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 series is out of bounds but Indian cricket is all set to enter a new era under the feisty Virat Kohli, whose leadership would be put through a trial by fire when the visitors seek redemption in the fourth and final Test against Australia starting in Sydney on Tuesday.
How India's players fared in Australia.
Which Indian batsman has the highest run tally against Sri Lanka (Clue: He has an aggregate of 1,995 runs)? Which Sri Lankan skipper led the islanders against India in 13 Tests and did not win a single one? As the Test series gets underway, Rajneesh Gupta surveys India-Sri Lanka Tests played over the years.
Steve Smith completed his fourth century in as many matches on Wednesday as Australia compiled a daunting first innings total in the final Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket has left the Indian think-tank fretting over the ideal playing combination that will take on Australia in the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground starting next Tuesday.
If India toyed with the South Africans, it was mainly because of awesome performances from spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Mitchell Santner believes the upcoming limited overs series in his home country against India could be a high-scoring affair
On a pitch offering extensive lateral movement, a target of 175 could prove to be a match-winning one for India.
Dale Steyn claimed six for 100 to bowl out India for 334 in their first innings. In reply, South Africa got off to a positive start, scoring 82 for no loss, at stumps on the rain-hit second day in Durban, on Friday.
Skipper Virat Kohli's weakness outside the off-stump was again exposed as India plunged into deep trouble at 28 for three, after their bowlers dismissed South Africa for a modest 286, on the opening day of the first Test in Cape Town on Friday.
The Indian top-order batsmen got much needed batting practice against a below-par Leicestershire attack as they finished the first day of their opening tour match at a comfortable 333 for four Leicester on Thursday.
Ravindra Jadeja stole the show while Umesh Yadav bowled his heart out.
When he walked out to bat, India were in a precarious position with all their top batsmen back in the hut and once again it was Ravindra Jadeja who played the rescue act.
Statistical highlights of the tri-series match between India and England at the WACA on Friday.
Lokesh Rahul put behind a failed debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to register a Test hundred in only his second Test as India ended Day 3 in the fourth and final Test against Australia on 342 for 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. Promoted to open the innings with Murali Vijay, the Karnataka batsman scored 110 and with skipper Virat Kohli, who was unbeaten on 140, guided India to 342 for 5 at stumps. In the course of his knock, Kohli obliterated many milestones. Check them out.
India's skipper Virat Kohli scored a splendid unbeaten century to guide his team to a comfortable 302 for the loss of four wickets at stumps on day one of the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua on Thursday. At the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Kohli carried his limited-overs form into Tests and scored an effortless 143 off 197 balls, which was laced with 16 boundaries.
Sunil Gavaskar has been quite unhappy with Team India's performance.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar rated India's bowling on the opening day of the third cricket Test against Australia as their best performance in the series so far but reminded that lack of quality bowling all-rounder could hurt the visitors again going into day two.
Check out the images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between Australia and India played at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara guided India to 87 for one to leave the first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland delicately poised at the end of a tumultuous third day.
Royal Challengers Bangalore thrashed Kings XI Punjab by 82 runs via D/L method in a rain-hit IPL clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
So overwhelming was India's domination in the series, that Zimbabwe's most valuable player, Elton Chigumbura, is only seventh in the combined list with a MVPI of just 175, according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
West Indies' wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin's century went in vain as they slumped to a 16-run loss against India 'A' in their second and final warm-up 50-over match ahead of the five-match ODI series against India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
India's captain for the One-day series in Zimbabwe addressed the media prior to the team's departure. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports.
'I noticed the audience warming up to The Blueberry Hunt at different points. The surprise was the reaction from the aam aadmi, the common man. They loved the film!' Director Anup Kurian discusses his film.
India's bowling coach Bharat Arun is confident that the team's speed merchants Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav will take up the challenge to maintain speed as well as be accurate in the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on August 12 at Galle.
Rediff.com looks at other sensational murder mysteries that left India shell-shocked.
India took a stranglehold over the West Indies on the opening day of the first Test at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Having restricted the visitors to 234 in the first innings, the home team put up 37 without loss in 12 overs in reply by stumps.
He may have scored a fluent century to steady India from the early jitters against Sri Lanka in the second Test, but opener Lokesh Rahul has mixed feelings about his innings.
Notwithstanding Rising Pune Supergiants' poor run in IPL-9, Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman considers the debutante side as a formidable unit and said his team will have to put its best foot forward when they clash with them in their IPL match on Tuesday. "It goes without saying that (RPS Captain M S Dhoni) Dhoni will be looking forward to use Ashwin against Warner and Shikhar. I believe that Pune has got a very formidable batting line up," Laxman said in a pre-match press conference at Hyderabad. "Lot of people talk about Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Faf Duplessis being similar. They are all extrordinary T20 players. We cannot at all be complecent or we cannot at all underestimate the batting strength of Pune. We are very mindful," he added. The former Test batsman, however, exuded confidence that SRH can take on any opposition if it sticks to its plans and executes them well. "But, I believe that if we concentrate on our plans and try to execute our plans, then we can do well against any opposition. It's more about concentrating and playing to our strength, while strategizing for each and every opposition batsman or bowler," he said. Noting that the MS Dhoni-led Pune team would look to bounce back strongly, Laxman said no team can be ruled out as it is still the early part of the long IPL tournament.
With the cricket world still mourning the tragic death of Phillip Hughes, the first Test between India and Australia next week was on Saturday put off to an unspecified date and might even be cancelled to pay homage to the young batsman.
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.
With a strike rate of 115, Shikhar Dhawan is the MVP from the India-West Indies series according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
Virat Kohli became only the third Indian to score a hundred on his captaincy debut as the visitors responded resolutely to Australia's mammoth first innings total by reaching 369 for five on the third day to leave the first cricket Test evenly poised at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Who were the most valuable players in the just-concluded India-Australia ODI series? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji 's formula provides overwhelming evidence that the bat complete overwhelmed the bat.
Young Karun Nair on Monday announced his arrival at the world stage with an unforgettable triple ton (303 not out) as India broke a deluge of records en route their highest ever Test total of 759 for 7 against England on the penultimate day of the fifth and final match in Chennai. - Scorecard It was a day that solely belongs to the 25-year-old Karun, who become the second Indian batsman after the legendary Virender Sehwag (twice) to hit a triple hundred in Test match cricket.
Yuvraj Singh struck form with a brilliant unbeaten half century as Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets in their IPL campaign opener in Sharjah on Thursday.
Former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla and nine others, arrested in the Rs 10-crore cash-for-post railway bribery case, were on Tuesday put on trial by a special court on charges of conspiracy and corruption.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji's Most Valuable Player Index after the South Africa ODIs presents a depressing view of the Indian players' showing in the first half of the ongoing tour
