Riding on half-centuries from their openers Mike Hussey and Lendl Simmons followed by excellent performance from their spinners helped Mumbai post a comfortable 25-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in a one-sided Indian Premier League encounter in Ahmedabad.
It would be interesting to see whether the selectors repose faith in veteran Gautam Gambhir, who made a half-century in the second innings of the third and final Test against New Zealand in Indore, if KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan are both passed fit to play.
India's carefully devised plan to triumph in England seems to be coming undone with injuries to their key bowlers.
Humiliated in their previous face-off this season, table toppers Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to seek revenge against a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in Wednesday's Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru.
There were three attractive half-centuries but a top and lower-middle order collapse saw hosts Karnataka manage a below-par 264 for 9 against Saurashtra on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final on Thursday.
Buoyed by their thrilling last-ball win against Delhi Daredevils, a confident Rajasthan Royals will take on a beleaguered Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League cricket encounter in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Rajasthan Royals would be keen to adapt quickly to their new 'home ground' when they lock horns with last season's runner-up Kings XI Punjab in their campaign opener in the Indian Premier League in Pune.
India take on a war-ravaged-but-resilient Afghanistan in their first ever Test match, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
The likes of Robin UthaManoj Tiwaryppa, Manoj Tiwary and Kedar Jadhav will get another chance to impress the selectors and push their case for a comeback to international cricket when Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka clash against Rest of India lock in a five-day Irani Trophy match, in Bangalore, starting on Tuesday.
Nathan Lyon walked into the record books with career-best figures of 8 for 50 as India suffered another batting debacle.
Handed a rude shock in the opening game, the Indian youngsters will have to raise their game in the second Twenty20 International to stay afloat in the three-match series against minnows Zimbabwe, in Harare on Monday.
A resounding opening win setting the tone perfectly for them, the new-look Indian team will look to continue in the same vein and take another step towards a potential whitewash of Zimbabwe when the two sides clash in the second ODI in Harare on Monday.
Defending champions West Zone rode on gritty half centuries from Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel to scramble past South Zone by two wickets and enter the Deodhar Trophy final, in Mumbai, on Monday. Chasing an imposing 315 for victory in the second semi-final at the Wankhede stadium, West were struggling at 174 for 6 before Yadav (80 off 56 balls, 4 sixes, 7 fours) and No. 8 batsman Patel (64 not out off 38 balls) put together a match-winning stand of 70 runs off 76 balls that saw the hosts home with 17 balls to spare.
Perennial under-achievers Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab will look to recover from opening losses and put their campaign back on track.
Mitchell McClenaghan led Mumbai Indians's superb showing with the ball as they thrashed Delhi Daredevils by 14 runs to register their sixth successive victory, in the ongoing tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Indian cricket team will be aiming to pick up pieces while spoiling Alastair Cook's farewell party in the fifth and final Test against England starting Friday.
In an incredible power-hitting show, Steven Smith and James Faulkner rattled up a match-winning 85-run stand from nowhere as Rajasthan Royals pulled off a stunning five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL match in Bangalore on Sunday.
With 36 different playing XIs in as many Tests under Kohli's captaincy, the Indian line-up is begging for some consistency.
With Shikar Dhawan back in the squad, it is indeed a happy problem for skipper Virat Kohli, who has to choose two quality openers among three.
The Indian team management took this decision during this afternoon's net practice after having a look at the pitch. Although there was no official word on why the match was shortened, Indian coach Ravi Shastri was seen having an animated discussion with the local officials after getting a glimpse of the grassy pitch and a barren outfield that can cause injury while fielding.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Wednesday.
Former India star batsman VVS Laxman prefers all-rounder Hardik Pandya over Karun Nair in the playing XI for the first Test match against England, considering his all-round skill sets. Laxman is a firm believer of the "five bowler theory" and wants Pandya to open the bowling with Mohammed Shami, with Amit Mishra playing as the third specialist spinner.
India's spinners have been a handful at home in recent years.
A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
Brendon McCullum struck a quickfire fifty before Ravindra Jadeja produced a brilliant spell of 4-11 as Chennai Super avenged its defeat over Rajasthan Royals with a 12-run win to virtually secure its place in the play-offs of the Indian Premier League in Chennai on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals beat SunRisers Hyderabad by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam. It was Rajasthan's fourth win in as many matches as keeps them top of the table.
Mayank Agarwal, who was the third opener for the West Indies series, is a contender for the yet-to-be-decided squad of 17 that will travel Down Under.
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Kings XI Punjab and much more.
Off the field the Board of Control for Cricket in India looks set for a complete overhaul with Supreme Court's stinging observations tightening the noose around the mandarins of the richest sports body.
Zimbabwe will be the second time that the leg-spinner will represent India at the international level. Few are aware that the then junior national chess champion represented India at the World Youth Chess Championship in Greece in 2002.
Virat the batsman wins, Virat the captain loses
Indian opener K L Rahul hit pay dirt with a Rs 11 crore deal with Kings XI Punjab, while controversial England all-rounder Ben Stokes also triggered a bidding war before going to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.50 crore at the IPL auctions, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
Featuring Watto, Wiese, Rahane, Hogg, Sarfaraz, Finch, de Kock, Tambe, Kulkarni, Maxwell...
Putting up an all-round show, Karnataka defeated Mumbai by 5 wickets in their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy game in Mumbai on Sunday, inside two-and-half days. This was Mumbai's second consecutive loss at home, following their defeat against Railways.
Abhimanyu Mithun's brilliant bowling at death enabled defending champions Karnataka to edge out Bengal by six runs in a thrilling semi-final of the National One Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, in Ahmedabad.
The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy is locked at 1-1 and the match at Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), which is organising it's first-ever Test, is set to be a make-or-break affair for both teams.
Karnataka rode on Rahul's 81 runs and an unbeaten 142 by Pandey.
A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final matches played on Thursday.