Three consecutive defeats have more or less sealed their fate and for things to turn around for the Royals, every aspect of their game needs to improve and click for them.
Opening batsman Lokesh Rahul scored a career-high 158 as India consolidated their dominance on day two of the second Test against West Indies in Jamaica on Sunday.
India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are both under an injury cloud ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, leaving the tourists with a potential selection conundrum.
'Overall as a team, they cannot be seen as walkover. They're very competitive as a one-day and T20 side. They keep proving it over and over again'
Images from Saturday's IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, in Abu Dhabi.
Factbox on the four-Test series between Australia and India, which begins on Thursday
The team was hit with a COVID-19 outbreak on Wednesday as Dhawan, reserve opener Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas had tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of the series.
De Villiers was set to lead the side in Kohli's absence but the South African was ruled out of the team's opening game of the season on Wednesday.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his 18th five-wicket haul as India dominated the first day of the second test against West Indies in Jamaica on Saturday.
Sunrsiers' middle-order has hardly been tested and when the opportunity came against Mumbai Indians, the likes of Vijay Shankar, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan fell flat.
The home team's bowlers will be wary of Chris Gayle's power-hitting.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli said that his match-winning unbeaten ton in the Indian Premier League match against Rising Pune Supergiants was 'sweeter' than the first one he hammered.
Seamer Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets as India seized control of the third and final Test against South Africa on Thursday, going to the close of the second day with a 42-run lead on a treacherous wicket at the Wanderers.
Rajasthan Police has denied the allegation of a woman who said her full-term pregnant daughter-in-law lost her child after she was assaulted by it during a raid at her house.
The time for experiments is over, Harish Kotian points out.
Indian limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Monday retained in Group A of the men's player contracts for 2015-16 by the BCCI.
The Elite list is set to comprise only three players ---skipper Virat Kohli, his limited overs deputy Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
Photos from Day 3 of the third Test played between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday
'My heart sank when Lokesh's name was announced. It could well have been Rahul Dev, I thought, but no,' says Divya Nair.
Moeen Ali capitalised on an early reprieve to score his fifth Test century and steer England to 284 for four on the opening day of the fifth and final Test against India on Friday. - Scorecard: Opting to bat, England slumped to 21 for two before Moeen added 146 with Joe Root to steady the innings and shared a stand of 86 with Jonny Bairstow to keep the touring side on course for a big total at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
India's Test captain Virat Kohli has dropped out of ICC's top-10 list for batsmen in the five-day format.
Rohit Sharma and Krunal Pandya's late cameos saw Mumbai Indians snatch a thrilling six-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab to keep their hopes alive, in the Indian Premier League, in Indore, on Friday.
Seeking home comforts after multiple reverses at the Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi Capitals will be desperate to buck the trend when they take on a rejuvenated Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, in Delhi, on Saturday.
Lokesh Rahul hit his maiden century, Virat Kohli his fourth of the series but Australia's Shane Watson hit back with two wickets in as many balls to leave India on 342 for five after the third day of the fourth Test on Thursday.
Skipper Virat Kohli's strategy to field five bowlers would mean that six specialist batsmen can hardly afford to relax but opener Murali Vijay said there won't be any extra pressure on them when they clash with Sri Lanka in a Test series, starting next week.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players of the India-New Zealand ODI series.
Images from the opening day of the first Test match between India and New Zealand in Kanpur, on Thursday.
Captain Virat Kohli determinedly led India's fightback on an engrossing day two on Saturday, blunting Australia's bowling attack to leave the second Test hanging in the balance.
Images from Day 1 of the one-off Test, between India and Afghanistan, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Defending champions Mumbai and Karnataka took the upper hand in their Ranji Trophy matches on Sunday.
A new look Kings XI Punjab under Ravichandran Ashwin will take on Delhi Daredevils in their opening encounter of IPL-2018 here tomorrow, as both sides look to begin the T20 tournament on a winning note.
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, on Sunday.
'The pitch should have enough for the bowlers to be interested on all days of the Test.'
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur, on Friday.
'I think that's probably been the most surprising thing. We have kept the ball in really, really good condition but it really gets soft easily here compared to the Kookaburra we used in Bangladesh, where we managed to get (reverse swing) quite a lot'
India suffered a shock 28-run defeat against Afghanistan but still qualified for the semi-finals of the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup tournament for the under-23 cricket teams, in Singapore, on Thursday.
India have the perfect opportunity to find a solution to their top-order batting woes before their year-end series in Australia when the world's top-ranked side host two Tests against lowly West Indies, starting on Thursday.
Here are the statistical analysis at the end of the four-match series between India and Australia.
Images from the third Twenty20 International between India and Bangladesh, in Nagpur, on Sunday.
Following Monday's selection, Rajneesh Gupta presents the Test career figures of the touring party along with the players' performance against Australia.
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