The legendary Ricky Ponting says the quality of players and recent history make India and Australia the favourites to figure in the summit clash of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
The experienced Surya Shekhar Ganguly, GM Raunak Sadhwani and GM Karthik Venkatraman scored comfortable victories while M Pranesh played out a draw to advance to the second round, while IM Aronyak Ghosh defeated GM Mateusz Bartel of Poland to force a tie-breaker, in the FIDE World Cup 2025 in Panaji on Sunday.
The third Test at Lord's could well be the series' turning point. This isn't just about team combinations or tactical tweaks anymore. The pitch has emerged as a defining factor -- one that could tilt the balance of power in a contest hanging delicately at 1-1.
Post-lunch, Pant brought up his half-century with a single before launching his third maximum, cementing his reputation as one of the game's most fearless stroke-makers in red-ball cricket.
Joe Root picked an easy single off Mohammed Siraj in the 58th over to take his score to 31, which also took his overall Test tally to 13290 runs.
Bihar's teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged just 14, blasted an 84-ball 190 to become the youngest List-A centurion ever. His captain Sakibul Gani, then upstaged him with a 40-ball 128 not out -- the fastest List-A century by an Indian.
In every Test match Root plays, the prolific right-hander continues chasing legends and breaking records - and more milestones could be within reach during the second Test against India at Edgbaston.
At 37, the numbers behind his all-format dominance reveal not just longevity but an unmatched hunger for excellence.
Jurel has produced a solid body of work in first-class and Test cricket alike, even though he displayed a completely different avatar for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a finisher since his debut in 2023.
Jemimah's success is carved not just from talent and hard work, but from dreams, faith, and an unshakable spirit.
'He moved to few other teams but never felt settled at those teams.'
'I think any captain who wants to lead from the front, they want to lead through performance as well, and that's what Temba's done exceptionally well.'
Pant now has three Test centuries on English soil.
Australia batter Matthew Short believes his team's pacers will continue to exploit Virat Kohli's recent weakness outside off stump when India face Australia in the second ODI, in Adelaide, on Thursday.
Assessing Sai Sudharsan's temperament and Nitish Kumar Reddy's utility in home conditions would be topmost on India's checklist when the high-on-confidence hosts take on a floundering West Indies
India ended an 11-year-long ICC Trophy drought, beating South Africa by seven runs to claim the ICC T20 World Cup title for the second time on June 29 last year, in Barbados.
Just 120 runs shy of overtaking Ricky Ponting, the veteran batter is on the brink of becoming the second-highest run-scorer in Test history-behind only the iconic Sachin Tendulkar.
Plenty of hopes will rest on the young shoulders of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who, at the age of just 23, has earned a reputation as one of the world's best openers in the longest format of the game.
Joe Root scored his 37th Test hundred on Friday to go past the tally of former India skipper Rahul Dravid and contemporary Steve Smith.
Sarfaraz has taken an unconventional route to keep himself battle-ready - turning up in the Kanga League, a competition few modern-day Mumbai internationals participate in.
Marsh, cracked up the audience, including the great Allan Border, at the Australian Cricket Awards 2025 on Sunday night in Melbourne, with a hilarious anecdote.
The Women in Blue did more than just win a trophy -- they proved that hard work, and believing in themselves, can turn failure into success.
Glenn McGrath said his prediction this time is based on how England were held to a 2-2 series draw by India in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy five-Test series.
'Pakistan can beat any team on any given day'
Glenn Maxwell levelled with names like compatriots David Warner, Aaron Finch, the Indian legend Rohit Sharma and England's Jos Buttler, becoming the player with the joint-fourth-highest centuries in T20 cricket.
Book to tell 500 years of cricketing stories beyond the scorecards
'It's going to be a real challenge, it's actually absolutely the litmus test as a touring team.'
Shubman Gill has not just scored a double hundred; he's rewritten the record books.
It has been 10 years since Australia won the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
On the eve of the Diamond League in Doha, the two-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion, sought to set the record straight when asked about his equation with Nadeem, who won the gold medal at the Paris Games last year.
USA's sparkling debut, Afghan bravehearts' dream run and India's brilliance
'Rohit Sharma and I have been playing together for so many years -- he knows what kind of personality I have and how much I have cricket awareness.'
India's batting greats Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh turned back the clock and took Raipur by storm in their inimitable style as India Legends registered a thumping 57-run win over South Africa Legends in Road Safety World Series T20 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, on Saturday.
Indian javelin throw superstar Neeraj Chopra on Tuesday clinched the title at the Golden Spike meet in his maiden appearance in Ostrava, Czech Republic, his back-to-back win in a top-class competition.
When I interviewed Alishan Sharafu as a 14-year-old schoolboy following his huge scores in domestic matches, he told me he wanted to bat like A B de Villiers.
'As a captain and a player, he never played for a draw, he always wanted to win.'
For spin great Neetu David it was a culmination of a lifelong dream -- to see the India women's team finally end their wait for a World title.
While Sachin Tendulkar's 2013 farewell became a national pilgrimage, a vibrant celebration befitting a cricketing deity, the exits of many other Indian icons this century have been quieter journeys into the twilight.
David, the current chairman of selectors for Indian women's team, enters the ICC Hall of Fame a year after the induction of former captain Diana Edulji.
The India skipper will be eyeing the great Don Bradman's 88-year-old record for most runs by a captain in a Test series.
