India pacer Mohammed Siraj on Wednesday landed in his hometown Hyderabad after a stellar performance in the intensely-contested drawn Test series against England and enthusiastic fans made a beeline to welcome him.
Even as the conditions changed, bright sunshine alternating with gloom, the Indian batters gritted their teeth and fought it out.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should continue playing ODIs as long as they are performing.
India captain Shubman Gill, who has now lost all three tosses in the series, admitted he was uncertain about the call anyway.
Captain Shubman Gill and the ever-dependable K L Rahul gave India a glimmer of hope with resilient half-centuries after a well crafted hundred from Ben Stokes extended England's supremacy in the fourth Test in Manchester on Saturday.
England head coach Brendon McCullum admitted India 'deserved' to win the fifth and final Test at The Oval as the visitors played better cricket in the closing stages.
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg believes that the aggressive tone of the ongoing Test series between India and England will be a huge selling point for the match-day tickets of the upcoming Ashes.
Ravichandran Ashwin believes Mohammed Siraj has emerged as the backbone of the Test pace attack
India head coach Gautam Gambhir hinted pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah could play in the must-win fifth and final Test against England.
India fast bowler Akash Deep, who walked in as a night watchman in the third session on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval, stole the spotlight on Day 3, producing and entertaining knock to register his maiden Test half-century.
Intent-driven Shubman Gill shines on Day 1 in Birmingham
'If I was the India chief selector, I would have convinced Mukesh Ambani (Mumbai Indians owner) and Bumrah that it was important for Bumrah to miss the IPL for the England series, or play a lesser number of matches in the IPL.' 'I'm sure that they would have agreed to do so.'
"He needs to score a bit more runs when it's seaming and swinging": Sourav Ganguly urges Shubman Gill to step up as captain, batter in testing English conditions
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between England and India at Edgbaston, in Birmingham, on Saturday.
'I just think we'll find another way to do it.'
Ravindra Jadeja continued his renaissance as a batter, delivering his best-ever outing during the recent Test series in England and joining a list of legends
"We will have an advantage...": BCCI VP Shukla on India's new-look squad for England tour
Coming off a commanding 336-run win at Edgbaston, Team India not only ended their winless streak at the historic venue, but also levelled the five-match series 1-1 in stunning fashion thanks to Shubman Gill's twin hundreds and a rousing spell from pacer Akash Deep.
Pant's effort earned accolades from Tendulkar, who lauded the wicketkeeper-batter's paddle sweep.
Images from Day 5 of the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval, London, on Monday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was "disappointed" on missing a century by a whisker, but amazed by Test captain Shubman Gill's "incredible" effort that powered India to a comfortable position at the end of the opening day of the second Test against England, at Edgbaston, on Wednesday.
Shubman Gill will have to lead from the front in absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma but the young team should not be judged too early, said Harbhajan Singh.
England bowling coach Tim Southee praised the depth and quality of the Indian Test side after a commanding performance by the visitors on Day 1
Captain Gill will be looking to get India back to their best in red ball cricket and he has 'Let you actions lead the way.'
Mighty impressed with Shubman Gill's footwork in difficult English conditions, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is expecting the young skipper to score truckloads of runs in away conditions
The 107-run partnership between Jaiswal-Akash Deep was a turning point in India's second innings.
Australia Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey termed India's thrilling win over England in the fifth Test as 'spectacular'.
'It's going to be a real challenge, it's actually absolutely the litmus test as a touring team.'
Five Tests between India and England going down to the wire should be enough to convince the sport's authorities not to tinker with the format, reckoned Shubman Gill after a dramatic win at The Oval on Monday.
England captain Ben Stokes tried to focus on the positives after his team's agonising six-run loss to India in their riveting final Test at The Oval on Monday.
The series, to commence on June 20, will be played at Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord's and The Oval in London, and Old Trafford in Manchester.
Gill, Rahul score fifties in intra-squad practice match against India A ahead of England Test
India skipper Shubman Gill on Wednesday said that levelling the five-match Test series in England would be a "great achievement" and he would return from his first assignment as captain a lot wiser.
An injury-plagued India could be forced to depart from their preferred template when they takes on a reinvigorated England in the fourth Test starting in Manchester on Wednesday.
Gill clashed with England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, accusing them of deliberately wasting time.
'He saw opportunities and brought in the right kind of bowlers.'
Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly found themselves reliving old memories - this time from the sidelines.
K L Rahul, the most consistent performer with the bat for the visitors so far in the series, completed 9,000 runs in international cricket across all formats.
India's historic first-ever Test win at Edgbaston by a massive 336 runs after losing the first Test was a triumph of Grit, Resilience, Excellence, Aggressiveness, and Tactfulness, a truly GREAT performance that will be remembered for years, asserts veteran cricket correspondent K R Nayar.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the remainder of the series against England due to a knee injury.
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