India trounced Korea 6-1 in their penultimate round-robin match to virtually seal a place in the final of the Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 hockey tournament, at the Taman Daya Hockey stadium in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on Thursday.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would be eager to avenge their twin defeats in the league stage when they face old foes Mumbai Indians in the IPL Qualifer 2 in Bengaluru, on Friday.
But how much has the national team actually improved?
Robin Uthappa has come out as a completely changed batsman this season and the Karnataka opener attributes his consistent scores on "staying true to his skills" just like India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
In another World Series Hockey match, Chandigarh Comets registered their second win in the tournament, defeating Sher-e-Punjab 3-1.
A talented Central Zone team led by Piyush Chawla is aiming to come out firing all cylinders when it squares off with an equally combative South Zone side in the final of the Duleep Trophy, starting in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical outlook of the players named in India's squad for the upcoming limited-overs series in Zimbabwe.
But at the end of the day, the Indians came out superior and continued their recent domination over Pakistan that includes back-to-back victories in the Hockey World League Semi-Final in London earlier this year.
Skipper Dinesh Karthik will face a big test when a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with a resurgent Delhi Daredevils, led by double title winning former KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, in a much-anticipated IPL clash, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Uttar Pradesh Wizards produced a fine performance to stun Delhi Waveriders 6-4 in a high-scoring round-robin match of the fourth Hockey India League (HIL) at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi.
Fully aware of penalty corners' importance in modern day hockey, Canada coach Robin D'Abreo said that star drag-flicker Sandeep Singh will be a potential threat for the opponents of India in the hockey Olympic qualifiers to be held in New Delhi from February 18-26.
India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh will lead Pune Warriors in the fourth season of the Indian Premier League, starting April 8. The new franchise in the hugely successful league also announced its 30-member squad on Tuesday. It includes, among others, Graeme Smith, Nathan McCullum, Wayne Parnell, Tim Paine, Jesse Ryder and Agnelo Mathews.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Sunday
India blanked arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 to open its campaign on a rousing note in the final edition of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
Embattled Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have left themselves with little margin for error after a string of reverses, will face a test of character when they clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Images from Tuesday's IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai.
Reader Rajagopal sent us these pictures from Melbourne.
India's cricket selectors did a volte-face on Thursday when they brought in seniors to replace youngsters for the ODI series in Sri Lanka and Champions Trophy. It was not surprising that Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh made a comeback and making way for them were Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan and Manpreet Singh Gony.
A summary of the first day's play in the Ranji Trophy Elite group matches, on Thursday.
Off-spinner Parveez Rasool picked up his 9th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as India Green dismissed the Blue team for a paltry 177 before finishing the day at 100 for 3 in the final round robin league encounter of the Duleep Trophy.
'He has dealt with such tremendous odds that he understands things at a level that not many people do.'
Check out the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for IPL 2014.
Their play-off chances hanging by a thread, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Mumbai Indians with a prayer on their lips in a must-win Indian Premier League game for them on Sunday.
Virender Sehwag's wretched run in domestic cricket continued as the veteran opener failed to open his account but Delhi did manage to comfortably beat Punjab by four wickets to notch up their maiden win in the North Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Virat Singh was again in the limelight with a cracking half-century which guided East Zone to an eight-wicket victory over West Zone to clinch the National T20 Championship for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Riding on the morale-boosting three-wicket victory over India, South Africa jumped two rating points to join the 1983 World champions on 118 points in the latest ICC team rankings.
Pacer Mohammad Shami, who is recuperating after shoulder surgery, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, back with a re-modelled action, are among 30 players named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's senior selection committee for a preparatory camp ahead of the South African team's upcoming tour of India.
World Champions Australia thrashed India 4-0 to reclaim the Azlan Shah Cup hockey title in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Saturday.
Riding on Samson's record-breaking unbeaten 212 off just 129 balls, Kerala posted a mammoth 377/3 on the board and restricted Goa to 153/3 after play was called off due to inclement weather.
India made five changes to the team that won in Cuttack for the third ODI.
Eyeing their first win of the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad would be looking to put up an improved show in their home ground where they lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders, who would also be keen to get back to winning ways in the Indian Premier League.
India rested skipper Rahul Dravid along with Sachin Tendulkar, who also sat out the one-off ODI against Scotland in Glasgow on Monday.
Indian defender Surender Kumar will not play any role in the ongoing fourth Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament after being suspended for two matches following a deliberate foul during the game against Malaysia.
Images from the IPL Nights, held across the country after the Twenty20 matches.
A play-offs spot having sealed after a resounding victory in their previous match, Kolkata Knight Riders would aim for a top-two finish with a win when they take on an inconsistent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL match, in Mohali, on Tuesday.
'I thank Sachinpaaji for taking me to Coach Gary Kirsten and telling him that 'Sreesanth should play' (in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka) and thanks to Dhonibhai for giving me that opportunity.'
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni defended out-of-form predecessor Rahul Dravid, saying every player goes through bad patches in his career.
On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders are overwhelming favourites against King's XI Punjab.
It was disappointment at the Nungambakkam Stadium on Monday as Indian fans witnessed Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh making an opening round exit at the Chennai Open.
After his knock of 76 in 70 balls at Adelaide, Yuvraj Singh has now reduced the gap between him and Sachin Tendulkar in the race to be this season's most valuable Indian ODI player.
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