The new red-soil pitch at Chepauk perfectly aligned with Indian team's vision to give more practice to their pacers ahead of the all-important tour to Australia.
India produced their own version of 'Bazball' to squeeze out a remarkable seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh from a seemingly dead Test match en route to a 2-0 series sweep on Tuesday.
'When we go to Australia, they play India only at five Test centres. They don't play us in Canberra. They don't play us at any of the other venues where they won't be very familiar with the conditions. So do England'
Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed on Friday admitted that losing too many wickets in the first 10 overs of their first innings against "world class" Indian bowlers has put his side on the backfoot in the opening Test against India in Chennai.
Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday said he has liberated himself from the clutches of external and internal pressure, and now he is just looking to play cricket "with a smile on face."
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon termed Indian players as superstars' while hoping to revive his on-field rivalry with India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
After many episodes of concussion, Will Pucovski's career comes to premature end at 26. He was once seen as the future of Australian batting.
'Unless you're part of a winning team, you'll never truly grasp the sheer exhilaration and meaning behind this victory.'
'Every game that he has been part of, where India has won across formats, you will see that Bumrah has left a big imprint on that game.'
'We started AgniKul to show that space transportation should be as simple as road transportation.'
India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was ruled out of the upcoming Duleep Trophy because of illness.
Hanuma Vihari, part of India's back to back series wins in Australia, reckons the services of veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara will be be dearly missed when the team aims for a hat-trick Down Under later this year.
Dhoni's only advice to Ashwin was to keep reinventing himself.
Morne Morkel isn't here to shake things up. He sees the Indian cricket system as a well-oiled machine, and his goal is to help it run even smoother.
Ashwin spoke about his early days in the IPL and how the event exceeded all expectations.
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between India and England in Visakhapatnam on Monday.
How India's players fared in the Bangladesh Test series.
A key moment that is being anticipated in this series is Ashwin touching 500 Test wickets and becoming only second Indian and ninth overall bowler to do so.
'If a franchise has released a player because they don't see him in their top four or five, then what gives them the right to jump in during an auction?'
The Duleep Trophy wwould have given the senior duo much-needed match practice ahead of the Bangladesh Test series next month, believes Sunil Gavaskar.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the first Test between India and Bangladesh, played in Chennai, on Friday.
India's star batters have lost a lot of confidence over the years by playing on rank turners, with their home averages taking a beating and affecting their careers adversely, feels former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between India and New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Saturday.
The four wickets that India prised out in the third session, on balance, swung the game back in their favour, says Prem Panicker .
India's 106 run victory over England in the second Test match at Visakhapatnam impressed the cricket fraternity.
India captain Rohit Sharma is confident that his team will bounce back from the eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru.
'What is the use of talent if that player plays so many Tests and averages below 35 after a few years of being in the Indian team?'
'He's got a pretty good record against Indian batsmen (123 wickets in 28 Tests versus India).' 'In India too he has a great record (56 wickets in 11 Tests in India), that is a pretty good record against a country that traditionally plays spin very well.'
Sanju Samson's entertaining half-century went in vain as Rajasthan Royals suffered a 20-run defeat against Delhi Capitals.
Ravichandran Ashwin is the only bowler in the history of Test cricket to claim a five-wicket haul in both his debut and 100th Test match.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Test played between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru, on Friday.
So, what are the options that India can look forward to?
Ashwin also acknowledged the hard work done by Dravid during his stint as India coach, saying he brought balance to the team and change in approach.
'That's why he didn't bowl as well as he could have bowled.'
Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed spun a web around Rajasthan Royals' batters to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to an emphatic 36-run victory.
Images from Day 3 of the fifth and final Test between India and England in Dharamsala on Saturday.
India's batting is a major concern with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggling for runs ahead of the tour of Australia.
'It was during Covid that Ashwin realised that family can also be a part of his life. So he expanded a little bit to give us space which gave him more happiness and stability to deal with a lot of things on the field. That is why he has had a detached attachment over the last few years.'
Lying in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a Chennai hospital, Chitra Ravichandran was slipping in and out of consciousness but she had just one query for her son Ravichandran Ashwin when she saw him by her bedside -- "Why did you come?"
The biggest challenge for the New Zealand batters on their upcoming Test tour of India will be picking the turning ball and more so the odd one that skids through, reckons former Black Caps opener Martin Guptill.
