India put up a spirited show before squandering the early lead to go down 1-3 against defending champions Australia in a league match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, in Ipoh.
Put into bat, KXIP were reduced to 36 for 3 in the fourth over after Umesh (3/23) dismissed Mayank Aggarwal (15), Aaron Finch (0) and Yuvraj Singh (4) in the space of six balls in his second over to leave the visiting side in trouble early in their innings.
Set a near impossible victory target of 490 on a track that is offering help for the spinners, Jharkhand were 28 for one in their second innings with two full days' play left and 462 runs to get.
While Kings XI's biggest star Chris Gayle scored a 47-ball 79 in the Jaipur match, his Jamaican compatriot Andre Russell also looked in blistering touch for KKR in the match against Sunriserrs Hyderabad. Their rivalry will be one of the sub plots of Wednesday's clash in Kolkata.
With a debate raging over the run out, it remains to be seen how Ashwin and Co. start afresh in what will be their first away match of the season.
Veteran Yuvraj Singh made a comeback to the Indian team, while Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the forthcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against England, starting in Pune, on January 15.
Sunil Narine smashed the joint fastest IPL fifty in his sensational knock of 54 as Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed a hapless Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets to seal a play-offs berth, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh (7th and 19th minute; both PCs), Karthi Selvam (17th and 38th), Raj Kumar Pal (31st), Sukhjeet Singh (50th) and Jugraj Singh (53rd) scored for India.
Bollywood superstar and principal owner Shah Rukh Khan on Sunday cheered for Kolkata Knight Riders from the stands even as his new-look team, under new skipper Dinesh Karthik, looked to regain some lost ground in the post-Gautam Gambhir era at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Chennai Super Kings will aim to maintain their pole position with a victory over a struggling Kings XI Punjab
Desperate to break their title jinx, Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
'We have been learning from him for so long. He shares his knowledge with all of us during goalpost training and gives us a lot of tips. So, I have a big responsibility.'
A summary of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Ashok Menaria and Kedar Jadhav hit half centuries as India 'A' scored a nail-biting two-wicket victory over New Zealand 'A' in the third and final one-dayer in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. The victory, which was achieved with four balls to spare, gave the hosts a 3-0 series triumph.
'If we want to ensure this isn't a once-in-four-decade phenomenon, then we have to produce 1,800 players all the time, create infrastructure, so that we are constantly challenging at the top of the ladder.'
Three Sikh men tried to slash the throat of Lieutenant General (retd) Kuldip Singh Brar in a "revenge attack" on the streets of London, a UK court was told.
It will be a different sort of challenge for Mahendra Singh Dhoni when he captains a new-look Indian cricket team against Zimbabwe in the first ODI of a short series starting in Harare on Saturday.
Cricketer Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday came out in support of Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur, who is in the eye of a storm over free speech, even as Virender Sehwag defended himself after facing a backlash for ridiculing her.
The Indian men's hockey team will have to guard against complacency when it takes on lower-ranked Russia, while a tricky contest awaits their female counterparts against United States in the two-legged Olympic qualifiers.
Punjab rode on a solid batting display to post a massive 560 for 6 declared before reducing Odisha to 110 for 2 in their second innings on Day 3, in their Group A Ranji Trophy match in Mohali on Tuesday.
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.
Out-of-favour India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been handed a golden opportunity to get back into the reckoning after being named captain of Rest of India for the Irani Cup match against Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka, in Bangalore, from February 9 to 13. Also included in the Rest of India team is Gautam Gambhir, who is also keen to make a comeback to the Indian team. However, his Delhi team mate Virender Sehwag failed to make the cut after a poor run in the Ranji Trophy.
AB de Villiers is leading the Paisa Vasool Index at IPL-11 ahead of Indians KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu.
Focus will now be on how Rabada would fare against the likes of Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and David Miller.
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Royal Challengers Bangalore and much more.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Images from Saturday's Indian Premier League match between Kings XI Punjab and SunRisers Hyderabad, in Dubai.
Young and in-form Baba Aparajith smashed his second first-class double hundred while Ramaswamy Prasanna scored an unbeaten half-century to guide Tamil Nadu to a formidable position against Services at the end of second day's play in the Ranji Trophy Group B match in New Delhi on Monday.
Here is a look at the team that will open its campaign against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on April 12.
India crashed to their second defeat in the men's hockey World Cup by conceding a late goal yet again to go down 1-2 against England at the Kyocera Stadium in The Hague on Monday.
Only pride will be at stake when Delhi Daredevils host embattled Royal Challengers Bangalore in an inconsequential IPL game in New Delhi, on Sunday, with both teams seeking an end to their misfiring campaign on a positive note.
India captain Sardar Singh fetched a poor return of US $58,000 while Germany's Moritz Fuerste drew the highest ever bid in the history of the Hockey India League auction, bought by Kalinga Lancers for a whopping US $1,05,000 in Delhi on Thursday.
All eyes will be on Yuvraj Singh when he captains India A, a team on a roll after the clean sweep against New Zealand A, in an ODI series against the West Indies A starting in Bangalore on Sunday.
The two teams are languishing at the bottom half of the table and need a win to keep alive their remote Play-off chances.
Gurmehar Kaur, daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, changed her Facebook profile picture holding a placard which read "I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student of India is with me. #StudentsAgainstABVP".
Yuvraj Singh-led Punjab go into the game after an innings victory at home over Railways that came about after a strong all round show with their batsmen mustering over 600 runs and their bowlers backing up well.
KXIP have struggled so far, losing four of their five games, with death bowling proving to be their biggest concern.
India were dominated and outplayed by The Netherlands 3-1 in the last game of Pool B match of the Hockey World League Semi-final in London on Tuesday.
KXIP are riding a roller-coaster ride, having to endure a controversy involving their captain Ravichandran Ashwin who 'Mankaded' Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler in their first match, an act which was legal but criticised by some as against the 'Spirit of Cricket'.
