Virat Kohli took a giant stride towards exorcising the ghosts of 2014 with a masterful century as he single-handedly pulled India out of the woods against England on an eventful second day of the first Test, in Birmingham, on Thursday.
The Delhi Daredevils team management, comprising of skipper Kevin Pietersen and coach Gary Kirsten, will have some selection dilemma ahead of the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), if Ross Taylor is to be believed.
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem claimed seven for 79 to put Jharkhand in control against Haryana on the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final match, on Saturday.
They endured a disastrous run the last time around to finish at the bottom of the heap and Kings XI Punjab would be aiming to make amends this season when they begin their campaign against newbies Gujarat Lions in their IPL opener in Mohali on Monday. Kings XI Punjab did not make any big buys this year and have a new captain in South African David Miller in place of Australian George Bailey who was released after leading the side to the last place in the previous season. Virender Sehwag has also retired and he will serve as team mentor this season. The Preity Zinta-owned side continues to lack the team balance as it has not added any significant player, only snapping the likes of all-rounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis, seamer Mohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Last season, their batsmen lacked consistency and whenever they did well, the bowlers let the side down. On the other hand, debutants Gujarat Lions have a balanced side with top-class performers in both batting and bowling. They have explosive batsmen in Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and a plenty of top-notch all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner.
Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaked havoc with a brilliant opening spell as he powered India into the final of the tri-series following a convincing 81-run victory over Sri Lanka via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected match in Trinidad, on Tuesday.
Under pressure to retain his place in the Test XI, Cheteshwar Pujara overshadowed Rohit Sharma by scoring a solid hundred as India Blue made full use of a placid track to amass 362/3 against India Red on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida.
Virat Kohli battled hard in difficult circumstances, scoring 43 not out to guide India to 110 for five in 36 overs. The visitors need another 84 runs for victory with two day's play still left in the match.
Skipper Parthiv Patel struck an exemplary fifty, while Axar Patel chipped in with an unbeaten 36, after picking two crucial wickets, as Gujarat edged out Vidarbha by two wickets and advanced to the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy One-day tournament, in Alur, Karnataka, on Thursday.
Troubled England all-rounder Ben Stokes and India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin are among the 16 marquee players for the upcoming Indian Premier League Players' Auction in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28.
India's batting ace Yuvraj Singh commanded the highest price, Royal Challengers Bangalore paying a massive 14 crore for him, while Dinesh Karthik was a surprise pick at 12.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils.
The 40-time champions were thrashed by an innings and 44 runs by Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Friday.
Perennial under-achievers Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab will look to recover from opening losses and put their campaign back on track.
India last won a Test series in England in 2007 under Rahul Dravid, and it will be no easy task ahead of the Virat Kohli-led side to replicate that feat.
Rajneesh Gupta presents a complete statistical IPL dossier.
His songs were the anchor, the substratum, if you will, upon which life unfolded day after day, decade after decade -- across villages, towns, cities, and regions. Siva Sankar pays tribute to S P Balasubrahmanyam, the legendary singer who passed into the ages on Friday.
Having taken a huge first innings lead, defending champions Karnataka are on course for an outright victory over Tamil Nadu after reducing them to 113 for 3 in their second essay on Day 4 of the Ranji Trophy final, at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Karnataka posted a massive 762 in their first innings in reply to Tamil Nadu's paltry 134.
Skipper Vinay Kumar took five for 34 as defending champions Karnataka skittled out Tamil Nadu for 134 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament final, which saw 14 wickets tumble at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Basu is most satisfied about the transformation he has brought in the fitness levels of speedsters Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami.
Considering that the tournament Down Under will be played on faster wickets, it's obvious that spinners are unlikely to play a significant role. In these circumstances, having one spinner in the playing eleven is the most one can expect, says Bikash Mohapatra.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com rates the Indian players in England.
ndia failed to bowl out county side Essex in 94 overs before Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara suffered another batting failure
Mumbai Indians suffered their fourth consecutive defeat as Delhi Daredevils thrashed the defending champions by six wickets in the Indian Premier League match in Sharjah.
Indian cricket team will be aiming to pick up pieces while spoiling Alastair Cook's farewell party in the fifth and final Test against England starting Friday.
Yuvraj Singh has emerged as the costliest cricketer in the IPL 8 players' auction, bought for a record Rs 16 crore (USD 2.57 million approx) by Delhi Daredevils.
Injuries, confusion over team changes and replacement players have compounded problems for India, who look bereft of a clear strategy and have stumbled after a good start at the World Cup.
Kohli, who was named man-of-the-match for the 2nd Test that India won against Sri Lanka in Nagpur on Monday, will play the third and final Test in New Delhi.
With 36 different playing XIs in as many Tests under Kohli's captaincy, the Indian line-up is begging for some consistency.
Ahead of the selectors' meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, May 20, Harish Kotian picks the team he considers best to take on Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Fatullah from June 10 to 14.
When India lost the Wellington Test by 10 wickets, was it the worst defeat for Virat Kohli's team? Rajneesh Gupta has the answers.
Openers Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene hit centuries to power Sri Lanka to a crushing 161-run victory against India in the third match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Tuesday.
Glenn Maxwell took the India A bowlers to the cleaners yet again, smashing a quickfire half-century, to help Australia A win by 25 runs and storm into the final of the A teams tri-series in Pretoria, on Sunday.
Kings XI Punjab beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 22 runs in a rain-truncated Indian Premier League game in Mohali.
Indian opener K L Rahul hit pay dirt with a Rs 11 crore deal with Kings XI Punjab, while controversial England all-rounder Ben Stokes also triggered a bidding war before going to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.50 crore at the IPL auctions, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
Former Sri Lanka captain attributes the Indian team's debacle in the first two Tests against England to lack of preparation.
Ravindra Jadeja, who was ignored for the ODI series against New Zealand, made a statement with an unbeaten 150 for Saurashtra on the first day of their Group B match against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you the drama and the magic behind all the 12 IPL finals so far.
Kevin Pietersen failed to fire in his first match for Delhi Daredevils, as Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on brilliant batting by Aaron Finch and David Warner to notch a four-run victory in Friday's IPL match in Dubai.
At the conclusion of the Asia Cup, Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji make an assessment after 36 matches India has played so far in the 2013-14 season.
Faced with the prospect of a humiliating 0-3 series whitewash, a desperate India would be aiming to bounce back to winning ways against an unrelenting South Africa in the third and final Test, starting in Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances