India made a strong reply to England's first-innings total of 477 after half-centuries by debutant Liam Dawson and number nine Adil Rashid underlined the tourists' batting depth in the fifth and final Test on Saturday. - Scorecard: India claimed three wickets on the second morning but the 108-run partnership between Dawson and Rashid in a productive second session for the touring side frustrated the hosts.
They endured a disastrous run the last time around to finish at the bottom of the heap and Kings XI Punjab would be aiming to make amends this season when they begin their campaign against newbies Gujarat Lions in their IPL opener in Mohali on Monday. Kings XI Punjab did not make any big buys this year and have a new captain in South African David Miller in place of Australian George Bailey who was released after leading the side to the last place in the previous season. Virender Sehwag has also retired and he will serve as team mentor this season. The Preity Zinta-owned side continues to lack the team balance as it has not added any significant player, only snapping the likes of all-rounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis, seamer Mohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Last season, their batsmen lacked consistency and whenever they did well, the bowlers let the side down. On the other hand, debutants Gujarat Lions have a balanced side with top-class performers in both batting and bowling. They have explosive batsmen in Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and a plenty of top-notch all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is keen to send Test specialists, including seasoned fast bowler Zaheer Khan, to South Africa earlier than scheduled for acclimatisation if logistics work out in its favour.
The needle clash, expected to be watched by a capacity crowd at the Wankhede Stadium, looks set to raise the curtains on the decade-old T20 League in grand style after a formal opening ceremony.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has been rendered a doubtful starter for the fourth and final cricket Test against Australia in Ranchi, a scenario that has put the hosts under immense pressure on the eve of the decider of the bitterly fought series.
A dominant India will be eyeing to clinch the five-Test series against England with yet another comprehensive victory when the two teams square off in the fourth match of the series starting from Thursday. With an unassailable 2-0 lead after three Tests, the confidence of the Virat Kohli-led team is sky high and they would like to regain the Anthony de Mello Trophy which they had lost to Alastair Cook's side back in 2012. Even if England manage a draw, India will win the series after the visitors' hat-trick of wins- 2011 in England, 2012 in India and 2014 in England again.
India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test in Nagpur after the touring side were bundled out for 166 shortly after lunch on the fourth day.
In a desperate bid to get their team combination right, the Indian cricket team summoned Karnataka all-rounder Stuart Binny as the 16th member of the Test squad ahead of the second Test, starting Thursday.
New Zealand spinners claimed three wickets in the morning session but India extended their advantage to a daunting 308 runs by lunch on the fourth day of the first Test at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium on Sunday.
The series already in their pocket and the number one ranking cemented, a dominant India go into the third Test against New Zealand in Indore on Saturday, aiming yet another clean sweep of a Test rubber at home. The hosts had blanked Australia 4-0 in 2012-13 and the West Indies in the next season. They nearly repeated the feat against South Africa last year and this impressive history in recent past makes India favourites in the first-ever Test being hosted by this city which has a long tradition in the game.
On a high after sealing the series with comprehensive victories, an upbeat India will be aiming to complete a 3-0 rout in order to retain it's No 1 Test ranking, when they meet a listless West Indies in the final Test match of the series in Port of Spain on Thursday. Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series after their crushing 237-run win in the third Test, Virat Kohli and his men will be aiming to go for the kill and keep their top ranking in Test. India were reinstated as the No.1 Test side after Australia 0-3 whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka.
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.
Riding high on an unbeaten half-century from Vijay Shankar, Tamil Nadu managed to score 192/3 on the opening day of their semi-final against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy match in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Only 15 men in Test history have achieved the double of 500 runs and 40 wickets in a calendar year but England look set to add three players to that exclusive list on their tour of India, and could reasonably lay claim to fielding one of the most versatile teams ever assembled in the game's oldest format. With two more Tests to play in 2016, England allrounders Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes are within touching distance of completing the rare feat.
The 22-yard strip at the Feroz Shah Kotla will be the cynosure of all eyes as a buoyant India seeks their biggest series triumph against South Africa when they square off in the final Test of the four-match rubber in Delhi on Thursday.
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir and fit-again Shikhar Dhawan are set to open the innings for a bolstered Delhi side that is desperate to log home six points against Team Rajasthan in their sixth round Ranji Trophy group B encounter, in Wayanad, on Monday.
Rain played spoilsport on the opening day, washing out more than two sessions, after India had recovered to 50 for two in their first innings in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, on Friday.
England ripped out India for 94 to win the fifth Test by a crushing innings and 244 runs at The Oval on Sunday and clinch the series 3-1.
India picked up three Bangladesh wickets in the morning session after declaring their first innings on 462 for six but rain washed out the rest of the fourth day as the one-off Test headed for an inevitable draw in Fatullah, on Saturday.
Bowlers gave India the upper hand as Sri Lanka were bowled out for a below-par 205 in their first innings against India after opting to bat on the first day of the second Test in Nagpur on Friday.
Led by skipper Virat Kohli, the Indian Test squad sans opener Lokesh Rahul and coach Anil Kumble arrived in Kolkata along with the New Zealand team ahead of second cricket Test starting on Friday. Rahul has been ruled out of the match because of a hamstring injury while Kumble is slated to join the team on Wednesday morning ahead of their practice session at Eden Gardens in the afternoon, local manager said.
Former India batsman Virender Sehwag on Tuesday said he would encourage Kings XI Punjab players to play aggressive cricket during the upcoming tenth season of the Indian Premier League.
Looking to salvage pride in the third Test beginning, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, team India got down to business at the Wanderers with a practice session that lasted just under four hours.
Joe Root's determination and Haseeb Hameed's grit were not enough for England as India won the third Test by 8 wickets.
Virat Kohli coasted to his fifth double century as India's frontline batsmen crushed Sri Lanka's toothless attack to stay on course for an innings victory in the second Test in Nagpur on Sunday.
Gavaskar is currently in Southampton with first-hand knowledge about the pitch and conditions for the match starting June 18.
The national selection committee are set to announce multiple Indian squads on May 8 -- for the upcoming one-off Test match against Afghanistan next month and for the limited overs leg of the tour of UK starting June 27 in Dublin.
Cheteshwar Pujara stood firm to guide India to 151 for three at stumps on Day 3 for an overall lead of 166 runs.
Rahul was the only prominent batsman to miss out on a significant score in India's 358 all out on day two of the four-day tour game in Sydney.
New Zealand failed to make the most of a strong start as they were dismissed for 299 to concede a 258-run first innings deficit to India on the third evening of the third and final Test in Indore, on Monday.
That Rohit will make a comeback was indicated by skipper Kohli in England and that was precisely the reason why he was rested for the limited overs series against West Indies.
Paceman Mohammed Shami struck twice as India closed in on a massive win on day three of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka 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.
'These are elementary things you do not do against any decent swing bowler in English conditions. To try to do it to James Anderson, who is one of the great master craftsmen in those conditions, tells me the Indian batsmen have not done their homework'
A record 37 teams, including seven debutants from the northeast, participating in the Ranji Trophy beginning on Thursday pose a massive logistical challenge for a cricket board going through administrative chaos.
Under pressure to retain his place in the Test XI, Cheteshwar Pujara overshadowed Rohit Sharma by scoring a solid hundred as India Blue made full use of a placid track to amass 362/3 against India Red on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida.
Captain Virat Kohli compiled an unbeaten century to put India in a commanding position on the first day of the opening Test against West Indies in Antigua on Thursday. Kohli was on 143 at the close of play, his 12th Test century, as the visitors reached 302 for four.
Pacer Mohammad Shami, who is recuperating after shoulder surgery, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, back with a re-modelled action, are among 30 players named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's senior selection committee for a preparatory camp ahead of the South African team's upcoming tour of India.
Norma Godinho evaluates the Indians after their humiliating loss in Perth.
AB de Villiers' masterly 85 in his 100th test could not gloss over South Africa's spin frailty as India took charge of the second Test after dominating the opening day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances