India nearly scripted an epic win but the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka ended in a draw after a tantalising final day's cricket.
Jimmy Anderson showed he remains a deadly proposition in English conditions, taking 5-20, as England bowled out India for a miserly 107 on the second day of the second Test at Lord's, on Friday.
India amassed 600 in their first innings and returned to blow away the top half of the Sri Lankan batting order to tighten their grip on the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
Faced with the prospect of a humiliating 0-3 series whitewash, a desperate India would be aiming to bounce back to winning ways against an unrelenting South Africa in the third and final Test, starting in Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
Kohli trails Smith by 26 points and will have to produce a string of strong performances to leapfrog the Australian.
India's 3-0 whitewash of South Africa in the four-match Test series has surprised former captain Sunil Gavaskar even though he feels that the Proteas were incapable of playing on Indian pitches.
Virat Kohli will be facing the toughest battle of his nascent ODI captaincy career when defending champions India take on South Africa in a do-or-die match of the ICC Champions Trophy, in London, on Sunday.
Joe Root scored his second ODI hundred as England denied India a clean sweep with a 41-run victory in the fifth and final match of the One-Day International series, in Leeds.
England opener Keaton Jennings struck a century on debut before off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin led an Indian fightback with late wickets to leave the visitors 288 for five on the first day of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Thursday.
The two areas where India's team management and selectors need to do a lot of brainstorming are the No 4 slot and an extra fast bowler.
The Indians dominated the Test match for four days at Sabina Park with both bat and ball. Yet, they fell short of the victory marker on the fifth and final day when they needed to take six wickets in 98 overs.
Bangladesh are expecting that batting coach Neil McKenzie will help them decode the Indian spinners.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test played between India and Australia at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday
It is understood that Kohli, Rahane, Shami, Jadeja will be sweating it out at the nets alongside Ashwin, who has already bowled a whopping 58 overs and taken seven wickets in a County game for Surrey last week.
According to PTI, the chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma has asked the duo to regain form by playing Ranji Trophy.
A stat pack of India and New Zealand's ODI careers...
Vijay Shankar could well be the 'joker in the pack' if the Indian team management decides to try him
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 3:
India will be desperately hoping that Rohit replicates his limited overs success in the traditional format
'We are expected to perform on a consistent basis. But I think the rest and time to prepare should be adequate for all'
New Zealand beat India by 19 runs in the fourth one-day international to level the five-match series at 2-2 as the hosts suffered a mid-innings collapse at Ranchi on Wednesday. - Scorecard: Chasing 261 for a series clinching win, India were all out for 241 with eight balls to spare. Opener Ajinkya Rahane's fluent 57 put India on course for the chase and the right-handed batsman added 79 for the second wicket with the in-form Virat Kohli (45).
'Siraj, leader of the attack in his first Test series and he has led from the front.'
India gets new face in pace attack
Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the five-match T20 series in New Zealand due to a shoulder injury
Narayan Jagadeesan followed up his double ton in the previous game with a magnificent triple century to help Tamil Nadu declare their first innings
Alex Hales hit an unbeaten half-century to steer England to a series-levelling five-wicket victory in the second T20 International against India in Cardiff.
Australia looked destined for their biggest score of the series against India after a half century from debutant opener Will Pucovski helped them to 166 for two at the end of the rain-disrupted first day of the third Test in Sydney on Thursday.
The series appeared done and dusted when in the 4th ODI on Sunday India began a modest 190-run chase but their intimidating batting line-up fell short by 11 runs in a stunning turnaround on a slow pitch.
Former speed merchant Brett Lee reckons Australia's pace trio would hold the key during the year-end home Test series against India and is keen to figure out how much the kookaburra ball swings without saliva Down Under.
India beat Australia by 75 runs in the second Test to level the four-match series at 1-1 after home off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took 6-41 on the fourth day in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Stung by a remarkable fightback from West Indies on the final day of the rain-hit second Test, India will have to look at their bowling combinations and get back to winning ways when the third cricket Test begins in St. Lucia, on Tuesday.
Captain Steven Smith was well-entrenched for his third century in successive Tests even though India restricted Australia to 259 for five on the opening day of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. Electing to bat, he again was the visitors' main tormentor, anchoring the innings with an undefeated 72 at stumps. Check out some photos from the day's play.
Paceman Kane Richardson claimed his maiden five-wicket haul to script India's spectacular collapse and bowl Australia to a 25-run victory in the high-scoring fourth one day international on Wednesday. Three batsmen struck centuries in the 671-run match between the world's top two one-day teams but it was Richardson's (5-68) incisive bowling that clinched the contest, while also earning him the man-of-the-match award. Chasing 349 for victory, India were cruising at 277 for one before losing their last nine wickets for 46 runs to succumb to their fourth successive defeat in the five-match series. Opener Shikhar Dhawan (126) and Virat Kohli (106) featured in a 212-run stand for the visitors before the wheels came off India's chase at Canberra's Manuka Oval.
Steve Smith admitted on Tuesday that he made a mistake by seeking help from the dressing room on a DRS call but the Australia captain insisted that the game was played in good spirit.
The Motera track may have received a lot of flak after the pink ball Test ended inside two days but it is unlikely to attract any severe sanctions from the game's governing body ICC with the pitch for the final game set to be a batting beauty.
A dominant India will be eyeing to clinch the five-Test series against England with yet another comprehensive victory when the two teams square off in the fourth match of the series starting from Thursday. With an unassailable 2-0 lead after three Tests, the confidence of the Virat Kohli-led team is sky high and they would like to regain the Anthony de Mello Trophy which they had lost to Alastair Cook's side back in 2012. Even if England manage a draw, India will win the series after the visitors' hat-trick of wins- 2011 in England, 2012 in India and 2014 in England again.
Rendered ineffective in the previous match, India's wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will look to bounce back against 'well-prepared' England batsmen when the two teams clash in the series-deciding third Twenty20 International, in Bristol, on Sunday.
Former pacer Ajit Agarkar says someone like Ravichandran Ashwin not making it to the India's playing eleven in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, speaks volumes about the strength of the bowling attack of the defending champions.
A wicketkeeper rarely earns kudos purely for his glovework but Wriddhiman Saha enjoyed that rare acclaim during the second Test against South Africa at Pune.
On a high after sealing the series with comprehensive victories, an upbeat India will be aiming to complete a 3-0 rout in order to retain it's No 1 Test ranking, when they meet a listless West Indies in the final Test match of the series in Port of Spain on Thursday. Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series after their crushing 237-run win in the third Test, Virat Kohli and his men will be aiming to go for the kill and keep their top ranking in Test. India were reinstated as the No.1 Test side after Australia 0-3 whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka.
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