Needing just 106 runs to win with all 10 wickets intact at the start of the fourth day, the hosts eased past their target before lunch for the loss of just two batsmen.
He will have to fight it out with the in-form KL Rahul and a solid Murali Vijay for one of the opening slots in the playing XI of the Test team but Shikhar Dhawan terms the competition "good for Indian cricket" and finds "nothing wrong with it". "I am aware that there could be three players for two (opening) spots. But there is nothing wrong in it. In fact it is good for Indian cricket. To have healthy competitions among players for places in the team is good for Indian cricket and the game in general.
Rahane, who had scored just 10 in the first innings, struck a patient 119 off 260 balls, hit 14 boundaries and shared a 257-run stand for the third wicket with Sam Northeast
Indian cricket team, led by skipper Virat Kohli, on Thursday reached St Kitts to play a four-Test bilateral series against the West Indies starting with the opening match at Antigua on July 21.
Named as a replacement player for injured Murali Vijay in the Indian squad for the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, young Karun Nair said that the call up was a dream come true for him and will boost his confidence.
Following is a fact box on the second Test of the four-match series between Australia and India:
Looking forward to the challenge of facing Dale Steyn in the upcoming four-match Test series against South Africa, Indian opener Lokesh Rahul has said playing the speedster in the longer format is a "different ballgame" as one has to counter the late movement he gets.
Kohli's 147 -- his 15th Test hundred -- and an equally confident 136 by Murali Vijay enabled India to extend their first-innings lead to 51 runs in reply to England's 400.
Parthiv Patel was unlucky to miss out despite a fine showing in the Test series against England as the selectors preferred to recall Wriddhiman Saha for the one-off Test against Bangladesh.
Images from the India v SA, second Test, day 1, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru.
Factbox on the four-Test series between India and Australia, which starts at Pune on Thursday:
India 'A' scored 340 for five with four of the visiting batsmen, including young opener Prithvi Shaw, striking fluent half-centuries in the first unofficial Test against New Zealand 'A', in Mount Maunganui, on Friday.
Total runs scored by Virat Kohli in Tests so far this year: 1,182. Last year, Virat aggregated 1,215 runs, notes Rajneesh Gupta.
'On one hand, three in-form openers is a healthy problem of plenty.' 'On the other, you just don't know whom to pick, and whether the selection sits well with the conditions and opposition on offer,' says Chetan Narula.
India will look to make the most of their only warm-up game, beginning, in Sydney, on Wednesday against Cricket Australia XI.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the first Test.
India aim to stay afloat against daunting South Africa in the second Test
The efforts drew the spontaneous appreciation of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
A near-perfect series for Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Skipper Cheteshwar Pujara hit a scintillating 140 as India 'A' posted 281 for three against South Africa 'A' at stumps on the opening day of the first unofficial Test in Rustenberg.
Ajinkya Rahane said his side were determined to be 'ruthless' in their approach after the hosts demolished Afghanistan by an innings and 262 runs inside two days in its debut Test match, in Bengaluru.
India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been suffering from viral illness for the past two days, rendering him doubtful for the opening Test against South Africa, starting in Cape Town, on Friday.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane credited his spinners for exploiting the slow pitch to the optimum as India sealed the three-match series against Zimbabwe with a comfortable 62-run win in the second ODI in Harare.
Seamer Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets as India seized control of the third and final Test against South Africa on Thursday, going to the close of the second day with a 42-run lead on a treacherous wicket at the Wanderers.
Opening batsman Prithvi Shaw, who had suffered a left ankle injury while attempting a catch in the practice game against Cricket Australia XI has been ruled out of the ongoing four-Test series against Australia.
Considering Hardika Pandya's heavy recent workload, the decision was made to negate any possibility of a major injury concern, the BCCI said on Friday.
Skipper Unmukt Chand anchored the chase to perfection with an unbeaten 77 to guide India B to a five-wicket victory against India A in the opening match of the Deodhar Trophy one-day cricket tournament at Kanpur on Monday. Put into bat, India A could manage only 161 in 44.2 overs with skipper Ambati Rayudu (58) and all-rounder Parvez Rasool (66) adding 104 runs for the sixth wicket after they were reeling at 29 for five. In reply, India B scored the runs in only 29.2 overs with skipper Unmukt remaining unbeaten from 82 balls, his innings laced with nine fours and a six. He had two partnerships ---56 for the opening stand with Shreyas Iyer (24) and 75 for the fifth wicket with veteran Dinesh Karthik (34).
India's long winning streak in Test cricket is under threat in a quick-fire three match series against South Africa this month, where their status as the top ranked nation in the format faces a stiff examination.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be back in the IPL next year. The World Cup-winning captain confirmed it himself during the toss Chennai Super Kings' final game of the season, against Kings XI Punjab, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.
Australia need five wickets in the second Test to secure a series-levelling victory with India's daunting run chase on a menacing pitch teetering at stumps on day four on Monday.
Backing the team's decision to pick five bowlers on what appears a good batting track, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said the bowling department will certainly use the experience of playing in Australia on the placid wicket in the ongoing one-off Test against Bangladesh in Fatullah.
Rediff.com's Harish Kotian tells us who triumphed, who disappointed in the India-Sri Lanka series.
A formidable Indian cricket team is likely to revel in home conditions, as they prepare to host and dominate New Zealand in the first Test in Kanpur, from Thursday, heralding the beginning of a long 13-match home season.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain, criticised the lack of fight from India in the second Test at Lord's while urging the beleaguered visitors to dig deep.
India would have been better served with a frontline spinner in their side, pace spearhead Mohammed Shami said.
India 'A' batsmen failed to deliver when it mattered the most as they crashed to a 121-run defeat in the second unofficial 'Test' against South Africa 'A', who rode on seamer Beuran Hendricks' six-wicket haul to level the two-match series 1-1 in Pretoria, on Tuesday.
Steve Smith is not 'temperamentally sound enough' to lead Australia, says former spinner Kerry O'Keeffe.
India justified their top ranking with their breakthrough overseas win in Australia on Monday and captain Virat Kohli has reasons to be optimistic about leading a team which can dominate Test cricket for years to come.
Half-centuries by Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin kept India on course for a first innings lead after England made a spirited comeback on day two of the third Test on Sunday. - Scorecard: Having bowled out England for 283 earlier in the morning, India looked in charge at 148-2 at tea before Adil Rashid's double strike jolted the hosts who lost three wickets in 19 balls to slump to 156-5.
India's swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday jumped eight places to a career-best 22 following his impressive show in a lost cause in the first Test against South Africa but Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara slipped in the ICC ranking ladder.
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