'I don't see Hardik getting a new ball. He is a certainty in the side as playing four fast bowlers would mean a long tail. He is your ideal No 7 batsman but you can use him for 4-6 overs depending on the situation'
The SCG may be perfect for the under-performing trio -- Pujara, Dhawan and Ashwin -- to regain their touch.
Chasing 162 for a win, Delhi got out to rash shots to eventually fold up at 151 in the last over.
Imran Khan will always be first and foremost the enigmatic 'Kaptaan', who pulled off the impossible -- transform an immensely talented but fractious bunch of cricketers into world beaters.
After a nail-biting finish to the opening stage of their World T20 campaign, and the latest injury to Yuvraj Singh, India will have to look at their team composition going into the semi-final against West Indies on Thursday.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played across India on Monday
Photos from Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test match between Australia and Pakistan, played at the MCG on Tuesday
The energy-sapping weather in Kolkata has severely tested the New Zealanders with paceman Trent Boult saying that he has never played in such hot and humid conditions.
Cheteshwar Pujara's marathon double hundred complemented by Wriddhiman Saha's dogged century put India in complete command with an imposing total of 603 for 9 against Australia on the fourth day of the third cricket Test.
Mercurial paceman Kagiso Rabada produced the second best match figures by a South African to propel his side to a consolation 280-run victory over a feeble England on the last morning of the fourth and final Test.
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews led by example, hitting an unbeaten 77 to help his team overcome a top order wobble and take a 291-run lead against Pakistan at the end of the third day's play in the third and final Test at Pallekele on Sunday.
Former Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson has labelled the Decision Review System (DRS) as a `failure` after all-rounder Mitchell Marsh's controversial leg before dismissal during the opening Test of the three-match series against South Africa at the WACA Ground in Perth. The incident took place on the fifth day of the first Test when Marsh was originally given not out after he was struck low on the pads of a Kagiso Rabada delivery. However, the decision was over-turned when the ball-tracking technology showed it to be hitting more than 50 per cent of Marsh's leg stump and he was sent back to the pavilion.
India again proved too strong for Zimbabwe, winning the second One-Day International by eight wickets in Harare, on Monday. After dismissing the hosts in 34.3 overs for a paltry 126, the tourists chased down the modest target in 26.5 overs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, having won the opening ODI by nine wickets on Saturday.
Featuring Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Marcus Stoinis, Ashish Nehra.
Gavin Larsen says if he could rein in the batsmen of 1990s era even with his military medium pace it was because of his skipper Martin Crowe's tremendous leadership style and his faith in the bowlers.
India's fast bowlers made steady inroads into the Bangladesh batting line-up by reducing the touring side to 125 for four at lunch on the third day of the one-off Test in Hyderabad on Saturday.
India are most likely to field only one spinner in the Test matches in South Africa but left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja is not worried about fighting for that lone spot with team-mate Ravichandran Ashwin.
Kagiso Rabada said South Africa are gunning for a whitewash of India, having trampled the visitors in the first two matches.
Captain Kohli and Coach Shastri's selection choices for the first two Tests against England, which India lost, were bizarre. Why, for instance, did they drop Umesh Yadav and include Kuldeep Yadav for a seaming track at Lord's? Instinct, gentlemen, can't overrule logic. Time we helped Messrs Kohli and Shastri pick the side for the Trent Bridge Test. What changes must India make for the must-win third Test?
Andrew Symonds bagged four wickets and Saqlain Mushtaq two as Warne Warriors easily defeated Sachin Blasters by 57 runs in Game 2 of the Cricket All-Stars series in Houston on Wednesday night.
Picking up where he left off in the first Test in Brisbane, the opener scored 244 not out for his third century in three innings as the hosts dominated New Zealand's bowlers as ruthlessly as they had in the 208-run victory at the Gabba.
Dwayne Bravo termed the incredible 30-ball 68 against Mumbai Indians "my best-ever" innings, which paved the way for Chennai Super Kings' sensational return to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Captain Brendon McCullum is expected to be fit for New Zealand's ICC World Cup clash against Afghanistan next Sunday despite being hit on the arm in Saturday's game against Australia.
But the question before the leadership will be whether to retain the BJP alliance or dump it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
First, Axar smashed his way to an unbeaten 38 off 17 balls as Kings XI Punjab managed 138 for 7 and then grabbed 3/11 in in 3 overs with RCB skittled out for 119 in 19 overs.
Costlier oil due to rising conflict in Iraq threatens to hurt the India economy that is already battling price rise and slowing growth.
Hosts India would look to do an encore by putting England through another rigorous spin test when the two teams square off in the third Test starting in Mohali, on Saturday.
A summary of the opening day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches played across the country.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'
A look at how the Indian players rated in the Test series against South Africa.
On a day when the pitch played out easy barring the extra bounce and reverse swing extracted by the Aussie pacers, a determined Pujara held India's innings together.
Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor calmly guided New Zealand to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday.
Andre Russell's spectacular all-round performance powered defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing four-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, in Pune, on Saturday.
A superb spell of reverse-swing bowling from Dale Steyn and another fluent innings from Faf du Plessis helped South Africa cruise to a six-wicket victory over Australia in the final of the triangular series at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.
The Indian bowling unit not only gave away too many runs in the four-match Test against Australia but also failed to get 20 Australian wickets in any of the games.
England's batsmen failed to take full advantage on a first day of swinging fortunes in the second Test against Sri Lanka, finishing on 310 for six after outstanding catching kept the touring side in contention on Friday.
East Zone bowlers led by the seasoned Laxmi Ratan Shukla rattled South Zone in the final hour reducing them to 236 for nine despite Robin Uthappa scoring a well-crafted hundred on the first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Lahli on Wednesday.
England fast bowler Stuart Broad took six wickets to skittle out India for 152 and the hosts finished on 113 for three in reply to take control on an absorbing opening day of the fourth Test on Thursday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews weathered a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling from Dayle Steyn to take his team past the follow-on mark on the third day of the first Test against South Africa on Friday.
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