Successful in keeping opponents and vitriol at bay so far, India will have to rise above traditional bugbear New Zealand and a rigmarole of emotions surrounding stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to reclaim the Champions Trophy after 12 years in Dubai on Sunday.
A spectacular seven-wicket haul by Mitchell Santner helped New Zealand dismiss India for 156 before the tourists reached 198-5 at stumps on day two of the second test in Pune on Friday to tighten their grip on the three-match series.
Images from the FA Cup semi-final between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa at Wembley stadium, London, on Saturday.
Michael Bracewell, who was one of the main performers for New Zealand in the Champions Trophy, will lead the side in the absence of Mitchell Santner.
The Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals will hope their struggling bowling units can find their form on an Ahmedabad pitch that has produced high scores in the last four matches.
The Capitals sit pretty at the top with 10 points from six games, while the Titans trail close behind with eight from as many outings.
New South Wales and South Australia will play a Sheffield Shield match in honour of Phillip Hughes near to the former Test batsman's home next year.
Reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders will hope that their strife-ridden batting unit will tighten its act against in-form table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the IPL match in Kolkata on Monday.
India were still staring at a daunting challenge despite a much more assured performance in their second innings, trailing by 125 runs at the close with Sarfaraz Khan on 70 not out after Virat Kohli fell for the same score on the day's final ball.
Kamindu Mendis maintained his red-hot form and struck a majestic 114 to power Sri Lanka to 302/7 on the opening day of the first Test.
Henry's exceptional spell of 5 for 42 in eight overs played a crucial role in restricting India to 249/9 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's bowling unit will face a different challenge when they take on Gujarat Titans in an IPL match on Wednesday.
The issue has gained attention after Musk launched a series of attacks on Keir Starmer regarding the issue on his platform X.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy justified his selection with a five-wicket haul and bowled India to a 44-run victory against New Zealand.
With 288 runs at a strike rate of 225, Nicholas Pooran is the top run-getter in IPL 2025, while Mohammed Siraj has been brilliant in Powerplay overs with 10 wickets in five games.
Seamers Ben Sears, Nathan Smith and Will O'Rourke will play their first global tournament at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates next month after being named in the New Zealand squad on Sunday.
India's pace talisman Jasprit Bumrah's absence will certainly hurt India, but the team's quality batting and spin bowling make them title contenders alongside South Africa and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy.
'October end, during a checkup for an autoimmune thing I got a shock diagnosis: a routine scan revealed a small malignant tumour in the kidney. Utter bolt from the blue.'
'We'll be putting our thinking caps on how to nullify that threat while still scoring runs against him.'
New Zealand's bowlers exploited the favorable conditions at the Wankhede Stadium, decimating India's top order in the early overs.
Australia's players wore black armbands during the second Pink-ball Test against India in Adelaide on Friday in memory of former cricketers Phillip Hughes and Ian Redpath.
New Zealand made a strong start to their bid for a consolation victory in the third and final Test against England at Hamilton's Seddon Park on Saturday, reaching lunch on the opening day on 93 without loss.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between India and New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday.
While this may not secure qualification outright, it would certainly keep them in contention. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead drew inspiration from the inaugural WTC cycle in 2019-21, when New Zealand won six consecutive matches enroute to securing the title.
England took charge of the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday, riding Harry Brook's 171 to a first-innings lead of 151 before reducing the Black Caps to 155/6 on Day 3.
New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson said his side have every chance of derailing India in a major final once again.
From Saif Ali Khan's sabse bada beta's streaming debut to how to make potstickers with Prince Charles' chhoti bahu, it's all there on OTT this week.
Cricket Australia has commissioned an independent review into the cause and circumstances of last year's death of Test batsman Phillip Hughes in a bid to prevent anything similar happening in the future.
A Canberra-based singer/song writer Jack Biilmann has paid a musical tribute to the late Phillip Hughes, releasing a track called 'Forever Unbeaten'.
A confident New Zealand side will be eager to seal a semi-final spot when they take on Bangladesh, who will be fighting for survival, in their Champions Trophy Group A match in Rawalpindi on Monday.
Allowing India to play all their matches in Dubai robbed Pakistan of the honour of hosting the final and disrupted the schedule of the knockout matches.
'So there was some good fight there and they got some rewards late in the day. So yeah, I think both teams will be pleased with their efforts.'
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Test played between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru, on Friday.
Gus Atkinson took a hat-trick as England stayed on course for a dominant victory in the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday, reaching 378 for 5 at the close of play on Day 2 with an imposing lead of 533.
New Zealand beat India by 25 runs in Mumbai to complete an unprecedented 3-0 series sweep in India.
New Zealand booked their place in the final of the Champions Trophy against India after a 50-run victory over South Africa.
The result meant that defending champions Pakistan joined Bangladesh in being knocked out of the tournament after losing their opening two matches against New Zealand and India.
Images from Day 2 of the 3rd Test played between India and New Zealand, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Nancy Talbot fondly recalls her late father Phillips Talbot's India connection. Aziz Haniffa listens in
India's Ankita Raina on Friday won her maiden WTA title as she and her Russian partner Kamilla Rakhimova clinched the doubles event in the Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne.
