Quinton de Kock's back-to-back centuries in India fuelled belief that South Africa can be World Cup contenders.
Rajneesh Gupta salutes Tamim Iqbal's courage in the Asia Cup's opening game on Saturday and lists instances where cricketers braved injuries to battle it out for their teams.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the T20 series against England.
Pakistan has slipped from second to fourth position in the ICC Test Team Rankings after its 2-0 loss to New Zealand in their two-match series which culminated with a 138-run verdict in Hamilton on Tuesday. Pakistan, which went into the series with 109 points in the team rankings led by India (115), is now on 102 points and tied with South Africa but ahead on decimal points. England and Australia are both on 105 points with England ahead on decimal points.
In the middle-order, Shreyas will replace Kohli, who was given a much-needed break ahead of his landmark 100th Test.
Skipper Vijay Zol continued to make merry against the Sri Lankan attack as he scored his second successive hundred of the series to give India's a huge first innings lead in the second and final 'Youth Test' in Kurunegala, on Tuesday.
Rajneesh Gupta checks out the numbers for Virat and Faf and their boys.
Harbhajan Singh took four wickets to keep India in the hunt after Tillakaratne Dilshan's breezy century on Day 1 of the third and final Test at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai, on Wednesday. Angelo Mathews was unbeaten on a brisk 86 that included 13 boundaries in 119 deliveries, as Sri Lanka finished on 366 for 8 at stumps.
Among the 11-point agenda, is a discussion on domestic cricket season, which is likely to be a curtailed one considering the rapidly rising COVID-19 case load in the country.
With a record that was anything to be proud of, the only way India could have beaten the South Africans in the ongoing Test series was by using 'home advantage' to the optimum, says Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com.
India host West Indies in the opener of their three-match series on Sunday with doubts over the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium pitch, which will be hosting a Test for the first time since serving an international ban.
The appointment of the new selection committee, central contracts and having different coaches and captains for the different formats are likely to be discussed in BCCI's Apex Council meeting on Wednesday.
Calling off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the team's go-to man, ahead of the four-match Test series against South Africa, on Thursday, in Mohali.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and England, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai.
Saker took the unusual step of publicly criticising his bowlers in the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney last month, revealing discord with staff over tactics.
The south Asian country has remained largely starved of international cricket since the 2009 attacks on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, wounding six players and a British coach and killing eight Pakistanis.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his 18th five-wicket haul as India dominated the first day of the second test against West Indies in Jamaica on Saturday.
Rajneesh Gupta explains how team India performed during the year across all the three formats.
Having won the series, India would like to carry on momentum forward, especially with the three-match T20I series to follow soon after. Yet, the visitors would also like to find a balance between going all out in a dead rubber and resting a few players keeping in mind a long overseas schedule later this year.
South Africa won the fifth One-Day International against India by 214 runs on Sunday, to win the five-match series 3-1, their first ODI series win on Indian soil. Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from the match played in Mumbai.
Batting great Greg Chappell believes Australia can win the upcoming high-profile four-match Test series as India are "vulnerable" this time with injuries to key players like Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly lavished praise on Virat Kohli, saying he wants the Test skipper to do better than what he had done for his country.
Jasprit Bumrah has been named as India's captain for the three-match T20I series against Ireland next month.
As Ashish Nehra gets set to quit international cricket after the first T20I game against New Zealand in New Delhi this evening, Rajneesh Gupta presents the mighty fast bowler's top five performances.
England pace legend Stuart Broad lauded former teammate James Anderson for becoming the first-ever pacer to complete 700 Test wickets, saying that one should "marvel at his skill" besides talking about his dedication and mental resilience.
Ravichandran Ashwin's World Cup hopes got a big boost after he was picked in the Indian squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia.
Ross Taylor ended a poor run of form to score his 16th test century and bat New Zealand into a potentially series-winning position at the end of the fourth day of the second Test against Pakistan at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Monday. Already 1-0 up in the two-match series courtesy of an eight-wicket win in Christchurch, New Zealand declared their second innings at 313 for five, just after Taylor reached the milestone, and set Pakistan a victory target of 369.
With key players -- KL Rahul (thigh) and Shreyas Iyer (lower back) yet to prove their fitness, the BCCI top brass and selectors could opt for safer options that gives them an opportunity to check all available players in the five (six if they reach final) Asia Cup games in Sri Lanka.
Statistical highlights from the day's play
Rajneesh Gupta gives us all the numbers that matter from Day 1 of the fourth Test between England and India at The Oval, on Thursday, September 2, 2021.
Outwitted in both the T20 and the ODI series, India will seek redemption in the Test format by trying to spin a web around the formidable South Africans in the four-match series starting in Mohali, on Thursday.
Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan are also back in both the squads, while pacer Mohammed Shami got a break from the T20 series.
Photos from Day 2 of the 3rd Test match played in Nagpur on Thursday
Captain Virat Kohli and his Indian cricket team have accumulated a few records on Day 2 on one-off Test against Bangladesh on Friday. Here are some interesting numbers from the day's play...
Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan feels India's Ravichandran Ashwin is presently the best spinner in the world and his achievements with the ball are a testimony to his greatness.
Though he hasn't been able to replicate his rich limited-overs' form in Test cricket, Rohit Sharma feels there's no need to make drastic changes in his game for the five-day format.
With an eye on next year's ICC World Cup, the Indian cricket team will play around 30 ODIs and an estimated 63 international games across formats in the 2018-19 season.
Indian cricket team will be aiming to pick up pieces while spoiling Alastair Cook's farewell party in the fifth and final Test against England starting Friday.
'I felt that was lacking and I always knew I had the game to get the runs and it was just a matter of spending time in the middle'
