India have long curated home tracks that accentuate turn, but the assumption their own batters would master such conditions no longer appears safe following their defeat in the opening Test against South Africa.
India will look to reprise their home template of big first-innings totals and sustained spin in the short two-Test series against South Africa beginning in Kolkata on Friday.
Dhoni and Sangakkara, two contemporaries who relentlessly stayed in contention for the number one spot during their era, went head-to-head in the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Pant picked up the injury on the opening day of the Old Trafford Test when he attempted a reverse sweeps against Chris Woakes. Despite the injury, the following day he returned to bat and scored a fighting half-century.
Jurel's consistent batting has made him a strong contender for a place in the playing XI as a specialist batter.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
Pant's gritty fifty keeps India A together in chase of 275
A record-extending 52nd ODI century by Virat Kohli and a rapid 57 from Rohit Sharma paved the way for India's victory in the series-opener in Ranchi.
Images from Day 1 of the second Test between India and South Africa, in Guwahati, on Saturday.
South Africa pulled off a sensational victory inside three days of the opening Test against India on Sunday and the manner of it would go a long way in silencing those who doubted their credentials as the reigning world test champions.
Sometimes you back your plans but execution doesn't go your way: Washington
'When you are playing on spin-friendly pitches, you need to prepare differently.'
The focus is to bring momentum back into the Indian dressing room: Morne Morkel
Traditionally carved from top-quality willow, famous bat-makers, source the bulk of their willow wood from Kashmir.
Former India batter Suresh Raina has backed under-fire national head coach Gautam Gambhir, saying the team's recent poor run in home Tests cannot be attributed to the support staff, as players must shoulder responsibility for the results.
'It (the pitch) wasn't free-flowing. You felt comfortable, but the scoreboard wasn't going anywhere.'
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
Application required in Test cricket was missing, says Kumble after India's batting collapse
'I definitely believe the kind of form he is in, the way he is batting, it will strengthen the Indian batting line-up.'
Not handing the ball to lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah to start the third day's play on a challenging Eden Gardens surface was "questionable", said the legendary Anil Kumble.
Marco Jansen demolished the Indian batting line-up with a six-wicket haul before South Africa extended their lead on Day 3 of the second and final Test.
After bowling out SA A for 309, overnight 299/9, in the first session, India succumbed to their own waywardness, and the relentlessness of off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen (5/61), to concede an innings lead of 75.
K L Rahul on Saturday conceded that Indian batters' repeated struggles against spin, especially on home tracks, remain a concern.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar lauded wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant's fearless batting approach and natural talent, recalling how Ashish Nehra had predicted the youngster's rapid rise.
South Africa will aim for their first Test victory in India in more than 15 years.
Rishabh Pant posted a heartfelt message for Chris Woakes, who had left him with a severe injury during the fifth Test in Manchester early this year.
Ravichandran Ashwin exposed India batters' lack of quality to battle ball tweakers by claiming that if legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar or past domestic heroes Amol Muzumdar, the India women's team head coach and Mithun Manhas had played against spinners on such a track, the Test would have gone to four days, unlike India's harrowing 30-run defeat against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
The star cricketer shared photographs of him having a haircut under a tree, one of his favourite childhood memories.
With Bumrah leading the charge, India prised out five wickets in the second session to snuff out South Africa's hopes of reaching the 200 mark.
On one of India's most challenging surfaces in recent memory -- a dry, unpredictable turning track where every ball felt like an event, Temba Bavuma played one of the defining innings of his career.
He is also expected to sit out the home Test series against the West Indies in October.
Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen made Indian finger spinners' look ordinary in good batting conditions with invaluable lower-order contributions as South Africa seized control of the second Test.
In a hilarious social media video, the wicket-keeper-batter is seen playing a unique game of golf with team-mate Suryakumar Yadav -- using a cricket bat and a paper bag as a hole, all within the confines of their team hotel hallway!
India claimed four bronze medals on the final day to wrap up their most successful Asian Aquatics Championships with 13 medals even as China asserted their dominance by winning a staggering 49 medals, including 38 gold, in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Smashes second fastest T20 hundred by an Indian batter at India A's Asia Cup Rising Stars match against UAE on Friday.
'We would like to believe and back ourselves to know these conditions or adapt to these conditions a lot faster even if we find them slightly different, as compared to, say, somebody who is brought up in Johannesburg and has played all his cricket at the Wanderers ground.'
India bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted his side was "surprised" by how quickly the Eden Gardens surface "deteriorated" after a dramatic second day in which 15 wickets fell and the opening Test swung sharply in India's favour.
Abhimanyu Easwaran made the future path all the more tough with his second duck of the match, while Sai Sudharsan concluded his lukewarm preparation for the South Africa Test series with an underwhelming 23 off 38 balls.
India will be desperate for a quality replacement for the crucial No. 4 slot with Shubman Gill likely to be ruled out for the must-win second and final Test against South Africa.
This was Jyothi's third appearance at the World Cup Final, having earlier competed at the Tlaxcala (2022) and Hermosillo (2023) editions, where she had exited in the opening round.
