India are in sight of their first series triumph on Sri Lankan soil in 22 years, having reduced the hosts to 67 for 3 after setting them a daunting target of 386 in the third and final Test in Colombo on Friday.
A freak heel injury that was supposed to heal in three and half weeks took three and half months but Varun Aaron is back again raring to unleash his 140 plus thunderbolts as he gears up for another comeback to the India team.
India go into the quarter-final against their neighbours as favourites, but will certainly not take them too lightly, not wanting to suffer the same fate as they did in the 2007 edition.
For the Gujarat Lions to roar, their top-heavy batting order must first win in unison against a consistent KKR bowling attack.
Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell struck belligerent fifties after veteran Brad Hogg's four-wicket haul to help Kolkata Knight Riders return to winning ways with a seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling Indian Premier League match in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Title holders India are not among the front-runners to win the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, feels former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming.
Impressed with rookie Axar Patel's all-round performance in the One-Day International series against Sri Lanka, India's stand-in skipper Virat Kohli has hinted that the left-arm spinner could be preferred in the side for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's boys have eclipsed the India record by winning nine straight games in the World Cup, including four matches in the previous edition. Saturday's match against Zimbabwe provides them the opportunity.
India will aim to crush a gutsy Ireland in their penultimate group encounter.
Shikhar Dhawan feels India is "fortunate" that they have three options for the opening slot in him, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, which will help in gaining the much-needed consistency required at the top of the order, with the 50-overs World Cup just a few months away.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's late assault and some fine bowling by the spinners saw India crush West Indies by 93 runs in the third One-Day International at North Sound in Antigua, on Friday.
Shami's growth coincides with India's growth at CWC 2015.
A summary of the day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at different venues around the country.
Kolkata Knight Riders took a giant stride towards ensuring a play-off berth as they walloped Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets to take their winning streak to five matches in the seventh edition of IPL.
Sri Lanka look incapable of stopping India from winning a ninth to tie England and Australia for the record for most consecutive Test series wins
Glenn Maxwell fired Australia to their maiden T20 series win over India with a sensational hundred, overshadowing India captain Virat Kohli's special effort in the second and final T20 International, in Bengaluru.
Some teams have completely overhauled their squads. Others retained their core at the IPL Players Auction.
Kuldeep Yadav claimed six wickets while Rohit Sharma starred with the bat with an unbeaten century as India crushed England by eight wickets in the first ODI in Nottingham on Thursday.
Young opener Matt Renshaw (60) and experienced Shaun Marsh (66) battled hard against the Indian spinners and their fighting half-centuries consolidated Australia's position in the match but Virat Kohli's captaincy left a lot to be desired.
India last won a Test series in England in 2007 under Rahul Dravid, and it will be no easy task ahead of the Virat Kohli-led side to replicate that feat.
- 'If Kohli can bat as many overs as possible, it will be beneficial to the team' - 'Game-plan has to be complemented by performance'
Off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin produced one of his most impactful performance outside the sub-continent as India reduced England to 285 for nine on the opening day of the first Test in Birmingham, on Wednesday.
How India's players fared in Australia.
India's bowling woes dominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni's assessment of the ODI debacle.
Images from Saturday's IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai.
Joe Root hit his second successive century to power England to an eight-wicket victory against India, which helped them clinch the three-match series 2-1, in Headingley on Tuesday.
Dhawan, Pujara, Ashwin, Jadeja shone, but Pandya is the standout performer in the Sri Lanka series for Rediff.com's Harish Kotian.
Chasing a daunting target of 386, the hosts collapsed after skipper Angelo Mathews was dismissed for 110, his seventh Test century, and were dismissed for 268.
Virat Kohli held centrestage with a delightful unbeaten 85 after a collective bowling effort as India cruised to an easy six-wicket victory over New Zealand taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series in Dharamsala on Sunday. After bowling out New Zealand for 190 in 43.5 overs, India reached the target in a mere 33.1 overs in a match that turned out to be thoroughly one-sided.
Sanju Samson replaced Virat Kohli for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, while Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team.
Ajinkya Rahane paced his innings to perfection in the company of comeback man Robin Uthappa, as India cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a rain-truncated first One-Day International in Mirpur, on Sunday. Chasing a target of 273 in 50 overs, India were cruising at 100 for one in 16.4 overs when the heavens opened up, leading to play being stopped for nearly two hours.
Injuries have forced India to make changes to their winning combination. With Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha returning home, the visitors are likely to field a new combination.
Andre Russell smashed a breathtaking half-century while Ryan ten Doeschate struck a fine unbeaten 51 to guide Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a stunning seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
Captain Virat Kohli became the second fastest to 25 Test centuries before Usman Khawaja helped Australia extend their lead to 175 runs to give the hosts a slight upperhand at stumps on Day 3 in Perth on Sunday.
Virat Kohli battled hard in difficult circumstances, scoring 43 not out to guide India to 110 for five in 36 overs. The visitors need another 84 runs for victory with two day's play still left in the match.
Ravichandran Ashwin cast his web with a five-wicket haul but Bangladesh managed to hold on for a draw despite being asked to follow-on against India, in the rain-marred one-off Test in Fatullah, on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders spinners dominated to reduce Rising Pune Supergiants to 103/6 in 17.4 overs before rain stopped play in the Indian Premier League game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday. Both teams had to share a point each and as result of which KKR rises to third spot in the points table. Piyush Chawla claimed 2/21 and bowled 13 dot balls while Sunil Narine, who returned after two matches, gave away a miserly 10 runs from 3.4 overs as Pune Supergiants struggled to break free. Skipper MS Dhoni was in the midst of Pune's terrible struggle as he crawled to eight runs from 22 balls. Pune were however looking good at 70/3 and when Dhoni walked in they were 74/4 in 10.3 overs but by the time the rain interrupted the proceedings their run-rate had slipped to less than six.
India started their limited-overs tour of Australia on a positive note, comprehensively beating a second-string Western Australia XI by 74 runs in a Twenty20 warm-up game on Friday with Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan striking fluent half-centuries.
Still licking their wounds after a sound thrashing in the lung opener, India will have to regroup quickly and fortify the chinks in their armoury when they take on a determined West Indies in the second One-Day International in Delhi on Saturday.
With no team as yet assured of a last four play-off berth, Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Wasim Akram described this Indian Premier League (IPL) season as the most interesting in its eight-year history.
