The third day of the first Test ended with India scoring 14 runs for the loss of one wicket taking the lead to 63 runs.
Victories and birthdays in IPL camps are celebrated with much pomp and cake-smashing sessions.
Lucknow Super Giants will be itching to get back to winning ways against a buoyant Sunrisers Hyderabad with young wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi holding the key.
A summary of Friday's action in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
So, what are the options that India can look forward to?
IMAGES from the IPL match played between SunRisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Saurashtra all but ensured Delhi's exit from Ranji Trophy with a 10-wicket victory inside two days in Group D, in Rajkot, on Friday.
Kings XI Punjab captain K L Rahul rued the early run-out of Mayank Agarwal, saying it wasn't the ideal start his ide expected.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the fourth Test?
Apart from Kohli, four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
Bruised and battered in their last game, Rajasthan Royals will hope for a much-improved effort from the batting unit against Sunrisers Hyderabad in order to avoid a hat-trick of defeats in the IPL match in Jaipur on Sunday.
A desperate Sunrisers have hit the reset button this season, bringing in Australia's World Cup winning captain Pat Cummins.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to unleash their brute batting power on struggling Royal Challengers Bengaluru when the two teams face off in their return-leg fixture of the IPL in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Magistrate KC Rajput of Bandra court had granted bail to Vishal Kumar Jha, Shweta Singh and Mayank Agarwal on April 12, while it had denied bail to other accused Omkareshwar Thakur and Neeraj Singh.
An erratic Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to fix their chasing troubles and get their campaign back on track when they host the high-flying Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in Hyderabad on Thursday.
'The IPL should form the selection basis for the T20 team and at the most the ODI team.'
He walked on crutches in one of his first public appearances at Feroz Shah Kotla last year, but when an emotional Rishabh Pant walks out as captain of Delhi Capitals, he will need to put on his 'out of box' thinking cap to stop a marauding Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in New Delhi on Saturday.
Virat Kohli will be in focus as Royal Challengers Bangalore look to strengthen their claim for an IPL play-offs berth in their must-win match against laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The two squads comprise a host of players, who have performed consistently for their state teams and IPL franchises over the past couple of seasons.
Punjab, who are in seventh spot with 12 points from 13 games, are virtually out of the play-offs as PBKS also have a -0.043 net run rate.
The pace trio of Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini did the damage with the ball as India B outclassed India A by 76 runs in the Duleep Trophy.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Test played between South Africa and India at Centurion on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL campaign that began with optimism has melted into chaos. Their bowlers require a drastic transformation in mindset against Sunrisers Hyderabad for them to register an elusive win in Bengaluru on Monday.
Smarting from back-to-back defeats, Sunrisers Hyderabad will have a lot to ponder, especially addressing their batting frailties, when they take on high-flying Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Both SRH and PBKS have two wins and two losses from their four matches to be tied with two other teams in the middle with four points
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul was named vice-captain of the ODI and T20I teams. He also makes a comeback to the Test team, as Shikhar Dhawan was named only in the limited-overs' side.
High on confidence after making their first playoffs in three years, Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim for a second-place finish in the IPL points table when they take on Punjab Kings in their final league game in Hyderabad on Sunday.
While the pace department needs some urgent solutions, the spin has a slightly different landscape.
Between them, these Spin Punjab's Director of Cricket Operations Anil Kumble (619 Test wickets) and his former spinning partner Harbhajan Singh (417 Test wickets), who is plying his trade for the Kolkata Knight Riders this IPL season (though he hasn't got a game yet in the UAE phase), chat after the encounter.
'In the opening combination, we have selected only two openers, so the idea is to give them four innings, just let them go out there and express themselves. Mayank has done really well. KL (Rahul) has performed well in the past, he is looking forward to making things count in Test cricket again'
Images from Sunday's IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday
Yuzvendra Chahal might be despondent after the selectors snubbed him for the T20I series against Australia, but the leg-spinner channelised his angst positively with a six-wicket burst against Uttarakhand.
Milind Kumar played seven seasons for Delhi in Ranji Trophy along with stints for Sikkim and Tripura before he migrated to the US in search of better opportunities.
KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Ravichandran Ashwin joined the captain and his better half in a boat ride somewhere in the Caribbean.
Delhi Capitals will look to do the double when they host Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL contest at home on Saturday.
Only two Indians have scored a 50 in the first innings of a debut Test outside India: Sunil Gavaskar in 1971 and Mayank Agrawal in 2018.
Roundup of matches across various venues in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25
Rajasthan are third on the points table, and it is mostly because of the flamboyant Jos Buttler.
Sent in to bat, North Zone couldn't get any momentum and were reduced to 17 for two in 6 overs.
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