Flavour of the season Rahul Tewatia didn't prove to be third time lucky in what turned out to be an incredible death overs performance by the Delhi Capitals pace attack in their 13-run victory against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
A summary of Ranji matches played on Tuesday.
However, Rajasthan would be a bit more desperate than Delhi as they are languishing at the second last position in the points table with just three wins from nine outings.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
A dominant Indian team is expected to maintain its stranglehold on a miserable Sri Lanka and wrap up the three-match series when the two mismatched teams face off in the second Twenty20 International in Indore on Friday.
Following the debacle in the New Zealand ODI series, the selectors finally lost patience with the under-performing Suresh Raina and Ishant Sharma and axed them from India's squad for the Asia Cup later this month. Cheteshwar Pujara, who played two ODIs in Zimbabwe in August, made a comeback to the ODI squad.
Captain Virat Kohli's huge workload will come up for discussion while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to make a comeback when the selectors announce the India squad for T20 and Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively.
Gautam Gambhir started his new season in the right earnest with a patient century as Delhi made a pedestrian Assam attack toil by reaching 269 for four at stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Group A encounter in New Delhi on Saturday.
Set a target of 206, Saurashtra folded for 127 in 58.4 overs, giving Vidarbha their second title triumph in the country's marquee first-class tournament.
Glenn Maxwell hammered the India 'A' bowlers to all parts of the LC de Villers Oval in Pretoria to score 145 not out from 79 balls and lift Australia 'A' to 298 in the second match of the 'A' Team tri-series, on Thursday.
Rookie batsman Rahul Tripathi played a breathtaking knock of 93 to single-handedly power Rising Pune Supergiant to a four-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.
The out-of-favour opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were handed a lifeline by the national selectors on Tuesday when they were included in the India 'A' squad for the second and third four-day matches against the touring West Indies 'A' later this month.
With a new captain in place, Rising Pune Supergiants would look to make amends for a poor last season but have a tough opening battle at hand against two-time former champions Mumbai Indians.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be missing their key all-rounder Andre Russell but skipper Gautam Gambhir wants his team to treat the Jamaican's absence as an 'opportunity in bold letters' during the upcoming Indian Premier League.
India gets new face in pace attack
A summary of the second day's play in Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Chennai Super Kings produced a clinical performance to crush Delhi Daredevils by 93 runs and register their first win in the seventh edition of Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad surprised quite a few by opting to release the fast bowling duo of Ishant Sharma and Dale Steyn, while they also let go of England discard Kevin Pietersen.
Images from Saturday's IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Dubai.
Skipper Rohit Sharma will be desperate to get back to form as a resurgent India look to set their record straight against hosts Sri Lanka in the third match of the Nidahas Tri-Series, in Colombo, on Monday.
It took 84 long years for Test cricket to come to the land of Ranjitsinhji.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, in Sharjah, on Thursday.
A depleted Rajasthan Royals will have an onerous task of stopping the mighty CSK
The big stars who failed to live up to expectations and ended up disappointing not only their IPL franchises but also their fans.
Their fate hanging in balance, a loss in the penultimate league round match may virtually sound the death knell for one of the two teams.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers' impressive defence of modest totals continued as the visitors pulled off a 11-run win over Rajasthan Royals on a tricky pitch to claim the top spot
Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, the two franchises that returned to the IPL after serving bans in the aftermath of the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, will come face to face for the first time in the ongoing edition, keen to regain lost momentum in Pune, on Friday.
A keen contest is on the cards as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals cross swords in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals will need to regroup quickly after a heavy loss when they face Delhi Daredevils in what will be their first IPL home game in five years at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said he wants his youngest son, five-year-old AbRam, to grow up to be a hockey player and represent the country in international stage.
Domestic stalwart Ashok Malhotra, who is also the president of Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA), said that four months of Ranji Trophy in a bio-bubble was never going to be a sustainable idea.
Kevin Pietersen failed to fire in his first match for Delhi Daredevils, as Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on brilliant batting by Aaron Finch and David Warner to notch a four-run victory in Friday's IPL match in Dubai.
India's bowlers found the going tough after a good start as Jonathan Carter smashed his way to a remarkable century and took West Indies 'A' to 279 for 6, in the second unofficial one-dayer at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday. The 25-year-old Carter dominated the West Indies innings, smashing the Indian attack to all corners of the ground, in an impressive 133 off 132 balls.
Steve Smith celebrated his return at the helm with a captain's innings that powered Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket victory over a formidable Mumbai Indians.
With India needing 34 runs off the last two overs, Karthik hammered 29 not out off just eight deliveries, his third six sealing India's third, and the most hard-earned, victory over Bangladesh in the tournament.
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.
With a strike rate of 115, Shikhar Dhawan is the MVP from the India-West Indies series according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
Who were the most valuable players in the just-concluded India-Australia ODI series? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji 's formula provides overwhelming evidence that the bat complete overwhelmed the bat.
A rejuvenated India will start as the favourites when they lock horns with Zimbabwe, who have been left bruised and battered after a 10-wicket thrashing, in the series-deciding third and final Twenty20 International in Harare, on Wednesday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, rated as one of the best finishers in limited overs cricket, hailed Zimbabwe pacer Neville Madziva, who bowled a superb final over to give the hosts a thrilling two-run victory in the first T20 International in Harare, on Saturday.