Root shared a 106-run partnership with Jonny Bairstow, who was standing in for injured wicketkeeper Matt Prior and fell just two run short of his half century before the tourists were bowled out for 418. England's bowlers initially struggled to impose themselves on the Invitational XI, who had reached 153 for four by close of play for a lead of 39 after their first innings 304.
A century partnership between Darren Bravo and Jermaine Blackwood led West Indies to a five-wicket victory over England in the third Test on an awkward Barbados wicket as the series ended at 1-1 on Sunday.
A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Tuesday.
Indian spin troika of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra kept their stranglehold on the inexperienced West Indies Board President's XI to bowl them out for a paltry 180 on the first day of the final warm-up game in Basseterre (St Kitts).
All-rounder Staurt Binny is likely to replace injured bowler Mohammed Shami for India's next World Cup match against the UAE.
Opener Michael Lumb top-scored with a fluent 106 on debut but was unable to prevent England from slipping to a 15-run defeat by the West Indies in the first one-day international in North Sound, Antigua, on Friday.
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.
'The past few weeks in England will be remembered as much for Kohli's skilled conquest of his English demons as they will be for his dreadful reading of pitches, curious selection choices, sporadic tactical lapses, and overall inability to help his side cross the finish line,' notes Dhruv Munjal.
Ravindra Jadeja continued his impressive form in India's second and final tour match against West Indies Board President's XI as he followed up his three-wicket spell with a fine half-century on the second day.
New Zealand rode on a superb unbeaten hundred from Ross Taylor to thrash India by seven wickets in the fourth One-Day International and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, in Hamilton, on Tuesday. The defeat also handed the tourists their second straight series defeat overseas, following the 2-0 loss to South Africa last month.
The domestic season-ending five-day Irani Cup game between newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai and the Rest of India, commencing in Mumbai from Sunday, will provide fringe players a good opportunity to stake claims for the national team. The first class match is the last occasion for hopefuls from both ranks to impress the five-member national selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil before attention shifts totally to the T20 format, commencing with the ICC World T20 Championships. With the country expected to play over 15 Test matches post Indian Premier League till the end of next season, this match is the ideal platform for these players to strengthen their claims for the long Test haul. Mumbai, who clinched the Ranji crown for the 41st time last week by defeating Saurashtra by an innings, have a settled combination led by wicket keeper batsman Aditya Tare. They appear to be better prepared than the motley bunch of Rest of India, being led by Madhya Pradesh stumper Naman Ojha. However, they would take the Rest of India lightly at their own peril as the latter have a good bowling attack at their command even without originally named Barinder Sran and Nathu Singh who have been injured and replaced by Ankit Rajpoot and Anureet Singh, according to their coach Ashish Kapoor.
Kerala blew away home favourites Bengal by nine wickets and with a day to spare for their second successive win in the Ranji Trophy, consolidating the position atop the Elite Group B standings.
Only the Board of Control for Cricket in India, says Haresh Pandya, could have thought of inviting a team like the West Indies to provide practice to the Indian cricketers before they embark on a difficult tour of Australia for a four-Test series later this year.
Rain frustrated Australia's bid to win the third Test against England at Old Trafford on Sunday and keep alive their slender hopes of regaining the Ashes. At the premature close of the fourth day, Australia led England by 331 with three second innings wickets remaining.
Explaining the decision to appoint Anil Kumble despite his lack of experience as an international coach, BCCI president Anurag Thakur said the former spinner's record itself is a testimony to his worthiness for the job.
Buoyed by their thrilling last-ball win against Delhi Daredevils, a confident Rajasthan Royals will take on a beleaguered Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League cricket encounter in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
It will be a battle of survival for the two national captains as Virat Kohli's struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore square off against a fledgling Pune Supergiants led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an IPL encounter for the bottom-rung teams in Bengaluru on Saturday. With five defeats in seven games, RCB are currently placed at a lowly seventh spot in the table with four points while Pune are just a notch above in sixth spot courtesy their third win against Delhi Daredevils, on Thursday. It has been a tough journey for the two superstars of Indian cricket as their franchises have dished one disappointing performance after another. RCB with perhaps the most intimidating batting line-ups has had to taste defeat because of a pedestrian bowling attack that has failed to defend 180 plus scores in most of the matches.
More runs from Virat Kohli. India winning the World T20 at home. A controversy-free IPL and more is what Harish Kotian/Rediff.com wants this year.
A round-up of results from the matches played at the Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 cricket tournament across the country.
A dominant Australia looked firmly on course for a 5-0 Ashes series sweep when they reached 140 for four, a lead of 311, at close of play after skittling England for 155 on the second day of the fifth Test on Saturday.
Stuart Binny on how he stays motivated despite not getting enough playing time with Team Indian, and his father's role in shaping his career. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports.
Dumped England batsman Kevin Pietersen has slammed his former team managers for allegedly allowing a culture of 'bullying' to develop and claimed coach Andy Flower and wicketkeeper Matt Prior were behind an orchestrated campaign to oust him.
Sri Lanka, who won the last edition of the World T20 in 2014, have 21 wins from 31 matches in the six editions of the tournament, while India have 17 victories from 28 games. Check out the records of the previous five editions of the World T20.
Rajasthan Royals beat SunRisers Hyderabad by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam. It was Rajasthan's fourth win in as many matches as keeps them top of the table.
Cricket's decision review system was further dragged through the mire on Thursday after another controversial decision in the third Ashes Test with the irate Australian board and even Prime Minister Kevin Rudd weighing in.
With mind and body both more willing now, the only way for the World No 3 is up, says Dhruv Munjal.
Hailing India's series levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second Test as a start of a bright future, former captain Sunil Gavaskar said that the Virat Kohli-led side not only looks "determined" but has also found the right balance in all departments.
The company is headed for its worst annual profit in three years, under siege as Chinese firms like Xiaomi and Lenovo reel in buyers with full-function touch-screen smartphones that are cheaper.
'With India's bowling so poor, there will be extra pressure on the batsmen to score more runs. The Indian team, which nonchalantly scores 300/350 runs in ODIs at home, has had problems making even 200/250 runs in Australia.'
Australia's 111-ball 60 against England in the fourth Ashes Test is the shortest all-out first innings ever in Test cricket history. Rajneesh Gupta presents other such shocking collapses on the first day of a Test in recent times.
Alex Hales hit a sensational unbeaten hundred as England pulled off a dramatic six-wicket win over Sri Lanka to throw open the Group I for semi-finals places in the ICC World Twenty20 in Chittagong on Thursday.
Captain Virat Kohli smashed his second century of the season in a magnificent batting display to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore to a thrilling seven-wicket win over Rising Pune Supergiants in an IPL match.
Shreyas Iyer was the lone ranger as his unbeaten 191 helped Mumbai to 328/6 in their Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match against Gujarat in Hubballi on Wednesday. At stumps on the third and penultimate day, Mumbai trailed Gujarat by 109 runs with four wickets remaining in the first innings. Gujarat were all out for 437 in their first essay after Priyank Kirit Panchal slammed 232.
England are out of the 2015 ODI World Cup. Bangladesh delivered the knock-out blow, after they lost to Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
'Ultimately the plan is to have 15 players who are fit and doing decently well, and according to the demands you can feature the best eleven that suits'
A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy group matches played on Thursday.
A summary of the opening day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches, at various venues over the country.
Rajneesh Gupta breaks down all the facts and figures from the recent India vs Australia ODI series.
A round-up of Ranji Trophy matches played across India on Sunday
The reliable Wasim Jaffer led from the front and scored his 35th Ranji century to guide Mumbai to 242/2 on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A clash against Odisha at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
