Mumbai Indians, who are placed sixth in the points table, have been able to bounce back impressively with wins against Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Chasing the modest target, Mumbai had their share of hiccups before Sarfaraz Khan once again showed what he is capable of with a timely unbeaten 36-run cameo off 31 balls to help his side cross the line with three balls to spare.
Punjab Kings would be sweating over skipper Shikhar Dhawan's injury at a time when they need all their firepower against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Gujarat left-arm spinner Akshar Patel was recalled to the Indian squad for the last two One-Day Internationals against West Indies, while senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin continues to be rested.
Mumbai Indians had roared back to form after thrashing RCB by five-wickets in the last game, there are problems aplenty for DC.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma allowed Sisodia to withdraw the interim bail applications.
BCCI has summoned 20 potential all-rounders for a near three-week camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Umesh Yadav took a blinder of a catch to dismiss Corey Anderson in the first One-Day International against New Zealand in Dharamsala and fielding coach R Sridhar feels that the Vidarbha fast bowler has "created new benchmark" for the speedsters.
Their pride bruised following disastrous campaigns, Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiants will look for a graceful exit from the ninth edition of the IPL when they square off against each other for one last time in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Supergiants are coming into the contest after a victory over Delhi Daredevils at the same venue, their home ground, while Punjab have lost their last two outings -- against RCB and table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad. Punjab's fourth and last win this season had come at this very ground, when they had got the better of Mumbai Indians.
Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia is a surprise inclusion in the 30-man shortlist, for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20, to be held in Bangladesh from March 16 to April 6. It includes young Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand, Railways leg-spinner Karan Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.
Bolstered by the arrival of Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will hope for a better showing from its misfiring top order as they try to settle scores against second-placed Delhi Capitals in their return leg IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
The transformation of India's bowlers at the World Cup has been "wonderful to watch" and the reigning champions will have a great chance of reaching the final if 10 Australian wickets tumble on Thursday, says Virat Kohli.
India fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat claimed a Rs 11.5 crore deal with the usually thrifty Rajasthan Royals even as South African pace ace Dale Steyn went unsold on the second day of the Indian Premier players' auction in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Australia opener Aaron Finch has exuded confidence of successfully tackling the Indian pace attack in the semi-finals of the cricket World Cup in Sydney on Thursday.
High on confidence after their fourth consecutive victory, Mumbai Indians will look to extend their winning run and sneak into the top-four when they lock horns with table-toppers Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League match at the Chepauk on Friday.
Delhi Capitals have made the perfect start to IPL, with two morale-boosting victories, while SunRisers Hyderabad are the only side yet to register a win in the tournament, having lost both their games.
Delhi done in by poor batting as Karnataka win by 4 wickets
The dominance of Saurashtra's bowlers could be gauged from the fact that Himachal lost their first seven wickets for just 22 runs.
Rising Pune Supergiant look to build on gains against Kings XI Punjab.
A 'Go To' man in Kolkata Knight Riders for more than a decade, Sunil Narine will have to play out of his skin to justify his place in the playing eleven when his team takes on Punjab Kings in a must-win Indian Premier League game in Kolkata on Monday.
India will be looking for resurrection against Afghanistan.
Andre Russell returned with a four-wicket haul to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to a seven-run win over Kings XI Punjab and go atop the points table in their return to home in the Indian Premier League.
India's slow bowlers tormented England again to claim a six-wicket victory in the third one-day international in Nottingham on Saturday to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
Rajasthan Royals would be banking on their near-perfect combinations in almost all departments of the game to put up another commanding performance when they take on a strong Punjab Kings.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy final played between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.
Spurred by Chirag Jani's a five-wicket haul, defending champions Saurashtra scripted their first knockout win of the season with a 238-run thrashing of Vidarbha on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match in Nagpur on Sunday.
Flight Lieutenant Adivitiya Bal was killed in the line of duty along with Wing Commander Mohit Rana in last week's MiG-21 crash in Barmer. His school in Nagrota, Jammu, gave a final salute to a worthy ex-student.
After a below-par effort against Pune Supergiants, the Delhi Darevils will be looking to hit the straps rightaway with their prime players set to comeback in the playing XI as they take on bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter at Mohali on Saturday. Following three horrendous seasons, the Daredevils have had a decent outing so far under Rahul Dravid's mentorship and Zaheer Khan's captaincy, having won five of their eight games and are placed third in the eight-team table. There has been no standout performer as such but contributions from most of the players in their five victories has made it clear that Dravid's men are certainly not dependant on any one individual to carry the team forward.
Rajneesh Gupta has interesting numbers from the fourth ODI between India and Australia in Canberra. Check them out.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni reaffirmed his reputation as the best finisher in limited-overs' cricket with yet another fluent knock as the Chennai Super Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in the IPL match in Ranchi, on Tuesday. Chasing a modest target of 149, Chennai won with two deliveries to spare as skipper Dhoni hit 11 runs, including a six, off James Faulkner's final over to seal the issue.
Shafali revealed how training with the Haryana men's team ahead of the Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament helped her improve her game
Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that the trio of Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma should not be forced to play domestic games.
Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed bagged five wickets for 28 runs on debut as India were dismissed in 25.3 overs in the second ODI in Mirpur. But the pace combination of Stuart Binny (6-4) and Mohit Sharma (4-22) saved India from humiliation by bundling out the hosts for just 58 in 17.4 overs. Following the Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting statistics.
Under-fire batsman Virat Kohli finally came good and the bowlers delivered to help India beat Middlesex by 95 runs in the the 50-over practice game at Lord's.
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.
Openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum shared a breathtaking 109-run stand off 44 balls as Chennai Super Kings outplayed Mumbai Indians by six wickets to maintain their unbeaten run in the IPL.
'When Dhoni walked in, India needed 105 to win with 32 overs to play. The situation called for calm, nerveless, ice-cold execution without necessitating any adrenalin-fueled impestuosities -- the sort of situation that is the Indian captain's spiritual home.'
'I have lost a piece of my heart.' 'I can cry me a river and write words & words.. but I can never completely express what he means to me.' 'Mera yaar ...KK!!'
Ahead of the upcoming Test and ODI series against Bangladesh Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical outlook on India's players selected for the two squads.
MS Dhoni is ready for limited overs series against South Africa.
