India spinner R Ashwin said he was surprised with West Indies' decision to bat first on a sticky wicket, even as he returned with a five-wicket haul on the opening day to dismiss the hosts for a paltry 196 in the second cricket Test in Kingston, Jamaica.
'Australia will be a different proposition... the pitches will be completely different than England.'
Krunal Pandya smashed the fastest half-centuryr by a debutant in ODIs to power India to victory in the first ODI against England.
With the cricket world still mourning the tragic death of Phillip Hughes, the first Test between India and Australia next week was on Saturday put off to an unspecified date and might even be cancelled to pay homage to the young batsman.
Basu is most satisfied about the transformation he has brought in the fitness levels of speedsters Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami.
How India's players fared in Australia.
A First Information Report was registered at Jyotinagar police station, in Jaipur, on Friday, to investigate allegations of match-fixing by Board of Control for Cricket in India president and Managing Director of India Cements Ltd N Srinivasan, and his son-in-law, Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, for conspiring and executing the fixing of an Indian Premier League match on May 12, between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur.
Talented Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma made a comeback to the Test squad for the West Indies series, which will also mark the farewell and landmark 200th Test of batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, next month.
He might have scored a century as opener in the last Test that India played but Cheteshwar Pujara on Thursday said he was willing to bat at any position he is asked to by the team's think-tank in the opening game against South Africa starting November 5 in Mohali.
Mumbai Indians have won three out of the four IPL finals they have been part of, including the two against CSK in 2013 and 2015.
With a strike rate of 115, Shikhar Dhawan is the MVP from the India-West Indies series according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
The India captain dropped a hint that a second spinner in either Ravindra Jadeja or Kuldeep Yadav could be an option for the second Test at Lord's as the surface looks dry.
India opener Lokesh Rahul says the Test series against South Africa beginning next month will be the "biggest challenge" of his burgeoning career.
Former captain Graeme Smith feels South Africa's 'powerful' bowling attack will put the Indian batting line-up under serious pressure in the upcoming Test series, starting January 5 in Cape Town.
Indian cricket team will be aiming to pick up pieces while spoiling Alastair Cook's farewell party in the fifth and final Test against England starting Friday.
'Rishabh is fine batsman but needs to do improve with gloves'
India's batsmen got a much-needed workout ahead of the Test series against Australia, putting up 375 runs in 90 overs, before their two-day tour game against Cricket Australia XI ended in a draw at the Glenelg Oval in Adelaide on Friday.
Jacques Kallis inched closer to scoring a century in his final Test after guiding South Africa to 299 for five before rain and bad light brought a premature end to the third day of the second Test against India on Saturday.
'See, he (Kohli) is a kind of player who performs well in all the formats of the game and the way he started off, if there was some other batsmen, I don't think they could have started in the same way. I think it's his confidence and way he is batting, in last two to three years, it would have been difficult for any other batsman to score at such a strike rate'
He managed to notch up a five-wicket haul but Indian medium pacer Mohammad Shami on Tuesday said it was tough to bowl on the flat pitch.
So overwhelming was India's domination in the series, that Zimbabwe's most valuable player, Elton Chigumbura, is only seventh in the combined list with a MVPI of just 175, according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
India bowled with a lot of perseverance to restrict England to 268 for 8 despite a defiant 89 from Jonny Bairstow on Day 1 of the third cricket Test in Mohali on Saturday.
'Make sure when we go there we also have 8 days gap after the 3 Tests and a 25-day gap between ODIs and Tests.'
Nerves will play a big role when title-hungry Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad look to outdo each other and regain the coveted IPL crown when they square off in the final in Mumbai on Sunday.
Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey warned teams against underestimating India after their 0-2 loss in the Tests series.
New Zealand made 152 for 1 in their first innings, when play was called off early because of rain, on Day 2 of the first cricket Test against India in Kanpur on Friday.
Putting down catches of England captain Alastair Cook and debutant opener Haseeb Hameed in the first hour of play spoiled India's chances of getting an early crack at the visiting team's middle-order, conceded India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar after the first day's play of the Rajkot Test on Wednesday.
Skipper Virat Kohli's weakness outside the off-stump was again exposed as India plunged into deep trouble at 28 for three, after their bowlers dismissed South Africa for a modest 286, on the opening day of the first Test in Cape Town on Friday.
Even as they struggle to find the winning formula, laggards Kings XI Punjab will still fancy their chances when they host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Mohali on Monday.
'We have a change at the top of the order and we will give these guys enough space and enough chances to feel comfortable at that position'
Publicly labelled 'soft' by former Test bowler Shane Warne only a few months ago, paceman Mitchell Starc has come of age.
'We did a lot of very good things. Just couldn't quite get over the line' 'He's (Hameed) an unbelievable player, pushing me closer to retirement'
Yuvraj Singh struck form with a brilliant unbeaten half century as Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets in their IPL campaign opener in Sharjah on Thursday.
India skipper Virat Kohli says the much improved batting performance by the lower order batsmen, particularly wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, was the biggest gain of the West Indies series, which they won 2-0.
India ended an utterly forgettable tour of New Zealand by drawing the second and final Test at the Basin Reserve (Wellington) on Tuesday. Captain Brendon McCullum became the first New Zealand batsman to hit a triple century, a knock that helped stage an incredible turnaround that ensured his team a memorable series win.
Parthiv Patel, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, who was recalled into the Test side after a gap of eight years in the Mohali game against England, made a mark before the selectors and scored in both the innings. Usually, whenever a cricketer makes a comeback after such a long time, there is bit of tentativeness and lack of self confidence. But not was the case with Patel, who had made his Test debut at the age of 17.
'I was not thinking about it as my first game, I was just thinking that it's another game and it just happened.'
Who were the most valuable players in the just-concluded India-Australia ODI series? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji 's formula provides overwhelming evidence that the bat complete overwhelmed the bat.
'Rohit can bring a lot to the table.' 'And if he clicks, then imagine how strong our batting line-up will be.'
The maestro wants a repeat of the teamwork from the current pace battery.
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