Defending champions Mumbai Indians will be aiming to sort their 'opening woes' in both departments of the game when they take on a rejuvenated Kings XI Punjab in a must-win Indian Premier League encounter, in Indore, on, Friday.
Delhi Daredevils find themselves in an 'oh-so-familiar' situation as they seek home comfort against a Chris Gayle-inspired Kings XI Punjab
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali on Thursday
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's heroics with the bat went in vain as Chennai Super Kings went down by four runs against Kings XI Punjab in a close finish in the Indian Premier League.
England opener Keaton Jennings struck a century on debut before off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin led an Indian fightback with late wickets to leave the visitors 288 for five on the first day of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Thursday.
India captain Virat Kohli revealed that his team got the extra motivation for winning the third Test after he lost the toss and therefore the opportunity to bat first on a good wicket. Scorecard Winning the toss and batting on the opening day is considered as a big advantage in Indian conditions but Kohli and Co overcame that to win the game by eight wickets.
Fringe players have a chance to prove their worth when India 'A' takes on Sri Lanka in the tourists' only warm-up match ahead of the hastily scheduled One-Day International series, in Mumbai on Thursday. The tour game, at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium, also provides Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a fractured finger and shoulder injury, an opportunity prove his fitness and return to the side for the last two games in the best-of-five ODI series.
Alastair Cook's England seem to have neither the form nor the resources to repeat their 2012 heroics against an Indian team determined to cement their top Test rankings in a five-match series starting at Rajkot on Wednesday.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday.
Round-up of the Day Three action in the Ranji Trophy matches being played in different part of the country.
It was India's players all the way, with Jasprit Bumrah emerging the most valuable, ahead of K L Rahul. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after the just-concluded three-ODI series between India and Zimbabwe.
Karnataka are well on course to winning the Ranji Trophy after extending their overall lead to 169 runs at stumps on the third day of the final against Maharashtra, in Hyderabad, on Friday. Starting the day at 230 without loss, Karnataka were successful in their plan to bat Maharashtra out of the contest as they amassed 474 for seven by stumps, in reply to 305.
Delhi Daredevils produced an all-round effort and defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to jump to the third spot in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Punjab Kings, who had paid Rs 10.75 crore for Maxwell in the previous auction, had released the 32-year-old following the 2020 edition in which he made 108 runs in 13 games at 15.42.
India coach Ravi Shastri has tweaked team's preparation style.
While the auction ahead of the ninth edition, starting in April, was great for Indian players in general, there were a few surprises in store. Rediff.com takes a look at the Indian players who secured themselves the best deals.
These films, even at their saddest, darkest and grossest, retain their sense of humour, their sense of proportion, which again is something you associate with a Malayali.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Monday made a comeback to the Indian team for the first two Tests against South Africa, replacing veteran Harbhajan Singh, who was the only casualty from the team which won the Test series in Sri Lanka last month.
'...and showcased in their original beauty.'
Having outplayed Bangladesh 'A' in all the departments in the first unofficial ODI, an upbeat India 'A' will be looking to keep the winning momentum.
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.
Mumbai Indians seamer Jasprit Bumrah helped his side beat Kings XI Punjab in an IPL match in Mumbai.
Injuries have forced India to make changes to their winning combination. With Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha returning home, the visitors are likely to field a new combination.
Injury-hit RCB and Delhi look to outshine each other.
India were on the verge of a riveting series victory after an incisive performance from the bowlers saw them skittle out Australia for a paltry 137 in their second innings on the third day of the fourth and final cricket Test in Dharamsala, on Monday.
Australia spinner Steve O'Keefe is aware that taming the Indians would be a 'big job' but exuded confidence that his team is capable of doing 'some damage' during their four-Test series.
For debutant Keaton Jennings, it was a dream come true just to turn out for England in a Test match and then to follow it up with a century on his debut was even more 'surreal' for the young left-hander. Jennings, who was dropped on nought, played a splendid knock of 112 in his first innings in Test cricket, lifting England to 288 for five at stumps after they had elected to bat first.
Rohit Sharma feels that outgoing captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to make him open the batting in the 50-overs format was a 'career-changing move'.
Rajasthan Royals outplayed Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad, thereby registering their fifth straight win of the season.
Rishabh Pant may be the flavour this domestic cricket season but chief coach Anil Kumble feels that Parthiv Patel's experience as well as better "keeping skills" have enabled him to make a comeback into Indian Test side after eight long years. "Parthiv has been really consistent both with his keeping as well as his batting. That's why Parthiv was chosen. Rishabh has certainly shown the exuberance a young cricketer can bring in. He has shown a lot of batting skills. He has obviously got a lot of runs in domestic cricket. But Parthiv was chosen for his keeping skills and his experience," Kumble said on Thursday, giving a peek into his thought process on Patel's selection.
Riding on Karun Nair's record innings of 328 and a magnificent all-round performance from captain R Vinay Kumar, Karnataka crushed Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs to successfully defend their Ranji Trophy title.
Manish Pandey continued his good form in the limited-overs' format, scoring an unbeaten 99 as defending champions Karnataka beat Mumbai by four wickets to enter the semi-finals of the National One-Day Championship, for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, in Vadodara, on Friday.
The below-par Test record of Rohit Sharma is expected to be the focus of discussion when the selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, picks the Indian cricket squad for the home Test series against New Zealand . Despite Rohit's poor form in the Tests, he has the confidence of captain Virat Kohli, who feels that the ODI specialist should be given a longer run to prove himself in the Test format.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Saturday
It will not be the first time that the competition has had to be held outside India.
Despite Gaikward's brilliance, Maharashtra could not qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
Cook stands tall in final Test as England take healthy lead against India
Kings XI Punjab bowlers displayed exceptional death bowling skills as they shocked a formidable Delhi Daredevils by 9 runs in an IPL encounter.
Back in the top half of the league table after a convincing win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils will look to build on the winning momentum when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
As he approaches what could be possibly the last phase, or the last few years, of an illustrious career, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a month shy of his 35th birthday, stressed that maintaining his fitness level to keep up with the demands of international cricket is priority.
