The 3-0 series win against the West Indies could be called a precursor and the real battle begins now against Quinton de Kock's Proteas who are also in the midst of a tough transition.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to shrug off the disappointment of two back-to-back defeats and get back to winning ways when they taken on Sunrisers Hyderabad as they aim to seal their place in the play-offs, in the IPL match, in Sharjah, on Saturday.
aptain Virat Kohli and premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, were both called back into a full-strength Indian squad, while Dinesh Karthik was left out of the five-match ODI series against Australia, starting in Visakhapatnam, on February 24.
RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
Images from the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Delhi, on Sunday.
Images from the IPL match between Delhi Capitals and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Chennai, on Sunday.
Images from the IPL match between SunRisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
The lack of fight in the run chase was a big disappointment, as mentioned by captain Rohit Sharma in Wellington. Despite having eight batsmen in the eleven, India lost by 80 runs.
Royals are more affected than Sunrisers with the absence of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joffra Archer, who have left for England to join the World Cup camp.
A win against Mumbai Indians should be enough to send Sunrisers into the final-four.
Having suffered back-to-back defeats against Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Capitals will aim to get back to winning ways against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
It will be a crucial couple of weeks for Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey, who are back in the mix after being sidelined from India's 50-over World Cup plans.
The teams are ready to battle it out and with no established name figuring in India's bowling department
With the three-match T20I series ahead and also the World Cup round the corner, India will have to address this weakness to ensure that their much-vaunted batting doesn't crumble on an odd day when the condition aids swing bowling in England.
'We are pretty comfortable and to be honest with you, there is nothing we can do about what happened with David Warner. We have moved on from there'
India concluded the two-match US leg of the series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead after notching up a 22-run win in the second game on Sunday.
Sanju Samson replaced Virat Kohli for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, while Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team.
Dhoni would be the centre of discussion amid speculation that the Jharkhand player is contemplating retirement even though he hasn't spoken about it till now.
Selection committee will leave it on Kohli to decide whether he needs a break or continue playing.
Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan are also back in both the squads, while pacer Mohammed Shami got a break from the T20 series.
Rishabh Pant, on Thursday, earned a maiden call-up to the Indian ODI team, replacing Dinesh Karthik for the first two games against the West Indies.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja led India's brilliant bowling performance in a lopsided nine-wicket win against West Indies to wrap up a 3-1 series victory in the fifth and final one-day international.
The Men in Blue have never won a bilateral ODI contest on Australian soil.
During Wednesday's training, a Jasprit Bumrah yorker hit Shankar flush on his toes.
India are favoured to extend their dominance while West Indies face insurmountable odds to draw parity, in the second One-day International, in Visakhapatnam, on Wednesday.
Selection committee looking to continue building towards World T20 in Australia in October 2020.
Rishabh Pant is a 'champion cricketer in the making', who is very much in the mix for the 2019 India's World Cup campaign for his ability to seamlessly switch formats, says chairman of selectors MSK Prasad.
The World Cup is just a couple of months away, and even after even a 0-2 loss in the just-concluded T20 series there won't be any shift in plans as far as skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri are concerned.
One of the primary focus of Monday's encounter could be the inclusion of Indian cricket's latest enfant terrible Hardik Pandya, who is coming back from provisional suspension for his loose talk on a TV chat show.
India captain Virat Kohli stressed on the importance of all-rounder Hardik Pandya's presence in the ODI side in order to get the ideal bowling combination for the World Cup.
'Over the last 12 months Virat's averaged 133, Shikhar 75, and Rohit 50; so there's a lot of runs and balls faced from their top three. It's important to get them as early as you can because once they get in, they score fast and they don't seem to get out too easily'
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.
Chahal, who has been an automatic choice in the limited overs format has not played any first-class cricket since December 2016 (against Haryana in Ranji Trophy), but the Indian team management and especially skipper Virat Kohli has indicated that he wants the wiry leg-spinner for five-day matches also.
On a roll after five wins on the trot, table toppers Mumbai Indians will look to continue their domination when they clash with struggling Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League game, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
On a roll after a poor start, Delhi Daredevils will look to complete a hat-trick of victories on home turf when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League encounter, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Rashid Khan dismissed Ravindra Jadeja in the final over as Afghanistan pulled off a thrilling tie against India in a Super Four match of the Asia Cup in Dubai on Tuesday.
'We are pretty comfortable as a side and any combination that we go in with.'
After a below-par effort against Pune Supergiants, the Delhi Darevils will be looking to hit the straps rightaway with their prime players set to comeback in the playing XI as they take on bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter at Mohali on Saturday. Following three horrendous seasons, the Daredevils have had a decent outing so far under Rahul Dravid's mentorship and Zaheer Khan's captaincy, having won five of their eight games and are placed third in the eight-team table. There has been no standout performer as such but contributions from most of the players in their five victories has made it clear that Dravid's men are certainly not dependant on any one individual to carry the team forward.
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