Ravindra Jadeja ripped the heart out of England's batting order to bowl India to a thumping innings and 75-run victory in the fifth and final Test in Chennai on Tuesday.
The mountain of runs that he has plundered so far in first-class cricket has ensured that the focus will be firmly on Delhi youngster Rishabh Pant as India 'A' take on the visiting England XI, in the second and final warm-up match in Mumbai, on Thursday.
England must chase down a world-record 474 to win the second Test while South Africa have two full days to bowl them out after the tourists' batsmen provided the strongest possible platform for victory on the third day in Nottingham on Sunday.
Ranked first in ODI cricket, England have won 15 of their 19 series since going out in the pool stages at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2015.
Their campaign back on track after a stunning victory over South Africa, a resurgent England will be looking to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on an ever-improving Afghanistan in a Super 10 Group 1 match of the ICC World Twenty20, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
England's humiliating series defeat in India painfully exposed an alarming paucity in the side's slow bowling options and drove home the fact they will continue to struggle in South Asia until they unearth some world class spinners. Retired off-spinner Graeme Swann had bemoaned England's indifferent approach towards slow bowling before the five-match series started and his fears were confirmed after the touring side were handed a 4-0 drubbing.
Karun Nair became the second Indian batsman to score a test triple hundred and his 303 not out helped the hosts post a massive 759 for seven before skipper Virat Kohli declared.
Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes will lead the County Select XI to play India at the Emirates Riverside in Durham.
England's sporting global ambitions have never been fully realised since Sir Alf Ramsey's team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Whether it is Gary Linekar or Hary Kane, the 'Cup' that they desperately want never came home during the last five and half decades.
A ruthless India, sporting its new flaming orange and blue colours, will be eyeing pole position with a solid knock-out punch on an already disintegrated England in Sunday's high-profile World Cup encounter. With an unbeaten record in six encounters so far, Virat Kohli's men are all but through to the semi-finals with 11 points, but victory over England will tighten their grip at the top and, in the process, oust the world's No 1 ODI team from the global event.
India opener Lokesh Rahul fell agonisingly short of his maiden Test double century as he helped his team to 391 for four in a robust reply to England's first innings total of 477 in the fifth and final Test in Chennai on Sunday.
A dominant India will be eyeing to clinch the five-Test series against England with yet another comprehensive victory when the two teams square off in the fourth match of the series starting from Thursday. With an unassailable 2-0 lead after three Tests, the confidence of the Virat Kohli-led team is sky high and they would like to regain the Anthony de Mello Trophy which they had lost to Alastair Cook's side back in 2012. Even if England manage a draw, India will win the series after the visitors' hat-trick of wins- 2011 in England, 2012 in India and 2014 in England again.
India and England will play three ODI games beginning Sunday. Rajneesh Gupta surveys the career figures of the players who will head to battle in Pune.
The more he has been dropped down the order - for this Test the former opener came in at number eight - the more he has accepted that his primary role is to take wickets.
Talented opener K L Rahul displayed superb temperament but missed out on a well-deserved double century as he helped put India in a commanding position at 391 for 4 on the third day of the fifth cricket Test against England in Chennai on Sunday.
Facing the prospect of a series defeat at home for the first time in 15 months, skipper Virat Kohli will have a relook at his team combination as hosts India take on a resurgent England in a do-or-die second T20 International, in Nagpur on Sunday.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has handpicked Jos Buttler as the dangerman for the hosts in the showpiece, stating May 30.
England will be determined to get their act together against defending champions Sri Lanka.
The waiting ends for England's new Test captain Joe Root on Thursday when he leads his side out for the start of a four-match series against South Africa at Lord's on Thursday, nearly four months after his appointment.
India would be aiming for a clean-sweep to dent England's confidence a bit more in the third and final One-Day International, their final ODI outing before the ICC Champions Trophy in less than five months, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
India will go for the kill against a determined England in the Garden City, setting the stage for a tantalising series-deciding third and final Twenty20 International in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
India's young guns will get an opportunity to fire on the big stage and carry forward the team's exceptional dominance over England when they clash with the visitors in the three-match Twenty20 series, starting in Kanpur on Thursday.
Skipper Virat Kohli will usher in a new era in Indian cricket when he leads the side in the ODI series-opener against England in Pune on Sunday in place of the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who recently relinquished the captaincy in the limited over formats.
England batsman Sam Billings says working with Rahul Dravid during his six-week stint for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League last year helped him improve his footwork against spin bowling.
As the teams gear up for the second ODI at Cuttack, the visiting England team will certainly feel a bit deflated after failing to defend a total of 350 despite having got four top-order batsmen back in the hut for less than 100.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have captain written against his name one last time when the talismanic wicketkeeper-batsman leads out India 'A' against England in the first practice match, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
He expressed hope that it will also benefit a large number of Hindi-speaking umpires and those giving training in this field, to whom the rules in English are hard to understand.
Images from the 2nd T20 played between India and England in Nagpur on Sunday
India are leading the five-match series 3-0 and should they taste success in the final Test, it will be their biggest against England, the previous being the 3-0 whitewash in 1992-93 under Mohammed Azharuddin's captaincy.
India pulled the curtains down on England's winter of discontent, in a manner befitting their dominance, as the hosts clinched the five-match series 4-0 with an innings and 75-run victory in the fifth and final cricket Test in Chennai on Tuesday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday night
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Sunday.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
'We understand where we want to go and hopefully the guys can keep putting this kind of effort and take the team where it belongs' 'As a captain, I feel it's a complete series for us. Everyone contributed at different times, especially the lower-order's contribution is something that stands out for me in this series'
As the top 10 teams prepare to battle for the World T20 crown, Rajneesh Gupta breaks down each squad's T20 performance and their showing in previous editions of the event.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.
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