delhi on Saturday.
India spinners roared back to form and leave England reeling at 103 for five in their first innings as the hosts strengthened their position on Day 2 of the second Test in Visakhapatnam on Friday.