India's batsmen have gone about their job efficiently, posting big totals on the board but the bowlers have been ordinary at best, allowing the hosts to chase down those tall scores in each of the first three ODIs of the five-match series.
Take a look at the statistical highlights of the fourth ODI in Kolkata on Thursday.
A summary of the day's matches in the Vijay Hazare One-day tournament.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will stand in the way of two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders' bid to make it to the play-offs in a mouthwatering Indian Premier League encounter.
Kolkata Knight Riders spinners dominated to reduce Rising Pune Supergiants to 103/6 in 17.4 overs before rain stopped play in the Indian Premier League game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday. Both teams had to share a point each and as result of which KKR rises to third spot in the points table. Piyush Chawla claimed 2/21 and bowled 13 dot balls while Sunil Narine, who returned after two matches, gave away a miserly 10 runs from 3.4 overs as Pune Supergiants struggled to break free. Skipper MS Dhoni was in the midst of Pune's terrible struggle as he crawled to eight runs from 22 balls. Pune were however looking good at 70/3 and when Dhoni walked in they were 74/4 in 10.3 overs but by the time the rain interrupted the proceedings their run-rate had slipped to less than six.
However, if anyone has unfinished business over a decade of IPL, it is India captain Virat Kohli. He made his intent amply clear earlier this week.
Indian spinners were taken to the cleaners by the English batsmen as the visitors posted a mammoth 537 on the second day of the opening cricket Test in Rajkot on Thursday. - Scorecard India made a cautious start reaching 63 for no loss with openers Murali Vijay (25 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (28 not out) at the crease. England's first innings total was their third-highest ever in this country, showing their batsmen were in total control against Indian spinners especially Ravichandran Ashwin, who conceded 167 runs in 46 overs taking only two wickets.
Kolkata Knight Riders rode on a brilliant all-round showing from Australia's Chris Lynn to score a dramatic victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match, in Sharjah, on Thursday night. After propping the Kolkata innings with a 31-ball 45, the 24-year-old Australian pulled off an acrobatic catch at the deep mid-wicket boundary line to dismiss A B de Villiers in the last over of the match, and RCB, chasing 151 for victory, fell short by two runs.
Young Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh kept his cool under pressure as his breathtaking 18-ball 45 helped Royal Challengers Bangalore pip Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets in a thrilling Indian Premier League match, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
- 'If Kohli can bat as many overs as possible, it will be beneficial to the team' - 'Game-plan has to be complemented by performance'
'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.
A clutch of Indian stars led by India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli are either sidelined or ruled out of this edition of the tournament, lessening the wow factor of the IPL.
Robin Uthappa and Sunil Narine played lead roles as Kolkata Knight Riders booked a berth in the play-offs of the Indian Premier League after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Kolkata Knight Riders took a giant stride towards ensuring a play-off berth as they walloped Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets to take their winning streak to five matches in the seventh edition of IPL.
Karnataka's in-form young opener K L Rahul has staked a strong claim for his inclusion in India's Test squad to Australia.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com picks his best eleven on performances from the first half of the tournament.
Sandeep Sharma scalped three crucial wickets as Kings XI Punjab produced a disciplined bowling display to compensate for their batting failure and notch up a comfortable 23-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match in Abu Dhabi.
With only a day to go for the start of the much-anticipated five-match Test series between India and England, all eyes would be on aggressive skipper Virat Kohli as he readies to motivate his boys and avenge the 2012 home series loss against Alastair Cook's men.
This was the 36th tie in one-day international history and the 8th involving India.
Rifleman Aurangzeb, who belonged to the 44 Rashtriya Rifles, was on way back home on June 14 to celebrate Eid when terrorists abducted him.
Manish Pandey played a blinder as Kolkata Knight Riders held their nerves to beat a spirited Kings XI Punjab by three wickets in an exhilarating summit clash to win the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore on Sunday.
Led ably by Shardul Thakur, Mumbai bowlers put up a much better display than the previous game and shot out Railways for a paltry 217 on day one of their four-day Group 'B' Ranji Trophy tie at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Andre Russell smashed a breathtaking half-century while Ryan ten Doeschate struck a fine unbeaten 51 to guide Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a stunning seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
From Rohit Sharma's record breaking double century in One-Day Internationals, the team's never-ending woes in overseas Tests, to the controversy surrounding Board of Control for Cricket in India's president-in-exile Narayanswami Srinivasan over the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal, Indian cricket had the good, bad and ugly in equal measure in 2014.
Rajasthan Royals came from nowhere to register an improbable 10-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders courtesy a hat-trick from veteran Pravin Tambe and a three-wicket burst from Shane Watson.
Youngster Hardik Pandya blasted an unbeaten half-century to help Mumbai Indians edge past Kolkata Knight Riders and boost their hopes of making it to the play-offs in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Tamil Nadu produced an all-round display to beat Mumbai by 26 runs and register their second consecutive win in the Vijay Hazare One-Day cricket tournament, on Friday.
'It is not just about one skill anymore, so everyone needs to contribute with whatever they can.' 'It certainly puts the opposition on the defensive when you know that all eleven can bat.'
With it's scandalous past, still fresh in the minds of fans and critics alike, the Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers will look to ensure that the focus remains firmly on cricket when the cash-rich event gets underway with a glamorous opening ceremony on Tuesday.
A look at the squads for the seventh season of the Indian Premier League at the conclusion of the two-day auction in Bangalore.
Who were the most valuable players in the just-concluded India-Australia ODI series? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji 's formula provides overwhelming evidence that the bat complete overwhelmed the bat.
With a MVPI of 1128 the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain has set records that even he might find hard to surpass.
'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.'
In-form Virat Kohli leads the MVP rankings in the IPL with a MVPI of 1062 but David Warner, enjoying a sensational run with the bat and currently at third with a MVPI of 878, has the RCB captain in his sights.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji analyse IPL performances in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings for the ongoing IPL 8
With a MVPI of 619, David Warner is currently IPL 8's most successful player. A B de Villiers (603), after his recent magic at Wankhede stadium, is just behind, and could still be this IPL's top player if Royal Challengers Bangalore can make it to the semi-finals.
A summary of Wednesday's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
IPL 8 is past the half-way mark, and Andre Russell of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is emerging.
Dwayne Bravo edges past A B de Villers in IPL8.
