'It's the communication, both of us have been playing Test cricket for a long time. Especially me and him -- we are playing (only) this format particularly and we have spent a lot time not just on field by talking about this format' 'To be very honest I was hoping to get a double hundred. They had so many runs on board. I thought it will help the team if I could get a double hundred'
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.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 2nd Test played between England and India at Lord's in London on Friday
India mounted a positive reply after Steve Smith's unbeaten 178 and Glenn Maxwell's maiden century powered Australia to a series-high 451 on day two of the third Test in Ranchi on Friday.
India captain Virat Kohli, on Thursday, claimed his comment on friendship with the Australian team was 'blown out of proportion'.
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.
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.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 3:
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.
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.
ndia failed to bowl out county side Essex in 94 overs before Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara suffered another batting failure
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.
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.
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.
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.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com rates the Indian players in England.
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.
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.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
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.
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.
'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.'
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin frustrated Australia's push for victory on day five of the third Test in Melbourne.
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.
Rediff readers shared these pictures from their travels.
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.
India's batting woes persist, but skipper Virat Kohli has no complaints. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports from Nagpur.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
India captain Virat Kohli addressed the media after the rain-ruined second Test against South Africa in Bangalore. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports.
Retired English cricketer Kevin Pietersen says blaming the Indian Premier League for India's shambolic performance in the recently-concluded five-Test series against England is a 'cheap shot'. India were twice beaten by an innings as England won the five-Test series 1-3.
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.
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.
