Ben Stokes' match haul of 254 runs and three wickets fashioned England's series-levelling victory against West Indies in the second Test on Monday, also earning him the player-of-the-match award.
'We felt like we had a lot of different wicket-taking opportunities. The odd ball was staying low, we got the ball reversing a little bit, and got the odd ball to spin as well. It's never an easy position.'
Star India batsman Virat Kohli was on Monday named Ceat T20 Player of the Year while former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award at a glittering function attended by several past and present players in Mumbai. England batsman Joe Root was named as the Ceat International Cricketer of the Year as well as International Batsman of the Year. India off-spinner R Ashwin won the Ceat International Bowler of the Year award while Rohit Sharma was named as the Indian Cricketer of the Year. Kohli has been in the form of his life in the shortest format recently as he was named as Player-of-the-Tournament in the World T20 held in India earlier this year and won the orange cap for amassing the most runs of 973 in 16 matches in the just-concluded IPL-9.
New Zealand took charge on the second day of the third Test by dismissing England for 143 and making 136/3 at close of play for an overall lead of 340.
'Pathum Nissanka is easily one of the best batters to have come out of Sri Lanka in the recent past and he has delivered once again,' he tweeted with an applause emoji.
'We had very narrow negotiations that were quite useful.'
Joe Root admitted that competing on spin-friendly tracks in Sri Lanka prepared them nicely for this tour.
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.
Having conceded a lead of 259, England were all out for 195 in the second session on day three of the contest.
Photos from Day 4 of the first Test match between India and England in Nottingham, on Saturday.
R Ashwin is always up for a challenge and two days from his landmark 100th Test, India's premier off-spinner looked back at the on-field battles he has enjoyed in international and domestic cricket.
Virat Kohli: The one who forced Gen-Z to fall in love with Red and Whites
Ben Stokes' first big decision as captain will be to name his team along with coach Chris Silverwood and there are tricky choices to be made with his bowling attack.
India, England cricket teams unite to unveil Khadi poppy in UK
England Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday named the playing eleven for the third Test match against India in Rajkot, with pacer Mark Wood replacing Shoaib Bashir in the playing squad.
A US lawmaker and former officials warn that President Trump's policies are damaging the strategic partnership between the United States and India, potentially driving India closer to China and Russia.
England batsman Joe Root urged centurion Moeen Ali to capitalise on the strong start and put India under pressure in the fifth and final Test in Chennai.
Kane Williamson scored a magisterial 156 at his most productive venue to drive New Zealand to the brink of a consolation victory over England at the end of the third day of the third Test.
Joe Root became the first England player to score a century during the series as the visitors strengthened their stranglehold in the third Test against West Indies on Monday.
Australia will be without their premier pacers but their envious pedigree in ICC tournaments make them favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy from Group B.
Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs.
Joe Root's wife Carrie is due to give birth to their second child in early July and the top order batsman said he is in discussions over whether he would be able to leave the on-site hotel and return to the bio-secure venue.
England became the first team to win a Test by an innings after conceding more than 500 runs in their first innings.
England batsman Gary Ballance rued not scoring another hundred against India in the fifth and final Test at the Oval while praising team-mate Joe Root for countering the visitors' fightback on Day 2.
Images from Day 1 of the opening Test between India and England in Rajkot on Wednesday.
Captain Joe Root was dismissed off the last ball of the fourth day moments after he had been struck on the hand by a Trent Boult bouncer to put New Zealand firmly in the driving seat to win the rain-affected first Test at Eden Park.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood said his team showed tremendous character to register back-to-back victories against England and win their first Test series on home soil since 2021.
England batted with positive intent to take control of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday, moving on to 389-9 at the close on the third day with a 377-run lead over Australia.
IMAGES from the World Cup match played between England and Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday.
How the Indian players fared in the five-Test series in England.
England must win the fourth Test in Manchester to keep the series alive ahead of the fifth Test at the Oval in London.
Ollie Pope reckons England can make 600 Test runs in a day's play
Brook's average of 62.54 is the second highest in Test history among players with a minimum of 20 Test innings. His average is only second to the incpmparable Australian batter Sir Don Bradman, who scored 6,996 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 99.94, with 29 centuries and 13 fifties.
Wood has so far played two matches in the ongoing series
Shubman Gill once again failed to convert a decent start as he was dismissed for 34 off 46 balls on Day 1 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.
With an unprecedented 3-0 Test series whitewash on home soil, 'Master Blaster' Sachin Tendulkar stepped forward and admitted that maybe it is time for India to have an "introspection."
Indian bowlers were made to toil as England began their campaign on a promising note, riding on star batsman Joe Root's 11th century to finish the opening day of the first cricket Test at a solid 311/4 in Rajkot on Wednesday. - Scorecard England's leading batsman in recent years, Root was his customary elegant self and made 124 off 180 balls, while Moeen Ali was one short of his fourth Test hundred when the stumps were drawn after 93 overs at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
With the emergence of their battery of fast bowlers, India have turned the tide at Lord's with two of their victories coming from their last three Tests -- in 2014 and 2021.
A win against Sri Lanka will put them firmly in contention for a semi-final berth but England's best batsman Joe Root was forthright in his assessment that his team has not been able to play "best cricket" in the tournament so far. "If we're being honest, we've not done one part of our game consistently well. Times we've bowled extremely well and when we've batted well. The exciting thing for me is, when that comes together we'll be a very hard side to beat," Root told mediapersons ahead of their final group league game against Sri Lanka on Saturday. But he also admitted that finding ways to win is the key, which they have done in the last two matches. "We have not performed at our best throughout the competition, which in a way is quite exciting because we know that's still to come. The really pleasing thing for me is we're finding ways of winning games of cricket. As long as we can continue to do that, all we can worry about is making sure we get that win on Saturday and give ourselves the best chance of qualifying," said Root. Even if England win, they need to keep a track of other matches and Root said that they are keeping a tab of what's happening in the group.
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.
