There seems to be no love lost between India and Australia players as visiting skipper Steve Smith, on Monday, appeared to have used cuss words against Murali Vijay after the home team opener claimed to have taken a catch that was deemed not clean.
Murali Vijay regained his form while playing for Essex after being dropped from India's Test squad but the opener insists that neither he tinkered with his technique during his county stint nor he played there to reclaim his place.
To keep their minds off the Pune disaster, the team went on a hike at Tamhini Ghat on Monday, and the trek to the Western Ghats seemed to have brought out their inner Platos and Ramanujas.
In Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India, says Haresh Pandya, has a bunch of exciting young batsmen who will go places, individually and collectively.
As expected, the Indian selectors decided to stick with the same 16-member squad, which beat Bangladesh in the one-off Test, for the first two matches of the forthcoming four-match Test series against Australia, starting in Pune, on February 23.
Captain Virat Kohli has thrown his weight behind India's struggling openers but the tourists' defeat in Perth showed they have yet to find a solution to their top order woes.
As torrential rains wreaked havoc in Chennai flooding major parts of the city. Indian team members R Ashwin and Murali Vijay, who hail from the city, sent heartfelt messages for victims of the flood.
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder, who was part of the team for two Tests during the Test series against Sri Lanka last year, said that sharing dressing room helped him learn a lot.
Alastair Cook worries over England's lack of preparation but backs Bazball for success in India
Images from the second's day play in the opening Test between England and India at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
After a five-year wait, opener Murali Vijay finally registered his maiden One-day International half-century, in the second match against Zimbabwe on Sunday. The India opener is now determined to make a mark in the 50-over format.
India scored a comprehensive seven-wicket win against debutants Afghanistan in their opening ICC World T20 match at Gros Islet (St Lucia) on Saturday.
India have flown in pace-bowling all-rounder Stuart Binny but Shikhar Dhawan's absence is likely to force the team management to ask Murali Vijay, nursing a hamstring injury which kept him out of the Galle Test, to partner K L Rahul.
Letting Indian batsmen build mammoth partnerships has hurt Australia the most in the series, visiting paceman Peter Siddle lamented.
Ajinkya Rahane's wretched form will not be a big concern for the South Africa-bound Indian team, feels former captain Sourav Ganguly.
Day 2 in the second Test between South Africa and India was all about the Dale Steyn, even as Murali Vijay missed out on a hundred.
Photos from Day 4 of the first Test match between India and England in Nottingham, on Saturday.
Pujara and Vijay added 209 runs for the second wicket to set a platform from where India would look to bat the Islanders out of the contest.
Former India pace spearhead Javagal Srinath has raised doubts about the team's bowling attack ahead of the upcoming ODI cricket World Cup though he has rated the defending champions' batting line-up as the strongest going into the showpiece event.
Robin Uthappa scored a blazing 94 and all-rounder Irfan Pathan a quickfire 43 as India Blue posted 235 for 9 against India Red in the opening match of the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy tournament at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack on Thursday.
The Indian squad led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni departed for New Zealand from Mumbai on Sunday for a five-match ODI series followed by a best-of-two Test rubber against the hosts.
Team India discards -- Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra, and the Pathan brothers -- will get another opportunity to stake a claim in the national team at the annual NKP Salve Challenger Trophy which gets underway in Nagpur on Monday.
Team India did well to win the Mohali Test against Australia, despite a day being washed out. A progress report on the team.
Abhinav Mukund hit a master class century as Rest of India (ROI) took full control against Mumbai in the Irani Cup. The fourth day's play ensured that ROI take a sizeable lead of 382 runs, thanks to the 227-run partnership between Mukund and Murali Vijay.
India's Shikhar Dhawan said that many big stands are in store with his opening partner Murali Vijay.
England pace bowler Stuart Broad swept aside the India middle order batting in an inspired spell on Sunday to propel his team to a crushing innings and 159 runs victory on the fourth day of the second Test at Lord's.
Photos of the day four play of the second Test between India and South Africa, being played in Durban
Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari will battle for a place in the Indian team for the first Test.
Images of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia being played at the Feroz Shah Kotla
Nathan Lyon scalped five wickets as the Indian batsmen were tested for the first time in the series on a crumbling track. The hosts still managed to take a slender four-run first-innings lead in the fourth and final cricket Test against Australia in New Delhi on Saturday.
Images from the fourth day of the third and final Test between India and Sri Lanka at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo on Friday.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored his second double hundred as Indian batsmen continued their run feast against Australia on the third day of the second cricket Test, in Hyderabad on Monday.
Left-handed opener Abhinav Mukund was named captain of the Indian 'A' side that will take on England in a warm-up game in New Delhi on January 6.
Back in form with an impressive performance against South Africa in the recently-concluded Test series, Ravindra Jadeja is likely to make a comeback when the national selectors meet in New Delhi on Saturday.
Images from Day 4 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur on Tuesday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from Day 3 of the India-England Test at Leeds.
Back in India's ODI squad after two years, opener Murali Vijay says he was expecting the call up for the Zimbabwe series after good performances in 32 Test appearances since 2008.
India were eyeing a series-leveling win in the second Test by reducing Sri Lanka to 72 for two after setting the hosts a daunting victory target of 413, riding on Ajinkya Rahane's sparkling century.
Photos of the Third Test between India and Australia being played in Mohali
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Thursday.
