The ball was old, the stage set and expectations high but India's Rohit Sharma again spurned the opportunity to assert his long-form credentials in the first test against New Zealand on Thursday. Often hailed as the next big thing to come out of Mumbai since Sachin Tendulkar, the 29-year-old is an automatic choice in the limited-overs side and the only batsman to score two one-day international double centuries.
England's four-pronged pace attack bowled India out for 148 before the hosts reached 62 for no loss in reply to take control of the fifth and final Test on an absorbing first day at The Oval in London.
India captain Ajinkya Rahane has applauded his team for playing as a unit, saying that every member of the side contributed in the 3-0 whitewash against Zimbabwe in the ODI series.
ndia failed to bowl out county side Essex in 94 overs before Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara suffered another batting failure
Pacer Mitchell Starc has expressed disappointment with International Cricket Council rating the Optus Stadium pitch as 'average' after Australia beat India in the second Test by 146 runs.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com rates the Indian players in England.
While there were brilliant performances from Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane, India's pathetic bowling attack -- which could not claim 20 Australian wickets in any of the four Tests -- was depressing.
Outwitted in both the T20 and the ODI series, India will seek redemption in the Test format by trying to spin a web around the formidable South Africans in the four-match series starting in Mohali, on Thursday.
Hanuma Vihari's role as an opener is a stop-gap one and he will be given enough opportunities in his preferred middle-order spot should he fail at the top, assured chairman of selectors MSK Prasad.
The Delhi high court will on Friday hear the bail pleas of former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal's nephew Vijay Singla and suspended Railway Board Member Mahesh Kumar and two other accused in the Rs 10 crore cash-for-post railway bribery case.
Rediff readers shared these pictures from their travels.
Ahead of the upcoming Test and ODI series against Bangladesh Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical outlook on India's players selected for the two squads.
Former India players Maninder Singh and Chetan Chauhan have thrown their weight behind an "aggressive and impressive" Virat Kohli, saying the skipper was correct in going for victory rather than trying to save the first Test against Australia in Adelaide on Saturday.
'It is the ability to fight back.' 'Obviously, you need skill to win a game of cricket, but the biggest thing is the resilience and the conviction to bounce back and the conviction to go and win abroad or anywhere.' 'I think that conviction is what stands out.'
South Africa off-spinner Dane Piedt says it took a lot out of him to play cricket again after suffering a career-threatening shoulder dislocation last year.
The Indian top-order failed to convert good starts but Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane struck morale-boosting fifties ahead of the Test series as the visiting team's two-day practice match against New Zealand XI ended in a tame draw in Whangarei on Monday.
Australia beat India by 48 runs in a thrilling end to the first Test at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, with Nathan Lyon picking up seven wickets after Virat Kohli scored an inspired century for the visitors.
India might have wasted the advantage of winning the toss after being bundled out for a paltry 201 against South Africa, on Thursday, but batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels the hosts' first innings total is 'much bigger' than it looks on a slow and low pitch.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed career-best figures of eight for 50 to help Australia bundle out India for 189 on the first day of the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
Rajasthan Royals would be keen to adapt quickly to their new 'home ground' when they lock horns with last season's runner-up Kings XI Punjab in their campaign opener in the Indian Premier League in Pune.
Cheteshwar Pujara rose to the occasion with a maiden century in Australia, pulling India out of a deep hole to a respectable 250 for nine on day one of the first Test in Adelaide on Thursday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin frustrated Australia's push for victory on day five of the third Test in Melbourne.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli combined to frustrate Australia for an entire session as India held the whip-hand at 215 for two at the close of a grinding opening day of the third Test in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Still licking their wounds after a sound thrashing in the lung opener, India will have to regroup quickly and fortify the chinks in their armoury when they take on a determined West Indies in the second One-Day International in Delhi on Saturday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead an 18-man squad for the Test series against England. Opener Gautam Gambhir, whose last Test was in 2012, makes a comeback while two uncapped medium pacers - Ishwar Pandey and Pankaj Singh - find a place in the team after Zaheer Khan, who had to set out of the India leg of the Indian Premier League following a back injury, was overlooked.
"Look, the injury (to Kohli) may not be very serious. But he is a man who loves to be on the field, and the fact that he was not on the field means that the injury was a little more than what is given out (to be). So, he can rest completely... he can be fit for the next Test," Gavaskar said.
India's batting woes persist, but skipper Virat Kohli has no complaints. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports from Nagpur.
Despite being the world's top-ranked Test side India have struggled with their opening combination, which, in turn, has heaped pressure on the middle order.
Former batsman Chandu Borde has some advice for the Indian batsmen who struggled in the first Test in South Africa - stay a bit outside the crease and leave the balls pitched outside the off-stump.
Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 63 gave India a firm hold on the opening Test against South Africa after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 13th five-wicket haul to restrict the touring side to 184 on the second day on Friday.
Rahane to lead India in one-off Test vs Afghanistan
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.
A measured half century from opener Chamu Chibhabha propelled Zimbabwe to their first ever Twenty20 victory over former World champions India by 10 runs, in Harare, on Sunday.
The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy is locked at 1-1 and the match at Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), which is organising it's first-ever Test, is set to be a make-or-break affair for both teams.
India captain Virat Kohli addressed the media after the rain-ruined second Test against South Africa in Bangalore. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports.
# Smith's unbeaten 178 is the third highest by an Australian captain in Tests in Asia -- the top two being 334 not out by Mark Taylor vs Pakistan at Peshawar in October 1998 and 235 by Greg Chappell vs Pakistan at Faisalabad in March 1980.
Wasim Jaffer defied age and modern fitness norms to flay a young Rest of India Mumbaikar attack throughout the second day of Irani Cup as Vidarbha reached a mammoth 589 for three, riding on Mumbai maestro's unbeaten 285.
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.
Should Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan be dropped?
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