'I was actually appointed captain for the West Indies tour (in 1971).' 'But Mr Vijay Merchant (the then chairman of the selectors) didn't like me nor did he like 'Tiger' Pataudi. He thought we were far too flamboyant.' 'He made Ajit Wadekar captain.'
Openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen weathered a difficult 45 minutes to take South Africa to tea at 38 without loss chasing an unlikely victory target of 458 on the fourth day of the first Test against India at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Opener Lokesh Rahul starred with the bat as he scored a career-best 158 to steer India to a big lead, on Day 2 of the second Test against West Indies, in Jamaica, on Sunday.
Very impressed with India's tearaway quick Umesh Yadav, legendary West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts feels he is the "first genuine" pacer from the country but needs to be a tad more aggressive.
Former India captain Kapil Dev says the iconic Sachin Tendulkar "did not know how to make double hundreds, triple hundreds and 400 though he had the ability" to scale such peaks and was "stuck in the Mumbai school of cricket".
'Many of the players in IPL are the sons of men and women who are in ordinary jobs and not well off.' 'These players are the first in their family ever to move into another social class.' 'I think it is a very fine thing that young men from ordinary backgrounds get exposed to fame and money, and playing with legends from abroad and India,' says Aakar Patel.
Following the hard-earned four-wicket victory against West Indies on Friday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni became India's most successful captain in One-Day Internationals played away from home.
Opener Faiz Fazal led Rest of India's dominating display with the bat as the visitors chased down a record target of 480 against Mumbai to win the Irani Trophy. Half-centuries from Karun Nair (92), Sudeep Chatterjee (54), Stuart Binny (54) and Sheldon Jackson (59) powered Rest of India to an unlikely-five wicket victory against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, on Day 5, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. Fazal top-scored for the visitors as he scored 127 but Nair fell for 92, the second time he was dismissed in the 90s in the match. Bengal's Chatterjee played a steady innings of 54 before Binny provided the late boost as he smashed 54 from 51 balls. Saurashtra's Jackson carried his team home as he finished unbeaten on 59. For Mumbai, left-arm Iqbal Abdulla claimed five wickets for 154 in 42.4 overs but was still unable to prevent the visitors from chasing down the highest total in the history of the Irani Trophy.
The day belonged to Smith, who has now scored six Test hundreds against India in the last seven appearances and in the process also completed 5000 runs in Test cricket.
Describing neonatal and maternal mortality rates as a matter of grave concern, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government wanted to effectively use its 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' campaigns to reach healthcare to the country's poorest of the poor.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between India and South Africa in New Delhi, on Sunday.
Kohli's 147 -- his 15th Test hundred -- and an equally confident 136 by Murali Vijay enabled India to extend their first-innings lead to 51 runs in reply to England's 400.
After his retirement, Sachin Tendulkar, Rediff.com's Harish Kotian discovers, has become more outspoken about cricketing issues.
A round-up of results from the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
'T20 cricket is popular because everything is faster and people want things quicker.' 'Test cricket is going to battle, but I would like to think that it is going to be around and stay around because if you ask Virat Kohli what gives him ultimate pleasure, it would be playing Test cricket for India.'
The semi-final against Australia and if the Indian women are fortunate, Sunday's final will decide her place in history as a captain, though she has long secured her position in the Elysium of women's cricket, says Haresh Pandya.
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.
Virat Kohli has finally clarified his stance on unfriending the Australian team, saying he 'meant only a couple of guys' and that his comments were blown out of proportion. But what has made the Indian captain changed his tune? Does the Indian Premier League ring any bells, asks Norma Godinho/Rediff.com.
A look at the 10 cricketers who were punished for drug related offences.
'When I entered the Indian team's dressing room, I discovered that there was a divide in the team, like a wall in between two groups of players, there were two teams within one.' 'It was all about individual glory and if the team won in the process great!' 'My entire Test career was about me wishing that my Indian team was more like the Pakistan team.'
'No, you don't require tantrums, or beating a tattoo on the helmet or rude and hostile gestures to make a point.' 'A true fast bowler lets the ball do the talking as it crashes into the stumps,' says veteran sports commentator Kishore Bhimani.
Haresh Pandya picks his all-time best Indian Test team which is packed with some exciting stroke-players, a couple of heavy-scorers known to play monumental innings, some superb spinners, a world-class all-rounder and a top-notch wicketkeeper. Check out his list and then create your own Dream India XI, and share it with family and friends!
Virat Kohli became only the third Indian to score a hundred on his captaincy debut as the visitors responded resolutely to Australia's mammoth first innings total by reaching 369 for five on the third day to leave the first cricket Test evenly poised at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
'They should be conserved, preserved, and valued highly.'
Punjab pummelled Delhi by 10 wickets for their maiden win of the season on Friday while handing the hosts their first Ranji Trophy loss at home in five years.
Did Mahendra Singh Dhoni desert a sinking ship or was it a courageous decision to quit in the middle of a series?
India's batsmen came good on a flat track to put up 369 for 5 on Day 3 of the first Test against Australia in Adelaide on Thursday. Wriddhimaan Saha (1) and Rohit Sharma (33) were at the crease at the draw of stumps. Images from the day's play.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com picks his IPL Dream Team of Season 9. Check it out!
Ambati Rayudu slammed his maiden hundred as India produced yet another comprehensive batting performance to ease past Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second One-Day International, in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
'He has been RCB's leader since 2013 and RCB's best performance under him has been runners up in 2016.' 'In 2013 and 2014, RCB didn't reach the Playoffs stage.' 'In 2015 it reached that stage.' 'In 2017, RCB didn't go beyond the league stage.' 'Sometimes, a change at the top leads to a change in a team's fortunes,' says Sudhir Bisht.
An upcoming film on Mohammad Azharuddin promises to be a potboiler, though not a true biopic.
'If fame, money and comfort are the only factors that drive us, then we are playing cricket for entirely the wrong reasons.'
'The BCCI is -- and always has been, across successive dispensations -- allergic to criticism.' 'It has used the 'control' it enshrines in its name to destroy anyone who has dared to point fingers at its functioning,' says Prem Panicker, the distinguished cricket writer.
Full text of Kevin Pieterse's Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Bengaluru
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com assesses the Indian side after the 2-1 series triumph in Sri Lanka.
Courage beyond Compare, as the name suggests, profiles Indian paralympic sports stars who despite physical disability, have fought the odds to become world class, champion athletes.
Sri Lanka's victory in the first Test at Galle will rank among the greatest comebacks of all time.
As India gets set to play its 500th Test, Rajneesh Gupta presents India's memorable Test victories at home.
So India lost its first World Twenty20 game on Tuesday night. Maybe, we fielded the wrong team :) Haresh Pandya picks 11 India greats who never played the shortest format, but can take on any team in the World T20 championships.
Shreyas Iyer, whose swagger is taking batting to the next level, tells Rediff.com that when he gets the opportunity to don India colours he will make it count.
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