The hosts have hit nadir in both form and confidence, and, after a lop-sided 3-0 Test series victory, the script did not change much in the opening ODI, where India steamrolled the opposition by nine wickets.
Having decimated the opposition with clinical precision in all four matches, India will be aiming to complete a clean sweep when they take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Ranchi on Sunday.
After starting the series with a crushing victory, an upbeat India will aim to maintain their stranglehold over an under-prepared Sri Lanka when they meet in the second ODI in Motera on Thursday.
Whether to cover a bald head or let your hair down, one can learn (and unlearn) a great deal about the art from Hindi movies. Take a look.
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Statistical highlights from the first ODI between India and the West Indies, in Kochi, on Wednesday.
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.
IPL Season 11 begins on April 7. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers.
Robin Uthappa was elegance personified during his 52-ball 80 as he powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in Cuttack on Wednesday.
India might have been thoroughly outplayed in the ODI series in Australia, but former Australia batsman Dean Jones said the visitors will do much better in the three T20 Internationals as they have a balanced side, which was missing in the One-dayers.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians slumped to their fifth straight defeat, losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 15 runs in the Indian Premier League match, in Dubai, on Wednesday night.
Down in the Indian Ocean, cricket turned out to be the great unifier and Archana Masih, only an intermittent fan, became its ambassador of sorts.
'Dhoni was a very shrewd captain in terms of his out of the box thinking and getting the work done.'
Captain Virat Kohli's blazing blade ensured a comfortable seven-wicket victory in the one-off Twenty20 International as the visitors completed a 9-0 rout of Sri Lanka across all three formats, in Colombo, on Wednesday.
Their World Cup build-up halted by West Indies team's sudden mid-series pullout, India would resume the preparations for the mega-event when they square off against under-cooked sub-continental rivals Sri Lanka in a hastily-arranged ODI series starting in Cuttack on Sunday.
Statistical highlights of the fifth and final one-dayer between India and England in Leeds on Friday.
Unwilling to tinker with the line-up in view of next month's World Twenty20, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday said the team will prefer Suresh Raina in the No.4 slot in the series against Sri Lanka even though vice-captain Virat Kohli's absence has opened the No.3 position. "It did cross our minds (to use Raina at no. 3) but it will be slightly better if he (Raina) bats at the position in which he will most likely bat in the World T20," Dhoni said at the press conference before the first game of the three-match T20 series to be held on Tuesday. "We need to give him that exposure as we are a team, which doesn't play many T20s. It's usually one-game a series. This (three-game) series gives us the opportunity to expose him to No.4 slot for a considerable period of time. It will be more appropriate to keep him at No.4 so that he gets adjusted rather than use him at one drop and ask someone else to bat at 4," Dhoni explained elaborately at the MCA International stadium.
England and New Zealand have both had to ride out the storm to make this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final. It has been far from smooth sailing for either side, but in the end it is Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan's side who have emerged on top, and deservedly so.
New Zealand's power-hitter Corey Anderson conjured up an astonishing 95-run knock under tremendous pressure to single-handedly power Mumbai Indians to the IPL play-offs.
Chennai Super Kings' skipper MS Dhoni powered his team to a final over victory. CSK beat the hosts Mumbai Indians by four wickets at the Wankhede, Mumbai on Saturday night.
India have won the Asia Cup on seven occasions, Sri Lanka on five occasions, with Pakistan winning it twice.
Virat Kohli's form may have taken a hit since dropping to number four in the batting order, but West Indian legend Sir Viv Richards feels the marauding cricketer should continue in the position if that is what the Indian team requires.
Misfiring Mumbai Indians, struggling to get their team combination right, will take on the formidable batting might of Royal Challengers Bangalore in a potentially explosive Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. On Wednesday.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmdullah finished as the MVP in the recently-concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament ahead of compatriot Sabbir Rahman, who was named as the man of the series. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present the latest edition of the MVP rankings.
Take a look at the statistical highlights of the fourth ODI in Kolkata on Thursday.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com lists five matches you can't afford to miss out at the ICC's marquee event.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan slammed centuries to help India humiliate Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 169 runs in the first One-Day International in Cuttack, on Sunday.
India may be weakened by the absence of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but the World champions cannot be taken lightly, especially with a strong batting line-up at their disposal, says Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has warned that his team cannot lower their guard against the Indians despite captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni being rested for the first three ODIs.
India will begin the journey to identify the core of their 2019 World Cup squad when they square off against a low-on-confidence Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series, starting in Dambulla, on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma is hugely honoured at being appointed vice-captain of India's ODI team after an 'up and down 10 years' of international cricket, where he is yet to cement a spot in the Test eleven.
Australian legend Glenn McGrath has said the Indian fast bowlers did a good job in the recent World Cup after a dismal show in the preceding tri-series.
The odds are in favour of table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders as they square off against defending champions Mumbai Indians, experiencing a campaign that is oscillating between high and low, in a potentially exciting Indian Premier League contest in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 8 games in IPL-12.
The 8th Champions Trophy begins in England this week. Rajneesh Gupta captures the tournament in all its statistical glory like only he can.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players in IPL 2019 at the end of the season.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji check out how Team India fared on the Sri Lanka tour and find out which cricketers were truly valuable to the team.
Rajneesh Gupta one of the greatest cricketers ever to have played One-Day Internationals.
Gilchrist made the comments after the IPL governing council proposed to have a dedicated "no-ball" umpire to reduce the number of howlers in the lucrative league.
Boosted by their 3-0 clean sweep of Australia Down Under, a confident India would seek to continue their winning momentum when they take on a depleted and new-look Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 Internationals, in Pune, on Tuesday.
Chris Gayle blasted a quickfire century to power West Indies to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Friday.
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