Even as both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh have been making claims of bringing forward women in politics, the parties have allotted few tickets to them for the November 25 assembly elections.
A summary of the first day's play in the Ranji Trophy league matches at various venues.
After back-to-back losses against Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers eked out a seven-wicket win over table-toppers Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad and David Warner's men need another inspiring show.
Cheteshwar Pujara gained a spot to be the highest-ranked Indian batsman at seventh even as R Ashwin remained steady eighth in the bowlers' list of the latest ICC Test rankings released on Sunday.
Three persons were on Friday sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a court in Jaipur for raping a 20-year-old Japanese tourist on the Jaipur-Ajmer National Highway in February.
Skipper Manoj Tiwary and lower-order batsman Pankaj Shaw cracked individual hundreds but could not save Bengal from suffering a huge 355-run defeat against Madhya Pradesh in the five-day Ranji Trophy quarter-final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Starting the final day on 113 for 3 and chasing an improbable victory target of 788, Bengal were kept in the fight till the extended tea session by Tiwary (124), Shaw (118) and Ashok Dinda (52) before they folded up for 432. Lanky pacer Ishwar Pandey once again led the bowling honours for MP with a haul of 4 for 93 to add to his first innings tally of 4 for 45, while debutant pacer Chandrakant Sakure finished with a match haul of six wickets that included his second innings 3 for 114. MP, who thus recorded their second outright win over Bengal in nine outings in the tournament, now take on 40-time champions Mumbai in the five-day semi finals commencing at Cuttack on February 13.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim to stop a rampaging Rising Pune Supergiant when both teams meet in the Indian Premier League, on Saturday, in a bid to cement their place in the play-offs.
On a day dominated by pace bowlers from both sides, Madhya Pradesh held the upper hand over Bengal by taking a handsome first innings lead of 227 runs after skittling out the latter for a paltry 121 in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final, at the Brabourne Stadium, on Thursday.
Lack of intent in Daredevils players has been very surprising.
Ravichandran Ashwin has become the fastest Indian bowler to take bag hundred Test wickets during the second match against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's form will remain in focus when the struggling Rising Pune Supergiant square off against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune, on Saturday.
Daredevils can be the banana peel and Mumbai Indians will be wary after Chennai Super Kings slipped in their penultimate game. The last time the two teams faced off, the Daredevils won by seven wickets in a last-over thriller.
Silki Kumari ,Chanchal Kumar and Manish Kumar, just three of the dozens of children of Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, which is hit by an outbreak of encephalitis, have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help save their lives after 18 children died of the disease in the last few days.
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.
Delhi Daredevils paid the price for flawed team selection and poor fielding as Sunrisers Hyderabad pushed them towards exit door with a seven-wicket victory in an IPL encounter, in Hyderabad, on Saturday night.
Daredevils once again had a stop-start campaign in the ongoing IPL and are standing on the verge of yet another early elimination.
England's humiliating series defeat in India painfully exposed an alarming paucity in the side's slow bowling options and drove home the fact they will continue to struggle in South Asia until they unearth some world class spinners. Retired off-spinner Graeme Swann had bemoaned England's indifferent approach towards slow bowling before the five-match series started and his fears were confirmed after the touring side were handed a 4-0 drubbing.
In a flip-flop, the Election Commission on Friday said exit polls will be banned till May 16, the day of counting, but soon after clarified that the prohibition will be in place only till the end of the last phase of polling on May 12.
A look at this week's hits and misses.
Suresh Raina smashed an unbeaten half-century as Chennai Super Kings booked a berth in the second qualifier with a comfortable seven-wicket win over holders Mumbai Indians in the IPL eliminator in Mumbai on Wednesday.
As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
Robin Uthappa was elegance personified during his 52-ball 80 as he powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in Cuttack on Wednesday.
Skipper Dinesh Karthik will face a big test when a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with a resurgent Delhi Daredevils, led by double title winning former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, in a much-anticipated IPL clash, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Two Election Commission personnel were on Thursday beaten up while they were videographing a bike rally by Trinamool workers at Manikchak in Malda district, inviting the ire of the poll body which has directed authorities to initiate stern action against the accused and file a report on the incident.
Shane Watson claimed a hat-trick as Rajasthan Royals restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to a 134 for 9 in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Thursday. However, his effort was in vain as Hyderabad came back with a vengeance to dismiss the former champions for 102 and win by 32 runs for only their third victory this season.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians slumped to their fifth straight defeat, losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 15 runs in the Indian Premier League match, in Dubai, on Wednesday night.
A summary of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday
Everyone showered praise on UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for having provided unprecedented support to Nepal
Seamer Barinder Sran made his first outing in a Twenty20 International memorable, returning the best figures by an Indian debutant in the format as the visitors beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets, in Harare, on Monday.
Chasing an elusive dream of winning their first cricket Test in India, Sri Lanka will begin their gruelling tour with a two-day tour fixture against a depleted Board President's XI, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their title defence against a formidable Mumbai Indians side in the opening match of the eighth edition of Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Rain played spoilsport on the opening day, washing out more than two sessions, after India had recovered to 50 for two in their first innings in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, on Friday.
Photos from Day 3 of the third Test played between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday
Team Director Ravi Shastri says India needs the right balance and play proper cricket, like it did in the second Test, to wrap the Sri Lanka series.
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.
The spotlight will be on Test captain Virat Kohli as India 'A' go into the second and final unofficial Test against Australia A, starting in Chennai on Wednesday, looking to secure a win after drawing the first match last week.
ending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad cruised into the Indian Premier League play-offs with an easy eight-wicket victory over Gujarat Lions.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday.
A look at the hits and misses of the week.
