A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
India return to place from where journey to glory began.
The celebrated duo of head coach Ricky Ponting and mentor Sourav Ganguly has managed to instill belief in the team members and that is visible on the field. The team now seems to believe that it can win the title after a long spell as the perennial underachiever of the competition.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels the team needs a 'brave' bunch of youngsters going forward.
The maestro wants a repeat of the teamwork from the current pace battery.
Mominul spoke about how temperament has become a big factor.
Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir asked the Indian selectors to have a word with veteran wicketkeeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni regarding his future plans.
While T20 is primarily a batsmen-dominated format, the bowlers have evolved over the years and left a mark with their clever innovations.
What went wrong for India in the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand?
"Every match is important and poses a different challenge, there's nothing like preparation. We will go match by match. If we do better here then we will think of the SA series," he said.
Former South African fast bowler Fanie De Villiers has praised Mohammed Shami as India's best Test bowler and added that the Proteas could easily fit him in their highly-competitive pace attack.
Hardik Pandya's back injury restricted his role with the ball. Thakur has certainly made a case for himself.
'Look, at the end of the day, it is the same pitch for both teams but if you would have asked me, would I have wanted to play Sunrisers on that type of pitch? I mean, there couldn't have been a different wicket where you would have wanted to play Sunrisers on'
Kings XI Punjab will once again be facing a 'do-or-die' situation during their penultimate round encounter against table toppers Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara guided India to 87 for one to leave the first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland delicately poised at the end of a tumultuous third day.
Paceman Kane Richardson claimed his maiden five-wicket haul to script India's spectacular collapse and bowl Australia to a 25-run victory in the high-scoring fourth one day international on Wednesday. Three batsmen struck centuries in the 671-run match between the world's top two one-day teams but it was Richardson's (5-68) incisive bowling that clinched the contest, while also earning him the man-of-the-match award. Chasing 349 for victory, India were cruising at 277 for one before losing their last nine wickets for 46 runs to succumb to their fourth successive defeat in the five-match series. Opener Shikhar Dhawan (126) and Virat Kohli (106) featured in a 212-run stand for the visitors before the wheels came off India's chase at Canberra's Manuka Oval.
Remember Yuvi's 6 sixes in an over in the first World T20?
Pick your Playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand.
An upbeat Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to carry on their winning momentum to book a berth in the play-offs when they take on an equally-keen Royal Challengers Bangalore in a crucial IPL match at Uppal, in Hyderabad, on Friday.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored a sparkling unbeaten 135 as India took a stranglehold over South Africa in the first Test in Johannesburg on Friday. The top-order displayed remarkable application on Day 3, as the tourists, after dismissing the hosts for 244 in the first innings, swelled their overall lead to 320.
Delhi Capitals has been the worst hit by the injuries
It is an perfect stage for India's mercurial skipper Virat Kohli, who loves to bring his A game to the fore when the chips are down.
Kolkata Knight Riders will have no margin for error when they take on hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad, who will fancy their chances despite coming off a defeat, in the Indian Premier League match in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Images from Saturday's IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Sharjah.
Despite doing well over the last three years, Umesh is not a sure starter in the playing eleven considering the competition which has gotten stiffer with the emergence of Mohammad Siraj.
India speedster Mohammed Shami says he watched videos of rival pacers Stuart Broad and James Anderson to understand how to exploit English conditions and has learnt to make an impact while bowling in away series.
Starting January 24, India will be playing five T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Test matches, and squads for the tour will be picked on Sunday.
Ahead of the first Test between India and England in Rajkot, Rajneesh Gupta looks at the two teams and their numbers.
A dominant India bulldozed Bangladesh by an innings and 46 runs in their first ever day-night Test with the pink ball to record their 12th home series win in a row.
Who do you think should feature in India's playing XI for the first Test against New Zealand starting in Wellington from Friday?
Delhi Capitals have made the perfect start to IPL, with two morale-boosting victories, while SunRisers Hyderabad are the only side yet to register a win in the tournament, having lost both their games.
'Someone's got to do it and I might put my hand up. It's part of the game and what happened the other day with Shane (Watson) and Wahab (Riaz) was exceptional'
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and New Zealand, in Kanpur, on Friday.
Images from Day 1 in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Sunday
Crediting Test captain Virat Kohli for backing him as a frontline tweaker, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that the young cricket leader has always helped his teammates cross barriers.
Led by aggressive Australian opener David Warner, Sunrisers would be relying mostly on foreigners to deliver the goods, given the scarcity of local stars in their ranks.
If India goes on to win the inaugural ICC World Test Championship title, it could prove to be the watershed moment for the revival of the longest format just like the 2007 World T20 triumph did for the popularity of the shortest format, said Cheteshwar Pujara.
Images from Day 2 of the third Test between England and India, at Headingley, Leeds, on Thursday.
Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming lauds the showing Chennai Super Kings players Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma and Suresh Raina at the ongoing World Cup
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