As the nation celebrates its 76th Republic Day, India's sports fraternity took to social media to share their patriotic sentiments and wishes with fans across the country on Sunday.
Rahul, who has played most of his cricket in formative years at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, said, "From the position we were in, we were chasing 210-plus and we knew we had to go hard and attack. But, sometimes, when you do that, you lose wickets. Unbelievable, I mean it's the Chinnaswamy. I've grown up here and I think it's the stadium with most last-ball finishes.
'We are pretty sorted in terms of how we are going to start in the first game (versus Pakistan).'
India play 2 Tests versus Bangladesh, followed by three against New Zealand before the big-ticket five Test Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia Down Under.
'Whatever it takes for our team to look good or gives us the best chance to succeed, we'll try and do that'
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals in Hyderabad, on Monday.
Mighty impressed with Shubman Gill's footwork in difficult English conditions, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is expecting the young skipper to score truckloads of runs in away conditions
The Ranji match between Delhi and Railways will be live streamed on JioCinema.
Shubman Gill was extremely consistent with thought process, respected good balls: Sachin Tendulkar
Gavaskar, a revered opener during his playing days, said the 22-year-old Jaiswal has "the cricketing world at his feet".
Successful in keeping opponents and vitriol at bay so far, India will have to rise above traditional bugbear New Zealand and a rigmarole of emotions surrounding stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to reclaim the Champions Trophy after 12 years in Dubai on Sunday.
The home team bowlers did not put a foot wrong but the pitch "surprisingly" dried up quite quickly at the Optus stadium on the second day, eventually helping the Indian batters, reckons Australia head coach Andrew McDonald.
Rahul added that initially, India were looking to chase a target in the vicinity of 280-300 runs as it was a good batting track. He gave credit to the home team bowlers for dismissing Sri Lanka for 215 in 39.4 overs.
KS Bharat has been named as his replacement.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage matches.
Shubman Gill scored a record-breaking 269 and their seamers struck early to put the tourists in a commanding position at Edgbaston on Thursday.
KL Rahul hit a quickfire half-century and Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets in an over but India suffered a 36-run defeat against Western Australia in their second practice match ahead of the T20 World Cup, at the WACA stadium in Perth on Thursday.
'He (Rahul) pulled his hip flexor, I guess. I do not know how bad it is'
Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali sees shades of Virat Kohli in Shubman Gill's aggressive on-field demeanour, but feels the India batter's approach during the Lord's Test may have triggered a stronger response from the hosts.
'His hands are quite sore. We want to get his confidence back up.'
'I knew he would come through in a big match because of his ability to rise to the occasion.'
Karnataka ended the Ranji Trophy season with a draw against Haryana in their Elite Group C match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Former England skipper Nasser Hussain said India's long tail restricted Kohli and Rahul from going all out during their partnership.
If KL Rahul leads Lucknow Super Giants to their maiden IPL title, he will automatically be rewarded with a spot in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup, reckons head coach Justin Langer, who wants his team's national hopefuls to "concentrate" on doing well for the franchise first.
'Do not forget the role of Anil Kumble! Anil Kumble has been a fighter all his cricketing career, you could see when he went out with a broken jaw and bowled, and that spirit is seen in the KXIP'
It was an optional training day for the team India members as it was just a day after a full-fledged game
Rohit Sharma's request to the BCCI for a break from white-ball cricket in South Africa despite being offered T20 captaincy has been accepted, while Jasprit Bumrah has been named his deputy for the two Tests starting December 26.
Two fast-bowling all-rounders look to be in a battle for one spot, while a decision between Prasidh Krishna and left-armer Arshdeep Singh could be condition-dependent.
'If Rohit wants to open, KL should bat at No. 3. Nothing later than that.'
Dilip, who replaced R Sridhar as India fielding coach during Rahul Dravid's stint as head coach, continued in his role when Gautam Gambhir took over as well.
Yashasvi Jaiswal entered the first Test against England at Headingley with a sparkling century. He exited it under intense scrutiny - not for his batting, but for a torrid time in the slip cordon.
'Virat and Rohit not playing (Duleep Trophy) was not good for Indian cricket, nor was it good for the two players. Had they played the Duleep Trophy and had some time in the red-ball cricket, things would have been different.'
As many as 16 wickets fell on the opening day as visitors Hyderabad were left reeling at 88/6 after bundling out Jammu and Kashmir for 170 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group D match in Jammu on Sunday.
'Those who are very good at playing along the ground are also very good at playing in the air in same direction.'
Virat Kohli remains the biggest draw as he returns to his 'home ground' at the back of five half-centuries in nine games. Four of them have come away from the Chinnaswamy Stadium and despite being in the opposition camp, the Delhi crowd will be hoping the Indian superstar extends his prolific run in the tournament.
Ashwal Rai, who is leading Kolkata Thunderbolts in the upcoming Prime Volleyball League, believes ace cricketers like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandy and KL Rahul can be very good volleyball players.
In the Super Four stage, the Men in Blue will take on Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
Having got a few days break at the end of IPL 2022, K L Rahul attended close friend and former Karnataka team-mate David Mathias' wedding in Manama, Bahrain.
Architect of India's six-wicket win over Australia, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has a solid all-round game and provides stability in the middle-order, said bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.
