The home team's bowlers will be wary of Chris Gayle's power-hitting.
Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said Pakistan Babar Azam, who is a big fan of Virat Kohli, should learn to play like his "idol" and convert good starts into big knocks by adapting to match situations the way the Indian captain does.
England set a world record by naming an unchanged team for Thursday's first Test against South Africa at Lord's -- their sixth match in a row with the same XI.
Fast bowling all-rounder Doug Bracewell on Saturday admitted that New Zealand felt the heat after Mumbai hammered 402 on day two of their only warm-up match in New Delhi on Saturday. Mumbai ended the day at 431 for five in reply to New Zealand's 324 for seven declared on the opening day.
The match was abandoned at tea on the third and final day at Dunedin's University Oval because of rain with neither side in a position to push for a win.
Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen both scored half centuries to inch England into a slight second-innings lead against a New Zealand Selection XI on the second day of their tour match in Dunedin on Friday. Strauss, who was dropped from the England side and took up a short-term contract with New Zealand first-class side Northern Districts to play himself back into form, was 55 not out with his team 155 for three when bad light forced players off the field.
New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori confirmed what many expected in announcing his retirement.
The former Kiwi ace picked Wasim Akram as the greatest bowler and Ian Botham the greatest all-rounder.
'I had got good feedback from the New Zealand series and the Indian team coaches had also said look to work on these things. So, whatever they had said, we worked on it and it is reaping benefits today.'
Sri Lanka produced a near flawless performance in Dharamsala and captain Thisara Perera is expecting an encore from his team in the second ODI to win a maiden series in India.
He will have to fight it out with the in-form KL Rahul and a solid Murali Vijay for one of the opening slots in the playing XI of the Test team but Shikhar Dhawan terms the competition "good for Indian cricket" and finds "nothing wrong with it". "I am aware that there could be three players for two (opening) spots. But there is nothing wrong in it. In fact it is good for Indian cricket. To have healthy competitions among players for places in the team is good for Indian cricket and the game in general.
What makes these players such hot properties at the IPL Players Auction?
Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
Table-toppers Mumbai Indians are on course to make it to the play-offs but the game is crucial for Rajasthan, who are languishing in seventh place. Defeat would mean a step closer to elimination.
Shikhar Dhawan's injury has unintentionally forced India to go for a tactical rejig despite convincing victories in the first two games against South Africa and Australia.
Joining in the opposition's criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after India failed in its bid to clinch Nuclear Suppliers Group membership, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday took a dig at the PM calling it a "failed diplomacy".
Delhi Capitals have never reached the IPL final, never made the top-two, and ventured into the top-four for the first time since 2012.
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson informed that pacer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar all set to miss IPL encounter against Mumbai Indians, on Tuesday.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson enjoyed a return to form but his Hyderabad Sunrisers were left sweating on their Indian Premier League play-off hopes after a four-wicket loss to the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday.
India also play a one-day tri-series involving New Zealand on their tour of Zimbabwe starting later this month.
Rajasthan Royals, struggling at the penultimate spot on the points table after two wins and four straight defeats, need something special against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sunday's IPL match in Dubai.
The Committee of Administrators (COA) on Friday assured that all six north eastern states will be playing Ranji Trophy as individual units next season with Board of Control for Cricket in India GM (Game Development), Ratnakar Shetty, given charge of their smooth integration.
Stephen Fleming rued that their batsmen let it 'slip' despite having so much resources.
Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Daniel Vettori claimed his team is pretty well equipped to handle Kings XI Punjab batsman Chris Gayle's explosive batting because they are aware of his strengths.
'It's going to be a great game, probably the game of the tournament.'
Pant had so far scored 222 runs in the IPL compared to a mere 93 by Karthik, but the latter's experience helped tilt the scale in his favour for the mega-event, starting in England from May 30.
Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a double setback ahead of the eighth season of the Indian Premier League when New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and Australia's Chris Lynn were ruled out of the forthcoming T20 tournament with injuries.
Asked for China's comments on India not joining the RCEP deal over concern of cheap Chinese products potentially harming its domestic industry, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told the media in Beijing on Tuesday that China welcomes India joining the deal.
Jadhav, who also played a significant role in the ODI series decider against Australia in Melbourne, said that everyone is trying to put their best foot forward and grab that spot in the UK bound squad.
Injured New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson joined the Mumbai Indians squad at its optional practice session in Mumbai on the eve of their crucial Indian Premier League match against Delhi Daredevils at the Wankhede Stadium, on Monday.
Wriddhiman Saha's father is ensuring that India's most technically accomplished wicketkeeper's hand-eye co-ordination remains top notch.
Indian team director Ravi Shastri also made it clear that Shami will figure in the playing XI during the two warm-up games against West Indies (in Kolkata, on Thursday) and South Africa in Mumbai on March 12 in order to assess his fitness.
Hardly challenged in a dominating run this season, India once again start as overwhelming favourites when they take on an inconsistent-but-gritty New Zealand in a three-match One-Day International series, starting in Mumbai, on Sunday.
India captain Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah were the only two Indians who found a place in Wisden's T20 International team of the decade, which didn't feature ex-skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Australia's limited overs captain Aaron Finch was named captain of the team, which has two more Australian in Shane Watson and Glenn Maxwell, two England cricketers -- Jos Buttler and David Willey, two Afghanistan all-rounders -- Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, and New Zealand's Colin Munro and Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga.
The left-arm spinner is two victims shy of joining an elite club of 11 bowlers with 300 wickets in one-day internationals. Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan heads the list on 534.
India's stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir did not disclose the XI but gave enough indications that he would not make wholesome changes to the squad that will take on New Zealand in the opening one-dayer of the five-match series, in Guwahati on Sunday.
Asked if the team management was looking at the workload of skipper M S Dhoni given that he had to take rest in the middle of the tournament due to back spasm, Fleming said: "We look at workload of the players just because we are little bit older than the other teams, so we are always monitoring that."
Kings XI Punjab skipper George Bailey rued making changes to the batting order, saying it played a part in their defeat to Rajasthan Royals in Friday night's IPL match in Pune.
In striking form against Australia recently and in the ongoing series in New Zealand, and with his recent appointment as captain of the Kings XI Punjab team, 2020 looks like the year K L Rahul delivers on his promise.
Will Ravi Shastri be retained or will the BCCI opt for a new face?
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances