Jasprit Bumrah has galloped 10 slots to return to the top 10 for bowlers with a match haul of 9/110 in the first Test against England at Nottingham.
The 40-year-old Pietersen said a win against India is similar to a victory against arch-rivals Australia and urged the selectors to play both Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the same XI.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the opening Ashes Test played between England and Australia at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against England?
'If England are not playing to win then these Ashes Tests are not that important. They are only exhibition matches. They have got it back to front. It is not about entertaining and then winning. It is about winning first.'
For Michael Vaughan, Pep Guardiola is the best sporting leader in the last 15 years and the former England skipper won't mind if Ben Stokes employs Manchester City manager's approach of never allowing players to take their places for granted.
Rohit Sharma has overtaken captain Virat Kohli to become the top-ranked Test batsman from India.
Images from Day 2 in the fifth Test between Australia and England, in Hobart, on Saturday.
India's pacemen produced a terrific display of swing bowling to crush England by 151 runs in the second Test at Lord's on Monday, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Buttler, Morgan's non-participation in remainder of IPL could save KKR, Royals the blushes
Ravindra Jadeja's batting average of 41.90 in away Tests in the last three years is the highest by an Indian batsman having played 10 innings or more. Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from Day 3 of the India-England Test at Trent Bridge.
Plucked from obscurity when called up by selectors on Christmas Eve, the 32-year-old Victoria paceman finished with outrageous innings figures of 6-7 in four overs, sending his home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into delirium.
A homophobic tweet dating back to 2010 from Jimmy Anderson has also emerged.
England pacer James Anderson said the hosts know Virat Kohli can be very "destructive" once he gets going so the wicket of India skipper was "extra special" for him on Wednesday.
The legendary Sachin Tendulkar says the current England team is in complete awe of India's world-class seam attack with only its skipper Joe Root looking capable of getting a big hundred.
England head coach Chris Silverwood on Sunday said "controlled aggression" contributed immensely to their series-levelling win against India in the third Test, days after the players had let their emotions get the better of them at the Lord's.
Rohit Sharma slammed his first Test hundred outside India -- a watchful innings 127 off 256 balls -- to put India in control on Day 3 of the fourth Test match against England.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Ashes Test played between Australia and England at the MCG on Tuesday.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the opening Ashes Test played between England and Australia at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Saturday.
England shot out India for a paltry 78 and cruised to 120 for no loss in their robust reply to take early control of the third Test at Headingley on Wednesday.
Images from Day 5 of the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Warner has also taken aim at his Ashes nemesis England veteran pacer Stuart Broad, implying that he will not be the force that derailed the opening batter's 2019 trip this time.
After England dominated the proceedings on Day 1 of the first Test at the Bay Oval, Tom Blundell struck a century to revive New Zealand's chances.
'It's similar to how it was with Sachin Tendulkar when he was playing. Even 95 was considered a failure.'
India skipper Virat Kohli backed under-fire wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, saying the team management will give him all the space that he needs in the last two Tests of the five-match series against England.
'When you bowl someone out for less than 100 you're never quite sure whether you've bowled well or if the wicket is not as good as you think it might be. To see both sides bat on it and see the way our openers went about their business just felt so calm.'
England face a rejuvenated Australian team who have turned day-night cricket into a competitive advantage, winning all eight of their Tests under lights dating back to the format's 2015 debut.
England's batting once again disappointed against Australia on Day 2 of the third Test
In all likelihood, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane would get another chance but over the past two years, his inconsistency has hurt this team badly.
The performance of openers Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul has been the biggest plus for India in the batting department. Both have showed remarkable temperament and technique in testing conditions to give the team a solid start.
As the prestigious Ashes gets underway, here's a look at the milestones that can be achieved.
England crushed India by an innings and 76 runs in the third Test which gave Joe Root his 27th win as captain in 55 Tests.
'I see it as an opportunity to move on. I am not thinking too much about pressure as at the end of the day, everyone is thinking good for the team. So we need to take everything on our chin rather than thinking about pressure.
An altercation between England's players and tail-enders Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah spurred India during the 60 available overs on the final day of the second Test, according to captain Virat Kohli. The visitors eventually got the job done in 51.5 overs as their pacers producing a high quality show to dismiss England for 120.
Usman Khawaja will replace Travis Head in Australia's middle order for this week's fourth Ashes Test against England in the only change to the side that wrapped up the series in Melbourne last week.
Meanwhile, each SA players have themselves to decide the gesture they want to perform to support the BLM movement on their tour to the West Indies.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test, is back in the mix as Shardul Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at Lord's on Monday.
Opener KL Rahul issued a stern warning to England that if their players try to sledge any Indian player then the remaining 10 will come hard at them, as was witnessed during the second Test at Lord's.
India opener Rohit Sharma has revealed that he has made some technical changes in his batting, like staying steady at the crease and playing the ball closer to his body, in his bid to be successful in the challenging English conditions.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Ashes Test played at the Gabba in Brisbane on Friday.
