Litmus test awaits India and MS Dhoni in second ODI against South Africa.
South Africa clinched the Twenty20 series with a comfortable six-wicket win over a lacklustre India in the second match, which was marred by shameful and unruly crowd behaviour at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack.
While there were brilliant performances from Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane, India's pathetic bowling attack -- which could not claim 20 Australian wickets in any of the four Tests -- was depressing.
India came up with a clinical all-round display to beat Pakistan by seven wickets in a one-sided opening Super-10 league match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Mirpur on Friday.
Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik combined with excellent performances from their bowlers helped India 'A' outclass Australia 'A' by 50 runs to win the 'A' teams tri-series in Pretoria, on Wednesday.
Having decimated the opposition with clinical precision in all four matches, India will be aiming to complete a clean sweep when they take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Ranchi on Sunday.
Images from the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, in Delhi, on Saturday.
The consistency of India's bowlers throughout the tournament disguised the team's batting problems till they were exposed in the semi-final against Australia.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar rated India's bowling on the opening day of the third cricket Test against Australia as their best performance in the series so far but reminded that lack of quality bowling all-rounder could hurt the visitors again going into day two.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was lavish in his praise for the brilliant Virat Kohli but had a word of caution for the other batsmen, who he thinks "need to step up" in the next two matches of the ICC World T20.
Images from the Asia Cup T20 cricket match between India and Pakistan on Saturday.
Buoyed by an overwhelming victory in the previous game, a resilient India would look to continue the momentum and seal off their second successive T20 series win when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final Twenty20 International, in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. India shrugged off their embarrassing defeat in opening T20 match in Pune with a commanding show in Ranchi, where they outclassed the island nation by 69 runs to level the series. The Indian batsmen had struggled to cope with the 'green' track in Pune but adjusted well on a slow strip at Ranchi, where they did not put a foot wrong. The bowlers, too, were in complete control, never letting the Sri Lankan batsmen dominate. Moreover, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy was impressive and all his experiments, be it reshuffling of the batting order or bowling tactics, paid off. India not only mastered the conditions but also executed their plans to perfection.
India's premier batsman Virat Kohli hit back at critics, who had questioned his decision to rest during the T20I series against Sri Lanka played in India in February. Kohli, who returned and played a crucial role in India's Asia Cup triumph, said that the time away from the game actually helped him rejuvenate and 'come back mentally stronger'. "There were a lot of speculations about me when I took rest for the tour against Sri Lanka. There were all sorts of articles and things written about me questioning whether it was a right move to rest at that point of time. "There was a lot of negativity around that decision that was made, but I knew that mentally I needed a break and needed to refresh myself and comeback and do the same thing over and over again. "Good habits are really hard to create and once you get them, you need to be in full flow and continue them day in and day out. I think that break really helped me focus again and continue what I did in Australia. I am really glad I could contribute in all the games here," Kohli said in an interview to BCCI TV.
Rajneesh Gupta has some interesting numbers from the match. Check them out.
With a "no-vacancy" sign plastered on India's top order and his utility in the middle questioned by his own captain, Ajinkya Rahane suddenly finds his consistency with the bat means very little. The 27-year-old Mumbai batsman has forced his way into the final 15 for next month's World Twenty20 on home soil but is unlikely to play a major role in the hosts' bid for a second 20-over World title under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The left-right combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have locked up the opening slots, followed by batting mainstay Virat Kohli and limited-overs specialist Suresh Raina. An industrious accumulator in a lineup teeming with swashbuckling power-hitters, Rahane can only hope for a middle order slot but Dhoni, forthright as ever, has virtually dismissed the possibility. Dhoni insists Rahane, as evident from his consistent performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 competition, is at his best as an opener and lacks the muscle power to excel as a lower-order slogger.
Mumbai Indians have won three out of the four IPL finals they have been part of, including the two against CSK in 2013 and 2015.
With Yuvraj Singh's injury-forced ouster disturbing their settled line-up, India have been left with a selection dilemma to handle as they gear up to take on the flamboyant and unpredictable West Indies in what promises to be a battle of nerves in the World Twenty20 semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday. Yuvraj, who has not got big runs but was involved in crucial stands with top performer Virat Kohli during the group stage matches, has been ruled out owing to an ankle injury that he sustained in the must-win game against Australia. Manish Pandey, not in the original 15, has been penciled in to replace the all-rounder in the squad although Ajinkya Rahane is also present as a viable alternative. But it remains to be seen whether skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chooses between the two or decides to go with rookie all-rounder Pawan Negi.
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Virat Kohli was focus personified as India geared up to take on a traditionally pace-heavy South Africa in their upcoming ICC World Cup match.
Images from India's practice session at the Eden Gardens, ahead of the third and final T20 against South Africa.
'It was a good performance,' M S Dhoni said after the match. It was a little bit more than that, in that it came just when the team needed to reverse trends, to find self-belief, to be able to look ahead rather than behind.'
Being on the fringes of Indian cricket team for years can be a tad frustrating but Manoj Tiwary has learnt to live with it and is now preparing for the upcoming challenge in Zimbabwe.
All-rounder Krunal Pandya and medium pacer Deepak Chahar earned their maiden call up in the Indian squad to replace the injured Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah for the three-match Twenty20 International series against England, starting in Manchester on Tuesday.
Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar was primarily overlooked for duty in the World Cup semis and final because of questionable umpiring in the high-voltage quarter-final between Bangladesh and India.
'When you saw him, you immediately knew that he was something special.'
'What makes this team special is that over the last few years they have faced all kinds of situations in the limited overs cricket and have shown they are capable of coming out successfully from all of them.'
Mumbai get the money-spinning tournament rolling in Chennai on Friday, just four months after claiming their second successive title, with a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by India captain Virat Kohli.
India might have begun their World Cup campaign with a morale-boosting win over Pakistan but Jonty Rhodes feels that South Africa are a better all-round side and tipped them to win their high-profile clash against the defending champions in Melbourne on Sunday.
Lokesh Rahul hit his maiden century, Virat Kohli his fourth of the series but Australia's Shane Watson hit back with two wickets in as many balls to leave India on 342 for five after the third day of the fourth Test on Thursday.
As India goes into the four-match Test series against Australia, which commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, an analysis of the team.
Rediff.com rates the Indian players' performances in the ODI series.
Describing India's defence of the World Cup title as shaky, former Australia captain Ian Chappell has advised them to keep star batsman Virat Kohli at number three to negate any opposition plans to bounce them out with short-pitched deliveries on lively pitches Down Under.
Kieron Pollard singlehandedly took Mumbai Indians to an astonishing four-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL match in Delhi on Saturday.
In the run-up to the 2015 World Cup, India seemed to stumble, but were a changed side once the tournament commenced. They have been clinical in their wins and have cruised to the quarter-final. Along the way, they continued their hold over archrivals Pakistan -- winning their sixth match against the neighbours in the mega event. They then thrashed the more fancied South Africa and took care of business in the other four first round matches. Here are the key moments that stood out in each of their first round matches.
A win on Friday would seal the three-match series for Virat Kohli and Co.
Sachin Tendulkar cautioned the Indian cricket team to guard against complacency ahead of its World Cup game against South Africa, saying the Proteas are a far better fielding unit than Pakistan.
From Michael Clarke to Rohit Sharma, the global cricket fraternity on Thursday woke up singing paeans to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hours after India's most successful skipper sprang a surprise by stepping down from limited overs captaincy. Former England skipper Michel Vaughan described Dhoni as one of the greatest captains to have ever led a cricket team. "Even one of the greatest captains of all time decides enough is enough ... Well done @msdhoni on an incredible leadership term," Vaughan wrote on his Twitter page.
Former India cricketers tell Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com why it makes sense to change the Asia Cup format keeping in mind upcoming world events.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji's Most Valuable Player Index after the South Africa ODIs presents a depressing view of the Indian players' showing in the first half of the ongoing tour
India lead South Africa by five points and need to win two matches in order to stop falling behind the Proteas.
The same bowling which was India's weakest link coming into the World Cup has remarkably become their strongest suit as the reigning champions eased into the last four in impressive style.
