If the Australian summer was the stuff of dreams, the showing at home against a quality England side across formats brought about hopes of a bright future.
After two crushing defeats, India are looking for their batsmen to deliver as they aim to bounce back in the fifth and final Test against England, starting at the Oval on Friday, and level the series at 2-2.
MS Dhoni's comeback and retirement has been a matter of intense speculation
'I've always wanted to score a century in England. I scored a century against England in the Caribbean, but I would love to get one in England'
Devoid of experience but propped up by a confident bunch of youngsters, India will be looking to wipe off scars of the past and reverse their poor overseas record when they take on England in a five-Test series, starting in Nottingham, on Wednesday.
Laxman felt that the Mumbaikar, who slammed five centuries in the 2019 ODI World Cup, deserved to be there in the list.
Pink balls are used in day-night Test cricket with teams playing under floodlights. While some former players advocate the use of the pink ball full time, England pacer Stuart Broad says it will be unfair to batsmen.
The former seamer thought things changed for better for the World Cup hero after the Bristol bar brawl three years ago.
Elite sport in Britain returned without fans last month after a near three-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the government is set to allow spectators at carefully selected trial events from late July to early August.
Here are the statistical highlights from the second day's play of the fourth cricket Test between India and England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
West Indies captain Jason Holder says both his team and England putting up a united front to show support for the Black Lives Matter campaign before the start of the first Test in Southampton meant the "world to him" and he feels Michael Holding's powerful speech on racism "in his veins". Both teams took the knee for 30 seconds in solidarity with the BLM movement before the start of play on Wednesday.
'I want to play as long as I possibly can. I'm still hungry to play the game. If I keep bowling the way I did this week, the opportunity to retire will be taken out of my hands'
West Ham United and Chelsea both narrowly avoided ignominious FA Cup exits with narrow wins against lower-league opposition but Everton marked Frank Lampard's first game in charge by sauntering past Brentford into the fifth round on Saturday.
England captain Alastair Cook has reportedly questioned his position as skipper in the past few weeks before he decided that he could not live with walking away from the job.
The competition begins with a series between world champions England and Ireland, beginning at Southampton on July 30. The rest of the schedule will be unveiled later.
India medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Monday blamed the pitch in Southampton for the bowling attack's poor showing in the ongoing third Test as England declared at 569/7 in their first innings.
Williamson agreed that getting Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara out early did set it up nicely for them.
Two India squads travelling to different places at the same time could become a norm in the mentally draining world of bio-bubbles that cricketers are forced to live in amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday.
Rishabh Pant is the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in England, and equalled the record for the most catches taken in a Test, with 11 in Adelaide in December.
South African opener Hashim Amla sat out practice on Saturday after suffering concussion in the World Cup opener, and he is a doubt for South Africa's second game at the tournament against Bangladesh.
Australia's Josh Hazlewood is concerned about a COVID-19 outbreak at his Indian Premier League franchise in the United Arab Emirates, the seamer said on Monday. Hazlewood is in England for Australia's limited-overs series, three Twenty20 matches in Southampton followed by three 50-over internationals in Manchester.
Nathaniel Clyne's late equaliser earned high-flying Southampton a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa on Monday, denying Paul Lambert a much-needed victory in his 100th match in charge of the Premier League strugglers.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Five Manchester City first team players have tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be involved when they play Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend
But the IPL management and the Indian cricket board are optimistic.
The so-called part-time spinner is third in the list of leading bowlers in the India-England series with 15 wickets.
England beat India by 266 runs to win the third Test on Thursday and level the five-match series 1-1. Images from Day 5 of the Test.
Photos of the Day 1 of the third Test between India and England.
The India head coach underlined the need to grow mentally tougher in order to cross the finishing line and win Test series in overseas conditions, something captain Virat Kohli had stressed on after the loss at Southampton.
Kohli has so far led India in three ICC events -- the 2017 Champions Trophy, the 2019 50-over World Cup and the recently completed inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC). In all these events, India managed to reach the closing stages, but the trophy eluded the team.
Williamson and Co earn high praise from former captain Brendon McCullum.
The challenges in a post COVID-19 world were new and unusual but unlike other Indian sports, cricket could partially redeem itself, thanks to the deep pockets of the BCCI
None of the players will be available for at least the first two to three games of their respective franchises.
Harbhajan feels Siraj can pip Ishant for a place in the final XI.
Armed with a strong pace attack, comprising the likes of Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph and captain Jason Holder, West Indies are set to take on hosts England in a three-match Test series, starting July 8 in Southampton.
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Trott, who played 68 ODIs and seven T20 matches, has scored 18,662 runs in first class cricket.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson speaks about the much-anticipated ICC World Test Championship final between his team and India.
All-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have been excluded from a 25-player squad for an intra-Australia clash that will go a long way to deciding the makeup of Tim Paine's Ashes side.
'Without a team nothing can happen, it takes team work or team effort to win matches.' 'Individuals can perform significantly in helping the team win, but if the rest of the guys don't chip in, there is not much an individual can do.'
