Virender Sehwag celebrated his international retirement with a scintillating ton for Haryana as Jayant Yadav also joined the century-makers' list to help the side post 319 for eight on a dramatic Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy cricket league match against Karnataka on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians head coach Ricky Ponting believes his team must start with a fresh mindset and ignore the tag of 'reigning champions' ahead of the first game of the Indian Premier League 2016. Mumbai play the IPL 9 opener against state-rivals Rising Pune Giants at the Wankhede Stadium on April 9. "It doesn't really matter what happened last year now, it's about us putting together a competitive team and making sure were ready to go for the first game," Ponting told cricket.com.au from the Mumbai Indians training camp. "We thought they were ready to go for the first game last year but it took a little while for us to click into gear." Last year Mumbai only managed one win from the first six games before dramatically turning around their fortunes to clinch the title. But this time around Ponting is keen for the team to get off to a better start, and well aware that aim will be made all the more difficult given other teams will be analysing his squad more closely as defending champions.
India's batting woes in South Africa continued as the visitors folded up for 187 on Day 1.
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.
India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday questioned his team's commitment after the series loss to South Africa, saying that the repeated fielding mistakes and soft dismissals by the batsmen were simply unacceptable.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah produced his career-best spell in first-class cricket as Gujarat staged a sensational comeback to beat Jharkhand by 123 runs and reach their second ever final of the Ranji Trophy cricket Tournament. Bumrah finished with figures of six for 29 and alongside veteran pacer R P Singh plotted the downfall of Jharkhand, who were skittled out for 111 in their second innings after being set a target of 235 runs on day four of the semifinal.
Left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil registered his best first-class bowling figures to put defending champions Mumbai in firm control against Hyderabad in the quarterfinal of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament in Raipur on Monday. Gohil picked up five wickets giving away just 28 runs from his 10 overs to reduce Hyderabad to 121 for seven while chasing 232 runs for an outright win at stumps on the fourth and penultimate day of the match. Besides Gohil, Abhishek Nayar (2/27) picked up two wickets for the 41-time winners.
Chasing a victory target of 159, Mumbai achieved the target in 18.4 overs with youngster Nitish Rana scoring 45 and veteran keeper Parthiv Patel scoring 39 off 24 balls.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Sunday
'The impact Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, Mayank Markande, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar had on the IPL not only won hearts, but also the approval of the selectors,' says Ayaz Memon.
Two-time former champions and the most consistent team of the season, Chennai Super Kings will lock horns with late bloomers Mumbai Indians in a high-voltage Indian Premier League summit clash in Kolkata, bringing the 47-day T20 extravaganza to a relatively controversy-free end.
Even on paper, there is not much to choose, especially with Pune beating MI thrice this season including a comprehensive victory in Qualifier 1. But a impressive show by Mumbai in the final cannot be ruled out.
Kings XI Punjab put the brakes on their summer of discontent as they notched up a convincing seven-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan came up with stellar bowling display to help Mumbai Indians defend a modest score and beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 20 runs in their Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium.
Mumbai Indians would look to bounce back when they take on a formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The Pune outfit is presently languishing at the sixth spot in the eight-team standings with just four points.
Nearly 4,000 doctors have been on strike in various government and municipal hospitals since Monday demanding security at work place in the wake of a string of attacks on their colleagues.
The doctors have been protesting against some recent incidents, including in Dhule and at the civic-run Sion hospital in Mumbai, where relatives of patients attacked the respective doctors in-charge.
A round-up of results from the matches played at the Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 cricket tournament across the country.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played across India on Tuesday
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players in IPL 10, after Wednesday's Eliminator game.
Captain Virat Kohli scored a record-breaking fourth double hundred as India's batsmen came up with a dominating performance to pile up a massive 687 for 6 declared on the second day of the one-off Test against Bangladesh, in Hyderabad.
'On one hand, three in-form openers is a healthy problem of plenty.' 'On the other, you just don't know whom to pick, and whether the selection sits well with the conditions and opposition on offer,' says Chetan Narula.
Needing 95 to win, Delhi knocked off the runs in 14.1 overs with Unmukt Chand hitting 51 off 41 balls, striking 9 fours and a six, while skipper Gautam Gambhir's 44 ball 45 had seven fours.
On a roll after a poor start, Delhi Daredevils will look to complete a hat-trick of victories on home turf when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League encounter, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to pull out all stops to prevent the Mumbai Indians juggernaut.
India made a strong reply with the bat after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up yet another five-wicket haul as the hosts reached 146 for one on the second day of the fourth Test against England in Mumbai, on Friday.
Indian batsmen, including flamboyant and in-form skipper Virat Kohli, were made to toil hard before Ravichandran Ashwin's counter-attacking 57 enabled the hosts to reach 271/6 at stumps on the second day of the third cricket Test against England on Sunday.
Chennai Super Kings pace spearhead Ashish Nehra said dismissing Rohit Sharma, when the Mumbai Indians' skipper was poised for a late assault, proved crucial in his side's six-wicket triumph over the home side in Friday night's IPL match in Mumbai.
Openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum shared a breathtaking 109-run stand off 44 balls as Chennai Super Kings outplayed Mumbai Indians by six wickets to maintain their unbeaten run in the IPL.
For captain Rohit Sharma, leading Mumbai Indians to the IPL title for a record third time ranks as one of the biggest achievements of his career so far.
Buoyed by their thrilling last-ball win against Delhi Daredevils, a confident Rajasthan Royals will take on a beleaguered Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League cricket encounter in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after game 47 of IPL 10.
Hardik Pandya staged a late assault to help Mumbai Indians pull off a thrilling four-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders for their first win in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Sunday.
A clinical performance by the Sunrisers Hyderabad top-order ensured a seven-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore which kept them in the hunt for the Play-offs in the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League in Uppal on Tuesday.
Kings XI Punjab continued their winning streak with a facile five-wicket victory to strengthen their position at the top of the heap as Royal Challengers Bangalore were left licking their wounds after yet another loss in the ongoing Indian Premier League in Dubai on Monday.
Delhi Daredevils defeated Mumbai Indians by 10 runs in their IPL match at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
David Warner played a captain's knock, smashing an unbeaten 90 runs off 59 balls to power the Sunrisers Hyderabad to a 7-wicket convincing victory against defending champions Mumbai Indians on Monday. Chasing a modest 143-run target, the Sunrisers chased the target with 15 balls to spare in Hyderabad. The Sunrisers have recorded their first points in the points table of IPL 9, while MI have now lost three out of their last four games.
Mumbai Indians need to rethink their strategy; Narine boost for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Spoilt for choice with a pool of top quality performers in their ranks, formidable India are overwhelming favourites against minnows Bangladesh in a proverbial 'David vs Goliath' one-off cricket Test that starts in Hyderabad on Thursday.
