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.
India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara jumped a couple of rungs to second, while skipper Virat Kohli held on to the fifth spot in the latest ICC rankings for Test batsmen.
Factbox on the four-Test series between India and Australia, which starts at Pune on Thursday:
It was batters who mostly lead their teams to victories and some into the knock-outs. While Mumbai trailblazer Sarfaraz Khan continues to find the big runs, Baba Indrajith's consistency wasn't enough for Tamil Nadu to make even the top two in Group H.
India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are both under an injury cloud ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, leaving the tourists with a potential selection conundrum.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Monday made a comeback to the Indian team for the first two Tests against South Africa, replacing veteran Harbhajan Singh, who was the only casualty from the team which won the Test series in Sri Lanka last month.
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir kept his place, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the surprise inclusion in the 15-member Indian squad for the first two matches of the five-match Test series against England, starting in Rajkot, on November 9.
As India goes into the four-match Test series against Australia, which commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, an analysis of the team.
India's star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin would be feeling the heat from his team mate Ravindra Jadeja as the two spinners take on Bangladesh in a one-off Test, starting in Hyderabad from Thursday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Thursday.
Kohli said it would be great for the team if Rohit can play the role Virender Sehwag did in his prime
England need six wickets on the final day to win the third Test against India after a superb bowling performance helped them reduce the tourists to 112-4, still 333 runs short of victory, at the end of day four at Southampton on Wednesday.
The Mumbai youngster took the place of Kedar Jadhav, who was dropped from the T20I squad after his below-par showing in the three-match series against Australia.
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar says Indian team's recent success at home and an in-form captain Virat Kohli gives him confidence that they will enjoy success during next year's overseas tours.
Mumbai Indians defeated Kings XI Punjab by 23 runs in the Indian Premier League match in Mohali.
"Virat has told the selectors that he needs some time to take a call on whether he will be playing the T20s or not. That's reason why they have not announced the T20 squad," a BCCI official, privy to selection matters, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The much-vaunted Indian top order struggled yet again against quality fast bowling as the visitors stared at a series defeat at the close of fourth day in the second cricket Test against South Africa in Pretoria, on Tuesday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings will renew their intense rivalry after two years when they face-off in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
After taking an unassailable 3-0 lead following the nine-wicket victory in the fourth One-Day International against England, India is likely to give a break to some of their key players in the inconsequential fifth and final match at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
Stung by a remarkable fightback from West Indies on the final day of the rain-hit second Test, India will have to look at their bowling combinations and get back to winning ways when the third cricket Test begins in St. Lucia, on Tuesday.
Having decimated South Africa inside three days on a turning track in Mohali, India will again look to unleash their troika of spinners to spoil A B de Villiers's landmark 100th match when the two sides meet in the second Test, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
The 22-yard strip at the Feroz Shah Kotla will be the cynosure of all eyes as a buoyant India seeks their biggest series triumph against South Africa when they square off in the final Test of the four-match rubber in Delhi on Thursday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a solid batting performance to beat Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets and virtually secure their place in the play-offs of the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Opener Murali Vijay hit a half-century as India's batsmen survived some intense pressure from Australia's bowlers on the last day to draw the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders are back in familiar home conditions but can ill-afford to take Kings XI Punjab lightly, who are showing signs of improvement under a newly-appointed skipper, when the two teams clash in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you the drama and the magic behind all the 12 IPL finals so far.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara eye top 10 places while Ravindra Jadeja jumps to career-best third position among Test all-rounders.
Indian batsmen and bowlers warmed up with a morale-boosting five-wicket win against Derbyshire in their second three-day tour game on Thursday, ahead of the first Test against England in Nottingham starting July 9.
Hanuma Vihari's role as an opener is a stop-gap one and he will be given enough opportunities in his preferred middle-order spot should he fail at the top, assured chairman of selectors MSK Prasad.
Opener Murali Vijay on Thursday admitted that Indian batsmen were guilty of playing loose shots to let go the advantage in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur but asserted that the hosts have put up a good total to make a game out of it. India were in a strong position at 154 for 1 at one stage before a middle-order collapse saw them reduce to 291 for 9 at stumps on the opening day. Vijay top-scored for the hosts with a 65 but himself played a poor shot, a cut off a not-so-short ball off leg-break bowler Ish Sodhi and was caught behind.
The series already in their pocket and the number one ranking cemented, a dominant India go into the third Test against New Zealand in Indore on Saturday, aiming yet another clean sweep of a Test rubber at home. The hosts had blanked Australia 4-0 in 2012-13 and the West Indies in the next season. They nearly repeated the feat against South Africa last year and this impressive history in recent past makes India favourites in the first-ever Test being hosted by this city which has a long tradition in the game.
In Murali Vijay the team has now rediscovered a technically sound, highly reliable opener, who can be both aggressive and defensive, believes Haresh Pandya
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test at Perth on Monday
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com assesses the Indian side after the 2-1 series triumph in Sri Lanka.
South Africa's explosive batsman David Miller, who will lead the Kings XI Punjab in this edition of the IPL, feels that captaincy has not brought any added pressure on him. "Responsibility changes a bit as captain, but I am really looking forward to it," Miller said. "No pressure, to be honest. I see it as an opportunity. We have changed the squad a little bit this year, couple of new additions, but most of the squad stays the same. "I really believe we can win the competition this year. The fact that we haven't won it, doesn't add any more pressure. It's a great opportunity for the guys to step up," he added. The 26-year-old said he is looking forward to the captaincy challenge.
The third specialist spinner's slot will be the subject of much deliberation when the national selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, meets in New Delhi, on Thursday, to announce the squad for the three-Test away series against Sri Lanka, starting August 12.
Dwayne Smith cracked a blistering 79 as a dominant Chennai Super Kings steamrolled Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets for their sixth straight win in the Indian Premier League.
The national selection committee, under Sandeep Patil, is likely to leave it to limited-overs' captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to decide on his availability for the short tour of Zimbabwe, from June 11-20.
However, the former Australia captain, admitted that a good start by the Indian batsmen might pose a threat to Australia.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is all set to issue a diktat to Indian Railways, stating that only permanent employees will be allowed to play in the Cooch Behar Trophy, the board's Under-19 tournament.
