For skipper Virat Kohli, the primary aim will be to get an idea of his core group of players going into the ICC T20 World Cup in October.
The West Indies laid down a significant marker ahead of the ODI series as they comfortably beat England by 21 runs in their sole Twenty20 fixture at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.
At one stage, Rahul Tewatia was struggling on 17 from 23 balls, before he smashed his way to a remarkable 53 from 30 balls to help Rajasthan Royals make IPL history.
Royals core comprises of three Englishmen -- Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer and their Australian skipper Steve Smith.
Taylor, who missed the third game in Wellington with a quadriceps injury, was limping badly after he appeared to suffer a similar strain but still combined with Tom Latham (71) for 187 runs as New Zealand scored 339 for five in 49.3 overs to chase down England's 335 for nine.
England needed seven from their final seven balls with five wickets remaining, but collapsed in the face of Ngidi's off-cutters
Australia made a good start before a dramatic collapse saw them slip from 144 for two in the run chase to be 207 all-out.
England leg spinner Mason Crane will make his debut in the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia this week after all-rounder Chris Woakes was ruled out of the match by injury, captain Joe Root said on Wednesday.
For a team that looked at ease all along, it was their first defeat in the UAE leg -- and three from 11 matches this season -- as Delhi struggled to get going against KKR bowlers who made full use of the slow surface after opting to bowl.
Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, have done an excellent job in restricting the oppositions but KKR's top-order batting has hurt them the most.
'Should the ECB Board receive formal confirmation that Ben Stokes has either been charged or that he will face no charges, they would convene within 48 hours to make a decision on his availability for the team at that stage'
Up against Delhi Capitals, RCB will need to address their middle-order woes, to return to winning ways, in what could be touted as a battle of equals.
Morgan expects English cricketers to take full advantage of the IPL, starting April 10.
Here's the complete list of which team bagged who, and for how much!
This year's IPL was action-packed and Redifff.com reloads some of the memorable moments, in pictures, from this year's competition.
The Indian team may look to revisit its 50-over template while picking up pieces from the thrashing in the second match as they aim to complete a hat-trick of series wins against England in the third and final ODI, in Pune, on Sunday.
Struggling opener Shikhar Dhawan will be the focus in a spoilt-for-choice Indian team when it takes on world champion England in a three-match ODI series starting in Pune on Tuesday.
Against England on Monday and then Wednesday's game versus Australia, the Indian team management would look to give the players who are still not automatic choices in the playing XI, more overs to bat or bowl to get a better idea about their current form.
Archer, who has played his junior cricket in the Caribbean and qualified to play for England only in April, is a familiar figure for the West Indies camp and it knows what the 24-year-old is capable of.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Billings, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, Jason Roy and Curran brothers Sam and Tom landed on Wednesday morning.
For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.
It has been a dramatic turnaround for the KL Rahul-led side after a string a losses earlier in the tournament.
Rishabh Pant's brute power will be put to test against Rashid Khan's bagful of tricks in an IPL encounter where Delhi Capitals will start as favourites against SunRisers Hyderabad due to their better bowling resources.
Captain Eoin Morgan scored a brilliant unbeaten 57 from 22 balls as England chased down a massive victory target of 223 to win the final Twenty20 International against South Africa on Sunday and secure a 2-1 series triumph.
The hosts, who ended a 10-match losing streak in one-day internationals against England, made 289 for six with left-hander Shimron Hetmyer hitting a magnificent unbeaten 104 from 83 balls, including four sixes.
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
Superb centuries from Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell lifted Australia to a dramatic three-wicket victory over England on Wednesday as the visitors clinched the one-day international series 2-1.
Andile Phehlukwayo delivered a superb final over as South Africa beat England by three runs in a thrilling Twenty20 international at Taunton on Friday.
Images from the third One-Day International between India and England, in Pune, on Sunday.
The in-form Rajasthan Royals will be confident of a third consecutive victory when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
With just one win, Sri Lanka are currently at the sixth spot with four points and will have to win rest of their four matches to stay in contention for the semi-final.
Images from the first One-Day International between India and England, in Pune, on Tuesday.
Eyeing a maiden IPL title, the fancied Delhi Capitals will face another litmus test in the form of a Kolkata Knight Riders unit brimming with optimism when the two sides lock horns in the Qualifier 2 match in Sharjah on Wednesday.
Getting whacked on the hand by a Cameron Bancroft shot would not keep Steve Smith from the Boxing Day Test against England, the Australia captain said on Monday.
A battle royale is in the offing as heavyweights Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals clash in a high-profile IPL encounter, in Chennai, on Tuesday.
Table-toppers Mumbai Indians are on course to make it to the play-offs but the game is crucial for Rajasthan, who are languishing in seventh place. Defeat would mean a step closer to elimination.
Eight teams have formed some of the best combinations from a pool of 64 top cricketers in the players' draft for T10League -- the limited ten-over format cricket -- that will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
The Virat Kohli-led RCB has won five of its eight games on the back of all-round performances but seemingly blundered in the eight-wicket defeat to laggards KXIP on Thursday.
Bolstered by the arrival of Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will hope for a better showing from its misfiring top order as they try to settle scores against second-placed Delhi Capitals in their return leg IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances