Opener Lokesh Rahul scored a fighting century as India recovered from early jitters to post 319 for six in their first innings on Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Australia skipper Michael Clarke, who was entangled in a war of words with Cricket Australia over his availability, is still a doubtful starter for the first Test following question marks over his fitness.
- 'Yuvraj's ommission from the sqaud was shocking' - 'Over the years we just neither showed enough vision nor bothered to nurture talented players' - 'Australia and South Africa have good chance to win'
Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja claimed four wickets each as India crushed Bangladesh by 208 runs in the one-off Test and stretch the team's unbeaten streak to 19 matches, in Hyderabad, on Monday.
Former captain Graeme Smith feels South Africa's 'powerful' bowling attack will put the Indian batting line-up under serious pressure in the upcoming Test series, starting January 5 in Cape Town.
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India opener Murali Vijay hit an unbeaten century and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni slammed a half-century to frustrate England on the opening day of the first Test at Trent Bridge, on Wednesday.
A Delhi court on Thursday extended till July 19 the judicial custody of suspended Railway Board Member Mahesh Kumar and Vijay Singla, nephew of former railway minister P K Bansal, besides five others in the Rs 10 crore cash-for-post railway bribery case.
A summary of the first day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
With his tight technique and a cool temperament, Cheteshwar Pujara has an assuring presence at the crease, former captain Sunil Gavaskar said in praise of the young batsman, who rescued India with his century.
India will seek to reaffirm their supremacy in the shorter version of the game as they go into a five-match ODI series against an under-strength West Indies in Kochi with the prime focus of preparing for the upcoming cricket World Cup.
Backing Virat Kohli's five-bowler theory to win Test matches, former batsman Russel Arnold said that the Indian pace attack has the variety to match their Sri Lankan counterparts.
India's batting woes persist, but skipper Virat Kohli has no complaints. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports from Nagpur.
Skipper Steve Smith scored a controlled 133, Mitchell Johnson a game-changing 88 and Australia's tail wagged vigorously as the hosts barged their way back into the second Test against India on day three in Brisbane on Friday.
67 players, including 23 overseas, were sold and Rs 86.8 crore spent on them by the eight franchises in Bangalore on Monday.
Help Captain Kohli and Head Coach Shastri pick India's XI for the Rajkot Test.
Joe Root passed fifty for the fifth time in the series to lift England to 385 for seven and a lead of 237 runs at the close on the second day of the fifth Test against India at The Oval on Saturday.
Indian bowlers struggled even under favourable conditions on a rain-hit third day as the visitor's three-day practice match against Leicestershire ended in a draw.
Ishant Sharma bagged seven wickets as India scored a thumping 95-run victory over England in the second Test at Lord's on Monday.
Paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped four wickets as India hit back with two late strikes to wrest the initiative on Day 2 of the second Test against England despite Gary Ballance's gutsy century at Lord's, on Friday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India paid the International Cricket Council around Rs 2.4 crore for various charges incurred for the Indian squad carrying "additional team members" during the World Cup earlier this year.
India goes into the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday hoping to register their first series victory in the island nation in 22 years.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com rates the Indian players in England.
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.
'The one thing that a cricketer aspires for is earning the respect of the dressing room and that respect is earned only when any player puts his hand up in adverse conditions and does his job for the team.'
Ishant Sharma said that the counter-attack from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane was vital as India ended Day 2 on 172 for three in reply to Australia's 326 all out.
Delhi missed a golden opportunity to register an outright win as Assam managed to sneak home with a point defending a target of 79 in 14 overs during final hour of play, on Monday.
The Pretoria wicket is likely to be similar, with perhaps not the same sideways movement of Newlands, and will provide another test of the Indian batsmen's bravery against a seam bowling barrage.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look to return to winning ways.
A summary of the fourth day's play in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals.
India frittered away a solid start as a middle-order collapse saw them reduced to 291 for 9 on the opening day of the first cricket Test against New Zealand despite half-centuries from Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara in Kanpur on Thursday.
Kings XI Punjab beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 22 runs in a rain-truncated Indian Premier League game in Mohali.
In one of the most ill-tempered domestic matches in recent times, Bengal and Railway players set a poor example of on and off-field behaviour, with the two umpires hardly being able to control the proceedings during the last two days of their Ranji Trophy encounter.
Virat Kohli achieved another personal milestone by becoming the seventh India batsman and first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011, to top the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen.
Former West Indies captain Courtney Walsh hailed the BCCI decision of appointing Anil Kumble as the chief coach terming the leg-spinner as someone who has "his heart in right place". "I think it is a very good move. He is a very well respected person, and someone who is involved with the ICC as well," Walsh, who has 519 Test and 227 ODI wickets said. Walsh, who is also a national selector, was present in St Kitts to watch the warm-up games and was seen enjoying dinner with the Indian coach.
'Australia will be a different proposition... the pitches will be completely different than England.'
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.
The Indian pace attack is getting much attention Down Under, with Varun Aaron being singled out for special praise by Australian cricketers. They feel the youngster's biggest assets - pace and bounce - have troubled the visitors on previous tours Down Under.
India are leading the five-match series 3-0 and should they taste success in the final Test, it will be their biggest against England, the previous being the 3-0 whitewash in 1992-93 under Mohammed Azharuddin's captaincy.
The Indian top-order failed to convert good starts but Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane struck morale-boosting fifties ahead of the Test series as the visiting team's two-day practice match against New Zealand XI ended in a tame draw in Whangarei on Monday.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed career-best figures of eight for 50 to help Australia bundle out India for 189 on the first day of the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
