Moeen Ali made a superb century to lift England to 328 all out after Pakistan had taken four early wickets on the first day of the final Test at The Oval on Thursday.
A look back at a few memorable showdowns in the last decade and half that had the quintessential crests and troughs of Test cricket.
'We obviously want to wheel him in, but we also want to respect where his body's at, and on the basis of that, we just felt that it wasn't worth including him in the squad.'
Former World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh led the accolades, hailing the team's 'serious temperament' and singling out the standout performers who defied the odds.
England's Alastair Cook fell short of a dream farewell century as India's bowlers roared back to leave the hosts reeling on 198-7 at stumps on Day 1 of the fifth and final Test at The Oval on Friday.
In a week's time, Arshdeep will be operating with a white ball in the Asia Cup in the UAE.
"Came here to give myself every chance to play just as batter": Stokes after being ruled out of Oval Test
Yash Dhull smashed his way to 92 but Vidarbha bowling unit proved too good for Rest of India as they comfortably won the Irani Cup by 93 runs in Nagpur on Sunday.
Prasidh Krishna has the ability to bowl "magic balls" and the pacer needs to be given an extended run to serve India for a long time, said bowling coach Morne Morkel in London on Sunday.
As England and India gear up for the final showdown in the five-match series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, former England speedster Stuart Broad feels the hosts should make some changes to their Playing XI and rest tearaway Jofra Archer.
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
Siraj, who now leads the wicket-takers' chart in the series with 18 scalps, showcased his control and Aaron particularly highlighted the use of his signature delivery.
Pumped up they might be but the Australians will not go into the deciding fifth Ashes Test seeking revenge for the 2005 series defeat against England, insists skipper Ricky Ponting.
Alastair Cook marked The Oval's 100th Test match with a familiarly stubborn unbeaten half-century, standing firm as the home side battled to 149 for four against South Africa at tea on an absorbing first day of the third Test on Thursday.
Rishabh Pant fractured a toe in his right foot after he missed the reverse sweep off England pacer Chris Woakes on the opening day of the fourth Test on Wednesday.
Injuries prevented Archer appearing in subsequent Ashes series but the 30-year-old is now fit and firing and will be part of England's high-octane pace attack that many think could power them to a first series win in Australia since 2010-11.
India, Australia and England are likely to be joined by South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the top division, while Pakistan, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland will be placed in the second division.
He has since returned for key assignments, including the 2022 T20 World Cup victory and both the Ashes and ODI World Cup campaigns in 2023.
Stokes, the leading wicket-taker of the series with 17 scalps, will be a mere spectator at The Oval, robbing the series finale of his charismatic on-field presence.
The Proteas arrive high on confidence, having fought out a hard-earned 1-1 draw in Pakistan last month under challenging conditions.
After hundreds upon hundreds of runs on flat tracks in the ongoing series so far, it took the green top at The Oval to finally produce the best day of the Indian summer, on the fifth and last Friday of the Test series.
'Rohit told Yashasvi it was because of Mumbai cricket that he went on to play for India.'
The problem with Surya has been his limited range of strokes and always trying to play behind the square using the pace and bounce of the deliveries
England batsman Gary Ballance rued not scoring another hundred against India in the fifth and final Test at the Oval while praising team-mate Joe Root for countering the visitors' fightback on Day 2.
Washington Sundar enhanced his reputation as a T20 hitter with India batting in top gear through the innings to comfortably chase down a target of 187 for a series levelling five-wicket win over Australia.
With two Tests left, India trailing the five-match series 1-2, and Bumrah available for only one of them, Panesar feels India needs to go all out in Manchester next week.
The match-winning haul at Edgbaston holds a special place for pacer Akash Deep.
The five-match Test series will take place from June 20 to August 4, with matches scheduled at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's and The Oval (London), and Old Trafford (Manchester).
After a poor show by the lower-order batters in the first Leeds Test, Team India scripted a memorable comeback at Birmingham - one for the history books
Siraj, Krishna, Akash Shine as India's Pace Future Takes Shape
Will Sai Sudarshan or Abhimanyu Easwaran bat at No. 3?
India skipper Shubman Gill on Wednesday said that levelling the five-match Test series in England would be a "great achievement" and he would return from his first assignment as captain a lot wiser.
Swing bowler Jacob Duffy took 4/35 as New Zealand cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over West Indies in the fifth and final Twenty20 International in Dunedin on Thursday, clinching the series 3-1.
Jamie Overton returns to the Test line-up for the first time since earning his sole cap against New Zealand at Headingley in June 2022.
The opening day drew more than 50,000 fans making it the fourth highest attendance ever for a day of Test cricket at the Adelaide Oval.
Rishabh Pant is closing in on a return to competitive cricket, with a BCCI fitness clearance expected by October 10, nearly two months after a foot injury sidelined him during India's England tour.
The matter of Bumrah's availability for the series should have been a highly-guarded secret. That it was bandied about all through suggests the matter was deliberately placed in the public domain. This has become the basis of the hounding of Bumrah, by some former players and fans, asserts Rohit Mahajan.
Seamer Deepesh Devendran impressed with a five-wicket haul to help India Under-19 bowl out Australia U-19 for 243, on Day 1 of the first Youth Test.
Siraj has now taken 202 wickets in 101 international matches at an average of 29.06 and an economy of 4.11.
Jofra Archer could return for second Test against India: England national selector Wright
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances