Jadeja consolidates as world No 1 Test all-rounder, Abhishek Sharma is top ranked T20I batter
From Joe Root vs Jasprit Bumrah's high-stakes chess match to the all-round brilliance of Ben Stokes vs Ravindra Jadeja, and from emerging face-offs like Shubman Gill vs Shoaib Bashir to K L Rahul's test against Chris Woakes, each duel carries weight far beyond statistics.
India finished day three of the second Test on 64/1 to lead England by 244 runs after they dismissed the hosts for 407 in the first innings at Edgbaston on Friday.
PHOTOS from the 3rd Test Between England and West Indies on Sunday.
Here are the crunch moments that were series-defining and the contributions of the players who came of age during the English summer.
'It's been a constant thing for us to get some of the greats who are representing England into the environment and helping out.'
England on Wednesday announced their playing XI for the opening Test of the five-match series against India, which will kickstart at Headingley on Friday.
Gill second successive ton as skipper takes India to 310 for 5
Dharamsala is colder than usual for this time of the year keeping the pacers interested but considering no grass has been left on the surface.
Jaiswal (87) became the first Indian batter dismissed between (80 to 99) at Birmingham.
Jofra Archer made his first appearance in a first-class match in four years on Sunday in the County Championship as the 30-year-old quick continues his comeback from a spate of injuries
Sudharsan made the most of the 'life' and went on to score a patient 50, his maiden Test half-century.
Award-winning Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu's recent remarks on Lord Ram have sparked controversy, drawing condemnation from the BJP and VHP.
'It felt like you had to force the ball through, which in England were are not used to -- you usually get rewards for your cuts and clips.'
The ground brought sanity to the wild, soaring numbers for the batters in the series. The wicket had grass, and it made the batters struggle.
After hundreds upon hundreds of runs on flat tracks in the ongoing series so far, it took the green top at The Oval to finally produce the best day of the Indian summer, on the fifth and last Friday of the Test series.
Wearing special headbands in memory of Graham Thorpe, they honoured not just a legend of the game, but a man whose courage and struggles have sparked an urgent conversation around mental health in sport.
He may not be on the field forever, but MS Dhoni's heart will always beat in yellow
Spin great Anil Kumble praised Nitish Kumar Reddy's showing with the ball on Day 1 of the Lord's Test on Thursday.
Siraj, Krishna, Akash Shine as India's Pace Future Takes Shape
Root reached the milestone during his 69th WTC appearance - a single pushed to deep backward square leg brought up yet another half-century and sealed his place in the record books.
Gill and Jaiswal centuries put India in control of series opener against England
Styris did not have any doubt over Pandya's talent but the Kiwi wanted him to infuse more consistency into his performances.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain was full of praise for Akash Deep
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.
India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Thursday said the team is "leaning towards" playing lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth Test in Manchester as the visitors look to pull themselves back on level terms in the five-match series against England.
Led by Shubman Gill, a defiant India put on a mentally strong and technically disciplined response to keep the series alive with England 2-1 up. While there were plenty of positives to take forward, a few concerns continue to linger as the series heads to a decider at The Oval.
Gill's magnificence. Siraj and Akash's brilliance. Jadeja's class. Jaiswal and Rahul's success. Stokes' toss blunder. Root's failures.
England replace Shoaib Bashir with Liam Dawson in playing XI for 4th Test against India
Rahul failed to convert his resilient start into a three-digit score across both innings but was pivotal in India's fight to draw the Test and keep India alive in the series.
'We obviously want to wheel him in, but we also want to respect where his body's at, and on the basis of that, we just felt that it wasn't worth including him in the squad.'
Pant equals Sehwag's six-hitting record, surpasses Rohit Sharma in WTC Test runs
With the series nicely poised at 1-1 going into the third Test, the narrative built around both the teams has changed significantly following India's 336-run routing of England at Edgbaston.
Shubman Gill dominated with the bat in England, as he amassed a huge tally of 567 runs at an average of 94.50 in the three Tests played in July.
'Stokes is an excellent player of fast bowling. He is hurried with Bumrah.'
With over 500 runs, six crucial catches, the most by an Indian on the tour, Rahul led by example and lived up to his wiseman tag.
Nitish Kumar Reddy made a promise to himself post the Australia tour that he would improve his bowling.
'...he's not shown any obvious signs of dismissal and he's played stylishly.'
In a moment of poor judgment, Pant tapped the ball towards Ben Stokes at cover and set off for a non-existent single-only to be run out, leaving India at 248 for 5.
'Whenever India bowls, Reiffel feels it's not out. Whenever India bats, he feels it's out.'
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