Rishabh Pant might be the 'baby' of the Indian cricket team but on New Year's Day, the wicketkeeper showed that he is good with babies, something that got an instant thumbs up from none other than Australian captain Tim Paine's wife.
India 'A' scored 279 for 8 in 50 overs and then dismissed New Zealand XI for 187 in 41.1 overs
Rahul broke a couple of records en route the match-winning century.
Neither side will be at full strength, as a string of first-team players will be missing due to injuries, when India and New Zealand meet in the opening match of the ODI series on Wednesday in Hamilton.
Images from Thursday's IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, in Abu Dhabi.
Dhoni's contract not being renewed is not exactly a surprise as he has not played a competitive game since that World Cup semifinal on July
A superb all-round showing from Marcus Stoinis with both bat and ball helped Delhi Capitals edge past Kings XI Punjab in the Super Over, in a thrilling IPL match.
Should Mayank Agarwal make his Test debut at the MCG? Will Kohli/Shastri pick Hardik Pandya for the Boxing Day Test? Pick India's playing XI for the third Test.
Picked for the ongoing tour of England as a back-up middle-order batsman the talented K L Rahul did well to open the Indian innings and put his hand up in adverse conditions.
Jaiswal's 213 off 259 balls was well complemented by opener Abhimanyu Easwaran's 154
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Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the first Test against England, starting on Wednesday?
Also giving the training a miss were first Test double centurion Mayank Agarwal and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
'These guys (fast bowlers) are on top of their game. When they bowl, it looks like any pitch is a good pitch. Jasprit is not a part of the attack and when he comes back, it will be a one heck of an attack to counter'
The national selection committee on Thursday picked up a fourth string 14-member Board President's XI squad for the warm-up game against Australia, making it clear that Yuvraj Singh is now not a part of even the top 74 cricketers in the country.
It was skipper Kohli, who first faced the pink ball.
Pant bludgeoned four sixes and nine fours in his innings of 96 in 97 deliveries as India reached 357 for six
Ishant Sharma had mimicked Smith during the second Test of the four-match series at Bengaluru in 2017. It was a crucial match for India, as the side had lost the first Test at Pune.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel picked up five wickets to help India grab a handy 49-run first-innings lead on Day 3 of the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday.
Who do you should be part of India's playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka?
The 25-year-old with the signature slingshot action helped rout Australia for 151 soon after tea in their reply to India's declared first innings total of 443 for seven..
Mahendra Singh Dhoni went on to become one of the best finishers in the game but on his 39th birthday, former India captain Sourav Ganguly said the World Cup winning skipper would have been even more lethal if he batted higher in the order. Ganguly, the current BCCI president, led a barrage of birthday wishes for the twice-World Cup winning skipper.
The BCCI is not sending either Prithvi Shaw or Devdutt Padikkal to England as a replacement for the injured Shubman Gill, who has been ruled out of the five-match Test series with shin splints.
A look at Indian players who need a good showing in the IPL to get back in the reckoning.
More than the runs scored, it is the manner of his dismissals that is causing frustration, considering that the Indian cricket establishment has invested heavily in the 21-year-old from Rourkee.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane hit unbeaten half-centuries to put India in firm control, on Day 3 of the first Test against West Indies in Antigua, on Saturday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka, at Mohali, on Friday.
Take a look at top picks of all 10 IPL teams
Team management was always clear that once Rohit is fit and able to join the squad, he will be Rahane's deputy.
Left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan earned his maiden call-up to the Indian Test squad after he was named as the replacement for the injured Umesh Yadav for the last two games against Australia.
India 'A' bowlers fought back with a flurry of wickets in the final session to reduce the West Indies 'A' to 243 for five, on Day 1 of the second unofficial Test.
Following is the list of players who have been released by the different franchises ahead of the auction for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Rohit Sharma's hopes of a Test comeback took a slight jolt as he was dismissed for a duck on the third and final day of the warm-up match between Board President's XI and South Africa.
Good-natured it may have been, but Pant's banter attracted immediate attention of Umpire Ian Gould who cautioned him for his remarks.
'KL Rahul should play at number five and Rishabh Pant should play at number six. Jadeja and Ashwin should play at number seven and eight and then three seamers. I will want to go in with five bowlers.'
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played on Friday.
With the wickets of Wriddhiman Saha and Ravichandran Ashwin again in a single over, Hazlewood became the 18th Australian bowler to reach 200 Test scalps.
India gets new face in pace attack
The focus will be firmly on India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw when Mumbai take on Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B game, beginning in Mumbai on Friday. Both Rahane and Shaw failed with the bat in the last Ranji Trophy game against Railways which the domestic giants lost by 10 wickets inside two and half days.
India A, after a forgettable day with the bat yesterday when they were bundled out for 133, had the West Indies A at an uncomfortable 82 for three in the 24th over.
