Still on a learning curve as India's Test skipper, Virat Kohli has divulged crucial captaincy lessons learnt in his tenure so far.
Virat Kohli's proactive and aggressive style of leadership will be tested when India take on sprightly underdogs Bangladesh in the one-off Test match starting in Fatullah on Wednesday.
Indian batsmen frittered away the initial advantage before reaching 248 for six against a disciplined Australia to leave the fourth and final cricket Test evenly poised, in Dharamsala, on Sunday.
India failed to make the best of first use of the wicket, their batsmen capitulating against both pace and spin as they were dismissed for 215 in the first innings in the third Test against South Africa at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium, in Nagpur, on Wednesday. However, the hosts hit back immediately, claiming two early scalps, leaving the Proteas reeling on 11 for 2 after nine overs at the end of Day 1.
Help Captain Kohli and Head Coach Shastri pick India's XI for the Rajkot Test.
Kings XI Punjab head coach Sanjay Bangar believes out-of-favour opener Virender Sehwag is capable of making a national comeback despite being out of the Indian team for nearly two years now.
India's Australia tour started on a positive note, following a commendable all-round display against Cricket Australia XI, as the two-day practice match ended in a draw in Adelaide on Tuesday.
India put themselves on the cusp of completing a comprehensive series victory with England caught in a spin web following skipper Virat Kohli's career-best 235 at the end of the fourth day of the fourth cricket Test. - Scorecard Records tumbled one after another as Kohli's third double ton in as many Test series was complemented by Jayant Yadav's maiden hundred with India piling up a mammoth 631 thereby taking a lead of 231 runs. In reply, England were left tottering at 182 for 6 needing another 49 runs to avoid innings defeat as the hosts are now all but assured to regain the Anthony De Mello Trophy that they had lost back in 2012.
India goes into the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday hoping to register their first series victory in the island nation in 22 years.
Opener Lokesh Rahul scored a fighting century as India recovered from early jitters to post 319 for six in their first innings on Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, in Colombo, on Thursday.
Amazon Prime Video has doubled its content investments in India and announced as many as 41 new titles in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English, thereby throwing an open challenge to their streaming competitor, Netflix.
England's lower-order gave India a taste of their own medicine on a benign Chepauk track racking up a commendable 477 in their first innings on the second day of the fifth and final cricket Test in Chennai.
India's R Ashwin struck a counter-attacking half-century to help India claw back into the match after the hosts got off to a shaky start on Day 3.
Seeking to continue their winning momentum and take an unassailable 2-0 lead, India were dealt a blow ahead of the third one-dayer against England at Trent Bridge on Saturday as opener Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the remainder of the tour because of injury.
Going by the state of the pitch and the match situation after Day 1 in the ongoing third Test against South Africa in Nagpur, few are betting against another three-day finish, says Harish Kotian/Rediff.com.
- 'I still think that he had 2 or 3 more years of cricket left in him' - 'India is going to miss Dhoni the player big time'
India pulled off a brilliant all-round performance to trounce New Zealand by 178 runs in the second Test and clinch the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead, a win that propelled the team to the top of the ICC rankings, dethroning arch-rivals Pakistan.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed five for 52 as Indian bowlers dominated the proceedings to bowl out West Indies for a meagre 196 on Day 1 of the second Test in Jamaica.
Virat Kohli achieved another personal milestone by becoming the seventh India batsman and first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011, to top the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen.
Kohli said it would be great for the team if Rohit can play the role Virender Sehwag did in his prime
'We won the last World Cup and the Champions Trophy on the all-round performance -- so the Jajedas, Binnys, Ashwins could play a role in India defending the title' 'Stuart Binny could come in very handy in those surfaces with the seam bowling, as a lower order batsman also or as a floater' 'Yuvraj must be motivated to try and make a comeback'
India's bowling coach Bharat Arun is confident that the team's speed merchants Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav will take up the challenge to maintain speed as well as be accurate in the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on August 12 at Galle.
- 'The aggressive approach was the right one. The approach will remain the same' - 'I feel what he (Kohli) did throughout the Adelaide Test was really great'
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Photos from Day 2 of the 3rd Test match played in Nagpur on Thursday
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Monday made a comeback to the Indian team for the first two Tests against South Africa, replacing veteran Harbhajan Singh, who was the only casualty from the team which won the Test series in Sri Lanka last month.
Help coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli in selecting India's best 11 for the first Test against the West Indies.
The skipper added that the journey since leading the side has been a learning curve for him, even as Australian cricket is just starting to come out of a period of strife.
The below-par Test record of Rohit Sharma is expected to be the focus of discussion when the selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, picks the Indian cricket squad for the home Test series against New Zealand . Despite Rohit's poor form in the Tests, he has the confidence of captain Virat Kohli, who feels that the ODI specialist should be given a longer run to prove himself in the Test format.
- 'Time Indian cricket looked beyond Fletcher' - 'Their bowling has been pretty inconsistent'
Out-of-favour India opener Gautam Gambhir is still hopeful of a comeback and will call time on his career once he feels he can't play international cricket anymore.
If the innings against Pakistan showed he was still capable of what his ODI average of 45 exhibits, then his comeback was complete on Sunday at the MCG with the century against what's often termed as one of the best attacks in the world.
India's marauding cricket team will be aiming to reclaim the No 1 spot in ICC rankings when it takes on an unsettled New Zealand in the second Test starting, in Kolkata, on Friday.
Ishant Sharma said that the counter-attack from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane was vital as India ended Day 2 on 172 for three in reply to Australia's 326 all out.
Domestic giants Mumbai continued its winning run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy thrashing Madhya Pradesh by nine wickets in Mumbai on Monday.
India and Pakistan were supposed to play a bilateral series this month but the planned rubber did not go ahead after the Indian government withheld permission for the same.
The SCG may be perfect for the under-performing trio -- Pujara, Dhawan and Ashwin -- to regain their touch.
Under fire after a below-par show on a good batting strip, the Indian spinners will aim for an improved show on a comparatively more helpful track as they take on a gritty England in the second Test, starting in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the Indian team for the limited overs tour of Zimbabwe starting June 11, while top stars like Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been rested.
Uncapped left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar has joined the test squad from the Pakistan A team currently in Hamilton.
