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.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would strive for a handsome win over struggling Rajasthan Royals in their last round-robin game to stay ahead in the IPL play-offs race in Sharjah on Thursday.
India got off to a horror start in their practice match as youngsters Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill failed with the bat on Day 1 of the three-day game against New Zealand XI at Seddon Park, in Hamilton, on Friday. All the batsmen were dismissed by fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn as India were reduced to 5/3 in the seventh over.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar looks set for a long injury lay-off after it emerged that the pacer had been carrying sportsman's hernia all along which the doctors failed to notice, according to media reports. He is now scheduled to undergo surgery for sports hernia -- which he has been carrying for over a period of three months -- after which he will have to undergo a two-month recovery period.
In all likelihood, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane would get another chance but over the past two years, his inconsistency has hurt this team badly.
For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.
A final decision by the team's think-tank will be taken after the final practice session on Friday.
All that's transpired on and off the cricket pitch on Wednesday.
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir and young Mayank Agarwal helped themselves to half centuries before torrential rain played spoilsport in the Duleep Trophy match between India 'Blue' and India 'Red' in Greater Noida on Monday. Only 34.2 overs of play was possible which saw 'Blue' team skipper Gambhir (51 batting) and Agarwal (53 batting) put on 105 runs for the opening wicket. The two openers were solid without being flashy as they maintained a decent run-rate of just over 3 runs per over.
What an over Umesh Yadav bowled!
Summary of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the home Test series against South Africa after suffering a stress fracture in his back and will be replaced by Umesh Yadav.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between South Africa and India, in Cape Town, on Tuesday.
While DC made a superb start under new captain Rishabh Pant, RR suffered a four-run defeat against Punjab Kings
Rohit Sharma returned to India's playing XI for the third Test
Dinesh Karthik and Sheldon Jackson added 85 runs at a fair clip in only 16.2 overs before a sharp evening downpour rendered the outfield unplayable in the rain-hit Duleep Trophy cricket match between India 'Red' and India 'Blue' in Greater Noida on Wednesday. Jackson impressed with a strike-filled, unbeaten 48 off 55 balls, which contained eight hits to the fence.
There were three attractive half-centuries but a top and lower-middle order collapse saw hosts Karnataka manage a below-par 264 for 9 against Saurashtra on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final on Thursday.
Kings XI run into a RCB squad which has grown in confidence by leaps and bounds since their last meeting.
The Indian team is scheduled to play the WTC final against New Zealand from June 18-22 before taking on England in a five-Test series.
All eyes will be on 41-year-old Wasim Jaffer, who is only 853 runs shy of 20,000 first-class runs.
Poor drainage facilities at Shahid Vijay Singh Patheek Stadium again came to the fore as a total of four hours and 45 minutes of play was wasted during the fourth day of the Duleep Trophy final that has already turned into drudgery.
If MI have their problems to sort out, having lost at the death in all three games so far, RCB too have their own shortcomings to address with only one win in three games under their belt.
A formidable Karnataka continued their winning streak in the Super League stages of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy after they trounced Delhi by 8 wickets in Group B match, in Indore, on Sunday.
Virat Kohli's position as India's ODI captain, his Test deputy Ajinkya Rahane's future as vice-captain in the longest format along with 100-Test man Ishant Sharma's place will be up for discussion when the national selectors pick the jumbo squad for the tour of South Africa later this week.
India's captain Virat Kohli will have to think overtime about the balance of his squad, with a long tail, often bushy with runs, and just two openers -- one untested (Rohit Sharma) but very capable and another supremely talented (KL Rahul) but highly reluctant starter.
Rahul broke a couple of records en route the match-winning century.
Images from Day 5 of the fourth Test between England and India, at The Oval, on Sunday.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the three-match T20Is and ODIs against West Indies but has been included in the Test squad, while veteran wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is 'unavailable' for the entire tour.
The 14th season of the IPL, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Not just the 40 points, India will also be eyeing a 3-0 whitewash in the Gandhi-Mandela series.
Pick your Indian team for the final ODI against Australia in Canberra on December 2.
Fresh from his exploits in Mumbai's maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 triumph, Kotian got down to business after his pace colleagues Tushar Desphande (2/23) and Mohit Avasthi (1/29) handed Bengal early blows.
Seniors like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara came in for a lot of flak for their below-par showing with the bat, while Jasprit Bumrah also failed to live up to expectations.
With the national selection committee and the team management deciding to promote Rohit as an opener, keeping his spunky strokeplay in mind, the next five Tests could be a make or break for the 32-year-old stylish right-hander.
Rest the skipper against a West Indies team whose batsmen would struggle against some Ranji Trophy sides and try out some new players in the Hyderabad Test recommends Harish Kotian.
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Teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw, who made a successful Test debut against the West Indies, will play for India 'A' captained by Dinesh Karthik.
With Royal Challengers Bangalore losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL Eliminator match on Friday, India captain Virat Kohli moved into the bio-bubble created for the Indian players as they prepare for the upcoming tour of Australia.
Skipper Sanju Samson will look for support from his batsmen as Rajasthan Royals aim to return to winning ways against laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Monday and keep their play-offs hopes alive.
This is his 'Test' and for Kohli, a century to mark a 'century' is something he would be craving
Punjab thrashed defending champions Karnataka by nine wickets to storm into the semi-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, at the Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
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