India's star drag-flicker V Raghunath netted two goals to help the hosts settle for a 2-2 draw against world champions Australia in the first hockey Test of the three-match series, in Rajnandgaon, on Thursday.
The colour of balls used in the English one-day game could change from white to pink if trials by the Marylebone Cricket Club prove successful.
Australia will trial a modified pink ball featuring a black seam in the domestic Sheffield Shield competition next week after complaints from players about visibility issues during the inaugural day-night Test last November.
The colour of balls used in the English one-day game could change from white to pink.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday.
From madrasa and gulley cricket to the doorstep of Indian cricket, Irfan Pathan has come a long way.
Images from Day 1 of the second Test between New Zealand and India in Christchurch on Saturday.
Despite sleeping barely four hours in the past two days speedster Ishant Sharma kept India in the fight with three New Zealand wickets in the first Test even as he struggled hard to deal with "jet-lag".
Yuvraj Singh feels it moved a bit more than SG Test ball while Robin Uthappa's observations varied from colour change to lack of reverse swing as the first set of inputs on the much talked about 'Pink ball' Day-Night experiment in the Duleep Trophy came to the fore.
World champions Australia defeated Olympic champions Argentina 2-1 in a hard-fought summit clash to defend the Hockey World League (HWL) Final crown.
India's spinner Ravichandran Ashwin defended India's batting, saying both sides struggled to score and that India had hope right till the end that with Hardik Pandya around the visitors were in the game.
India will face Great Britain in the quarter-finals on Thursday after the British drew 3-3 with Belgium to top Pool A in the Hockey World League (HWL) Final at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium in Raipur on Tuesday.
India batsman Ajinkya Rahane is excited at the prospect of playing with pink ball in the Duleep Trophy tournament later this year.
The Aussies battled for a 3-2 victory.
Australia were disappointed to miss out on the prized wicket of Virat Kohli on a tough opening day of the third Test
Australia finished on top of the standings despite losing 2-3 to Olympic champions Argentina earlier in the day. India, which needed just a draw to progress, finished second.
England shocked five-time reigning champions Australia 3-1, while Belgium defeated Pakistan 2-1 in their Pool A matches on the opening day of the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
With the Eden Gardens set to host the country's first day-night match with a pink ball in club cricket, an expert panel, comprising Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Dean Jones, strongly feel the innovation is here to stay.
The iconic Eden Gardens emerged as the frontrunner to host the first ever Day-Night Test match in India against the visiting New Zealand side even as Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly said it will depend on their upcoming 'pink ball experiment' from June 18.
All that's transpired on and off the cricket pitch on Monday.
India captain Rohit Sharma said that left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed's ability to swing the white kookaburra upfront gives the team an option to use their premier bowler Jasprit Bumrah differently in the shortest format.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Monday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday released the itinerary for the home series against the West Indies in the United Arab Emirates, which will include three Tests, three One-day Internationals and as many T20 Internationals.
India put up a valiant fight before defending champions Australia pipped them 3-2 in an absorbing encounter in the six-nation Champions Trophy hockey tournament, in Breda, the Netherlands, on Wednesday.
Hosts India produced a spirited performance to stun Olympic silver medallist Belgium in the shoot-out and progress to the semi-finals of the Hockey World League (HWL) final after both the teams were locked at 3-3 at the end of regulation time, in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
V R Raghunath's twin strike went in vain as Indian men's hockey team went down to Australia 3-4 in the second and final game to draw the two-match series 1-1 in Melbourne on Wednesday. Akashdeep Singh (6th minute) and Raghunath (22nd, 25th) scored for the visitors, while Australia's goals came from the sticks of Tent Mitton (13th) Jake Whetton (23rd) and Jeremy Hayward (38th, 54th). Playing with 10 men for large periods of the third quarter, India defended stoutly but were finally outsmarted by Australia just six minutes from the hooter.
Rupinder Pal Singh's brace went in vain as Indian men's hockey team lost 2-3 to hosts Australia in a tense opening game of the four-nation Invitational Tournament in Melbourne on Wednesday. The Indians began positively against top-ranked Australia, showing positive intent and energy in the first quarter. However, the first 15 minutes ended in a stalemate. Indian youngster Affan Yousuf's attacking approach almost paid dividends early on had it not been for a solid defense from the Kookaburras.
India captain Virat Kohli says Umesh Yadav's 'standout performance' has made the fast bowler a strong candidate for selection in the playing XI in the Test series in Australia.
'So what happens to places like New Zealand or even England, when those typical cold English weather, so what does one do, when you are not going to sweat?' Tendulkar asked during a social media interaction with former Australian pacer Brett Lee.
Sanjay Manjrekar said the team management should take the blame for selections which have backfired.
India gave wings to their ferocious ambition of winning a maiden series Down Under, beating Australia by 31 runs in the opening Test with an irresistible fusion of self-belief, hunger and talent in Adelaide.
India's Test captain Virat Kohli has decided to take rest while teammates Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma will be playing for Delhi's home fixture against Baroda in their opening group league match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, to be played on Thursday.
India's excitement around their current pace attack is palpable but they would do well to temper their sunny optimism in Australia.
India will seek to end 43 years of hurt when they begin the Hockey World Cup campaign against South Africa on Wednesday.
Indian men's hockey team slipped one place to occupy sixth in the FIH rankings after their lackluster show in Rio Olympics while their female counterparts surprisingly gained one position to be at 12th in the latest charts released on Tuesday. The Indian men's side crashed out of the Olympics in the quarterfinals by losing to eventual runners-up team Belgium 1-3 while the women's team failed to get past the group stage.
A change in technique after being asked to open had a negative impact on his performance during his playing days. No wonder VVS Laxman wants Rohit Sharma to stick to his natural game in his new role during the South Africa Test series.
Images from Day 2 of the Pink-ball first Test between Australia and India, in Adelaide, on Friday.
Factbox on the second Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Saturday:
'It is a big step towards changing something in Test cricket.'
India went down fighting 1-3 to Australia via the penalty shoot-out in the final of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament, in Breda, the Netherlands, on Sunday.
