A look at the squads for the seventh season of the Indian Premier League at the conclusion of the two-day auction in Bangalore.
India have endured series losses in South Africa and England over the last nine months but have still managed to remain the number one side in the longest format.
Cheteshwar Pujara missed out on a second successive double hundred but his 182 went a long way in Saurashtra piling up a mammoth 570 in their first innings against Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy.
Having ensured three points by virtue of 104-run first innings lead by the end of the third day, Mumbai decided against sporting declaration reaching 321 for 5 when captains decided to call time.
Australian James Faulkner's superb all-round show helped Rajasthan Royals outclass Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs in their opening Indian Premier League match in Pune.
A summary of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday
India's marauding cricket team will be aiming to reclaim the No 1 spot in ICC rankings when it takes on an unsettled New Zealand in the second Test starting, in Kolkata, on Friday.
'Rohit can bring a lot to the table.' 'And if he clicks, then imagine how strong our batting line-up will be.'
Young Karun Nair cracked a brilliant unbeaten half-century to guide Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in their IPL-7 match at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi.
Chennai Super Kings produced a clinical performance to crush Delhi Daredevils by 93 runs and register their first win in the seventh edition of Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
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.
A career-best 119 from Virat Kohli lifted India to a respectable 255 for five at the close on an even opening day of the first Test against South Africa at the Wanderers on Wednesday.
England's lower-order gave India a taste of their own medicine on a benign Chepauk track racking up a commendable 477 in their first innings on the second day of the fifth and final cricket Test in Chennai.
A maiden century from Kedar Jadhav helped India complete a clean-sweep of the three-match One-Day International series in Zimbabwe with an 83-run victory at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.
Ravi Shastri says the learning curve for the Indian side is over and it's time that the players start winning Test matches abroad.
Seeking to continue their winning momentum and take an unassailable 2-0 lead, India were dealt a blow ahead of the third one-dayer against England at Trent Bridge on Saturday as opener Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the remainder of the tour because of injury.
England face an uphill battle to save the second Test at Lord's after slumping to 105 for four at the close of Sunday's fourth day in pursuit of 319 to beat India.
The top order failed to fire in difficult conditions, but the bowlers stood out, not only performing with the ball but scoring vital runs as well.
India 'A' coach Rahul Dravid advised Virat Kohli to make Virender Sehwag's unbeaten 201 at Galle (in 2008) as a reference frame for facing the Sri Lankan tweakers.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
Hosts India would look to do an encore by putting England through another rigorous spin test when the two teams square off in the third Test starting in Mohali, on Saturday.
Ravindra Jadeja did the star turn with a five-wicket haul, after Ajinkya Rahane's brilliant century, as India took control of the fourth Test against South Africa by taking a commanding 213-run lead on the second day at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Friday.
Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh produced an impressive display of spin bowling as India trounced a hapless Zimbabwe by 54 runs in the first T20 International in Harare on Friday. Patel (3 for 17) and Harbhajan (2 for 29) ripped through Zimbabwe's batting order, ending the home team's challenge at 124-7 while chasing a target of 179 on a slow track at Harare Sports Club.
Tamil Nadu produced an all-round display to beat Mumbai by 26 runs and register their second consecutive win in the Vijay Hazare One-Day cricket tournament, on Friday.
Harbhajan Singh slammed an entertaining half-century but could not prevent Mumbai Indians from going down to Kings XI Punjab by 18 runs in the Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Relishing every bit of the IPL experience in his debut season, Sun Risers Hyderabad's New Zealand import Kane Williamson is mighty impressed by the local talent available in the Sun TV-owned side.
Travis Head (61 batting) and Pat Cummins (10) kept Australia in the game with a 50-run partnership in the last session but India walked away with the advantage after the latter fell towards the end of day's play.
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.
'The 2014 Australia tour and the brand of cricket played by the team laid a great foundation of the brilliant run of success enjoyed across all formats and conditions.' 'It also coincided with Virat Kohli enjoying the responsibilities of leading the team and then putting his heart and soul into taking the Indian team to ascend many unconquered summits.'
There was optimism mingled with conviction in VVS Laxman's tone and tenor as the batting great today predicted the start of an era of prolonged dominance by the current Indian Test team, akin to the great West Indian and Australian sides of the past. As the long home season begin with the Kanpur Test against New Zealand, India are seeking to become the numero uno side in Test cricket and Laxman, who called captain Virat Kohli a "trendsetter", felt achieving the number one status will just be the beginning of a long journey.
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.
He managed to notch up a five-wicket haul but Indian medium pacer Mohammad Shami on Tuesday said it was tough to bowl on the flat pitch.
'Ashwin against the left-handers could play a big role. Kuldeep has done brilliantly but I feel India should persist with Ashwin. Kuldeep is young and can learn along the way'
Rishabh Pant, not Hanuma Vihari, can be the next Virender Sehwag that India is looking for,' says Sudhir Bisht.
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.
If KL Rahul is fit, Abhinav Mukund will be expectedly left out, a strange coincidence because he was the original back-up opener in this Test squad ahead of Shikhar Dhawan.
The Indian team management took this decision during this afternoon's net practice after having a look at the pitch. Although there was no official word on why the match was shortened, Indian coach Ravi Shastri was seen having an animated discussion with the local officials after getting a glimpse of the grassy pitch and a barren outfield that can cause injury while fielding.
Robin Uthappa smashed his way to a quickfire half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders notched up a comfortable six-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Tuesday.
Swapnil Singh broke an eleven-year jinx as he scored his maiden first class century, a knock of 164 without a blemish, to help Baroda take a massive first innings lead of 404 runs against Mumbai on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy Group C match.
'See, he (Kohli) is a kind of player who performs well in all the formats of the game and the way he started off, if there was some other batsmen, I don't think they could have started in the same way. I think it's his confidence and way he is batting, in last two to three years, it would have been difficult for any other batsman to score at such a strike rate'
