Dharmendrasinh Jadeja took 7/32 as Saurashtra thrashed Rajasthan by 218 runs.
While the return of pace spearhead Anrich Nortje, who had been nursing an injury, bolstered the bowling unit, the South African, who hasn't bowled since the T20 World Cup in November, looked understandably rusty.
Varun Kumar converted a penalty corner in the 24th minute to hand India the lead before Simranjeet Singh (55th) scored a diving field goal from skipper Manpreet Singh's brilliant pass to secure full three points for the five-time champions.
With three wins and a draw, India are currently leading the six-team league table with 10 points and a goal difference of eight.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is planning to have India and Pakistan play their home and away matches in Europe if the arch-rivals face off in the Olympic qualifying tournament for a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Punjab seamer Siddarth Kaul returned with an impressive six-wicket haul to dismiss Delhi for 107 in their first innings on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match.
A vintage Yuvraj Singh blasted a quickfire half-century to help champions Sunrisers Hyderabad outclass Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 in the opening match of the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Punjab Kings' batting unit hasn't hit the straps, save for Rahul and Mayank Agarwal and the bowling has been pedestrian.
Here's a look at Indian athletes' performance on Monday, Day 4 of the Games.
The duo of Vyas and Desai took the opposing bowlers to the cleaners throughout the innings while stitching a massive first-wicket partnership of 282 runs.
Former captain Sardar Singh was brought back to bolster the Indian hockey team's mid-field while Birendra Lakra was included to shore up the defence line-up for the upcoming Champions Trophy, beginning on June 23 in Breda, The Netherlands.
Yuvraj Singh knocked at the doors of national team selectors following a superb, quick-fire century (89-ball 123) to lead India 'A' to a thumping 77-run victory over West Indies 'A' in the first of the three-match One-day series, in Bangalore on Sunday.
Skipper Rishabh Pant (234 from nine games) showed glimpses of his destructive power but the team would want more from its skipper who is more than capable of hammering any attack into submission.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India released Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny from the Indian Test squad to play for their respective states in the next round of Ranji Trophy.
Defending champions Karnataka also remained in the hunt for the last-eight berth, securing a five-wicket win over Uttar Pradesh that took their net run-rate to 0.292.
A summary of the first day's proceedings in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
A desperate Sunrisers Hyderabad would seek inspiration from skipper David Warner to arrest any further slide when they take on Punjab Kings in an IPL match, in Chennai, on Wednesday.
For the visitors, the game against the Mandeep Singh-led India 'A' side will be more about getting into the match simulation mode before they get going against Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team in the opening T20 International at Dharamsala on October 2.
Eyeing a top-two finish, Chennai Super Kings will start as the firm favourites when they take on Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai, on Thursday.
The men's team last participated in an international competition in February last year when they played the FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Australia in Bhubaneswar.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the Indian team for the limited overs tour of Zimbabwe starting June 11, while top stars like Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been rested.
Indian athletes' performance on Day 9 of the Commonwealth Games.
Punjab, who are on eight points from 11 games, need to win the match to keep their play-offs hopes alive, while KKR (10 points from 11 games) also need a victory to boost their hopes.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will need their famed top-order batting to fire and turn things around when they take on Punjab Kings in the IPL in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
SV Sunil's oodles of experience came in handy as his 59th minute strike enabled India to pip a gritty Wales 4-3 in their second Pool B encounter at the Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast.
Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) clinched a hard-fought victory but two other Indian boxers bowed out after losing in the first round at the AIBA World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.
In heart-wrenching scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, coffins of soldiers arrived in several states for the last rites with full military honours.
Captain KL Rahul has been one of the few consistent performers in the formidable-looking Punjab batting unit and he once again led by example against MI
The two sides experienced contrasting fortunes in their respective tournament opener.
Defending champions India continued their goal-scoring spree and spanked Japan 8-0 to register their third consecutive win in the men's hockey competition at the Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Friday.
The dominance of Saurashtra's bowlers could be gauged from the fact that Himachal lost their first seven wickets for just 22 runs.
KXIP's chances of a top four finish took a serious hit after Rajasthan Royals handed them a seven-wicket loss,
Sunil Narine hammered a quickfire half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders outclassed Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Most candidates hailing from political families emerged victorious in the Delhi civic polls, while the richest contender faced a drubbing.
Short of match practice, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ashish Nehra and Ajinkya Rahane will captain the India A team for two warm-up matches against England at CCI, Mumbai next week. Dhoni, who has not played a competitive game in over two months, will lead the India A side in the opening warm-up here on January 10. Rahane, who is coming back from an injury, will captain the team in the second warm-up on January 12.
As coach Ricky Ponting pointed out, he would expect a better "on his feet" thinking from the young captain.
Virat Kohli's brilliant innings under pressure enabled Royal Challengers Bangalore to eke out a thrilling six wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL cricket tournament on Friday.
Chennai Super Kings would look to plug the bowling loopholes when they take on a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore
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