IMAGES from the 3rd T20I played between India and South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town on Saturday
India are poised for their third T20 International series triumph in five years but would be wary of a strong fightback from the usually plucky New Zealand when the two sides clash in the second game of the three-match series in Rajkot.
A win on Friday would seal the three-match series for Virat Kohli and Co.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to outgun title-contenders, Gujarat Lions in a must-win Indian Premier League clash.
Faced with the prospect of a humiliating 0-3 series whitewash, a desperate India would be aiming to bounce back to winning ways against an unrelenting South Africa in the third and final Test, starting in Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
India will have to find the right balance in the ODI side and get their "act together" before the 50-overs World Cup next year, said captain Virat Kohli after his team's 1-2 loss in the three-match series, in Leeds, on Tuesday.
Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mohammad Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav played all their 14 league games.
Images from the first T20 International between India and New Zealand in Wellington on Wednesday.
India overcame a disastrous start to beat New Zealand by 35 runs in the fifth and final One-Day International in Wellington on Sunday and finish the series with a 4-1 scoreline in their favour.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
One of Australia's finest ever captain Ian Chappell never ever believed that a professional cricket team needs a specialist coach. "An international 'coach' is something the Australian team travels in around England," is one of Chappell's iconic pun-intended quote on what he exactly thought about cricket coaches. Back in India though, coaching senior teams - from international to IPL is a well-paid job, not discounting the glamour which is associated with it. But reality bites when one climbs down -- just a notch below at the first-class level where it's not always a bed of roses for all those plying their trade.
India have never won an ODI series in South Africa, having lost 5-2 in 1992-93, 4-0 in 2006- 07, 3-2 in 2010-11 and 2-0 in 2013-14.
Virat Kohli is the quintessential 'teacher's delight' but it is injury-prone Mohammed Shami, in his current fit avatar, that India's strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu considers his biggest achievement since joining the team.
'Though the river is cleaner than what it was five years ago, a lot more needs to be done.'
Unlike in the T20I series, England do not have the option of battling this phenomenon with a practice outing against the spin-bowling machine, Merlyn. With both teams travelling to London on Friday, there might not even be enough time to sit down for some video analysis. In that light, the English batsmen will have to contend mentally with how to play Yadav on Saturday.
Kohli, who was named man-of-the-match for the 2nd Test that India won against Sri Lanka in Nagpur on Monday, will play the third and final Test in New Delhi.
A summary of Wednesday's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
Fit again Rohit Sharma and Mohammad Shami on Monday staged comeback in India's 15-member ODI squad.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings after the league phase in IPL 10.
Nothing but a win will keep their play-off hopes alive as defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Gujarat Lions in a do-or-die battle, which will be their final IPL league match in Kanpur on Saturday. With seven wins in 13 matches, Mumbai are currently placed fifth, tied on 14 points with Royal Challengers Bangalore (3rd) and Kolkata Knight Riders (4th) -- both having better net run-rate with one match to go. A loss on Saturday will knock them out of the race for play-offs and Mumbai will hope to pull the rug from under the feet of the Lions this time after suffering a defeat during their home leg on April 16.
The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, which comprise three back-to-back matches in a span of five days.
India's campaign in the Asian Games gymnastics ended, on Friday, without a medal after Dipa Karmakar finished fifth in the women's balance beam event final in Jakarta.
A lowdown on what's happening in the Tamil film industry.
India will be itching to avenge the thrashing they got in Guwahati when they take on an edgy but resilient Australia in the series-deciding third and final Twenty20 International in Hyderabad on Friday.
Most of these incredible performances came against one team -- the Gujarat Lions.
IMAGES from the match between KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad played at Eden Gardens on Saturday
A severely hamstrung Kedar Jadhav held his nerve in the closing stages, while the lower order made vital contributions with the bat as India edged past Bangladesh by three wickets to win their seventh Asia Cup title in a pulsating last-ball finish, in Dubai on Friday.
The Duleep Trophy final was Central Zone skipper Piyush Chawla's 100th first-class match and the thrilling nine-run win was termed by the UP leg-spinner as one of the "most memorable wins" in his career.
The women's team comprising Joshana Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Sunayana Kuruvilla and Tanvi Khanna continued its unbeaten run, defeating China 3-0 in penultimate pool match.
Rohit scored his third ODI double century, settled down most comfortably as India's stop-gap captain, and was India's most valuable player by a long mile. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the most valuable players in the Sri Lanka ODI series.
Former Sri Lanka captain attributes the Indian team's debacle in the first two Tests against England to lack of preparation.
Yuvraj Singh's patchy form and fear of inclement weather will be paramount when India take on the West Indies in the second One Day International, in Port of Spain on Sunday.
India will look to crush a South African revival before it becomes a threat to their pursuit of a maiden ODI series triumph here when the two sides clash in the fifth one-dayer, on Tuesday.
Professionalism will be pitted against passion when defending champions India square off with Bangladesh in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, in Birmingham on Thursday.
Cauvery matters to Chennai-ites, but not at the cost of cricket, or its home team, or its favourite captain, reports A Ganesh Nadar after watching Tuesday night's zinger of a game between CSK and KKR.
Powered by in-form, inspirational leader in Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to inch closer to a maiden Indian Premier League title triumph when they take on table-toppers Gujarat Lions in the Qualifier I, in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Shikhar Dhawan struck an unbeaten 47 after a clinical display by his bowling team-mates as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Gujarat Lions by five wickets in their IPL match.
Mohammed Shami led India's fight-back with a career-best five-wicket haul as India snapped nine wickets for 53 runs to dismiss South Africa for 177 and avoid a humiliating whitewash in the three-match series.
Pacer Shardul Thakur had match figures of eight for 113 as Mumbai beat Delhi by 204 runs to enter the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy.
Formidable India will hope to get more answers for their unsettled middle-order puzzle when they take on a reeling West Indies in the five-match ODI series, starting Sunday and ticking off the home team's countdown to the 2019 World Cup.
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