The Indian team landed in South Africa for the Test series, starting on December 26.
A virgin Motera pitch has become the big talking point as captain Virat Kohli looks to get the combination right with India looking to continue their momentum to trouble England in the day-night third Test match, starting in Ahmedabad, on Wednesday.
The legend was greeted by thunderous shouts of 'Dhoni! Dhoni!' that echoed all around the Wankhede stadium when he walked in to bat at No 7 with CSK reeling on 61/5 in the 11th over.
India's formidably consistent match-winners have a date with history in the New Year when they take on an out-of-sorts South Africa in the second Test in Johannesburg from Monday in pursuit of a coveted first-ever series win in the Rainbow Nation.
If the Indian bowling unit has developed into a lethal and most feared one, it's precisely because the bowlers have learnt to hunt in a pack, head coach Ravi Shastri said.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Gearing up for a gruelling tour of Australia, the Indian team on Saturday began outdoor training with a light session after the entire contingent tested negative for COVID-19.
The scenes that unfold before and after an IPL 2022 game often make for interesting viewing.
Did Rashid's cameo outshine all the other knocks?
It was Shami and his pace colleagues who inflicted telling blows that Bangladesh could never recover from.
Rahane repeated his answers in a loop which was all about 'playing to your strengths and backing each other'.
Talking about the pace department, Panesar picked Umesh Yadav as the third pacer ahead of Shardul Thakur. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are automatic selections in the playing eleven.
Jasprit Bumrah will have to squeeze every ounce of energy from his already overworked body, while Ajinkya Rahane will hope to get one final chance to save his international career when India take on England in the fifth and final Test, chasing a historic series win, in Manchester on Friday.
Pat Cummins produced a vicious bowling onslaught to leave India battered and bruised as Australia took a 296-run lead on day three.
MSK Prasad advised the team to take the final call depending on the conditions at that time.
Unless India performs very well at the T20 World Cup, it could be curtains for chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma.
Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled off a nail-biting win over Delhi Daredevils via the Super Over in a thrilling Pepsi Indian Premier League match, in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Australia were 179 for 8 in their second knock, leading India by 230 runs on a day when 15 wickets fell on what appears to be a difficult yet not an impossible Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels the potency of Australia's pace attack in English conditions gives them the edge in next month's World Test Championship final against India, who could be "badly affected" by the absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.
Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal. Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Umesh Yadav and Umran Malik. Sam Curran, Harry Brook, Jofra Archer and Kagiso Rabada.
Defending champions Gujarat Titans will be eyeing a hat-trick of victories, while Kolkata Knight Riders, fresh from their decimation of Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be keen to show that win was not a flash in the pan when the two sides clash in the IPL in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Captain Kohli and Coach Shastri's selection choices for the first two Tests against England, which India lost, were bizarre. Why, for instance, did they drop Umesh Yadav and include Kuldeep Yadav for a seaming track at Lord's? Instinct, gentlemen, can't overrule logic. Time we helped Messrs Kohli and Shastri pick the side for the Trent Bridge Test. What changes must India make for the must-win third Test?
Despite the win against KXIP, RCB remain at the bottom of the points table and remain to win all their remaining league games to have any hopes of progressing in the tournament.
'The confidence we have with so many victories in Test matches, though they have come at home but still... going on a winning note is always good. So I am sure this is one of the most balanced teams that we have'
Kolkata Knight Riders left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav was the surprise inclusion in India's One-Day International squad for the first three matches of the forthcoming series against West Indies.
The Indian selectors will face a huge dilemma when they sit down on Sunday to select the Indian squad for the Test series against Australia, starting later this month.
The mood in the Indian camp was summed up best by the skipper after a green pitch was unveiled on eve of the maiden Test at the new facility.
Young wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson and leg spinner Karn Shama are the new faces in India's squad for the One-Day International series against England.
Mohammed Shami will be needed on a dry Motera surface, which might be conducive for reverse swing.
KL Rahul has been ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar series after spraining his left wrist while batting in the nets.
Batsmen have dominated so far this season in the five rounds of matches, completed on Tuesday, with as many as 122 hundreds being hit in 60 matches.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar backed the national selectors for not making changes to the Test squad in the wake of the crushing defeat against England in the Mumbai match, saying it was not required at this stage.
Join Harish Kotian on Rediff ZaraBol at 1730 IST and discuss the selection of India's squad for the third Test against England at Kolkata.
The Indian seam attack was conspicuous by its absence during the final practice session ahead of the first Test against England at Motera beginning Thursday.
The Elite list is set to comprise only three players ---skipper Virat Kohli, his limited overs deputy Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
The India team sent out a message saying Ashwin was after all to be included in the squad and a decision on whether he played would not be made until the first morning of the match on Thursday.
Delhi Daredevils produced a superb bowling show as they crushed Kolkata Knight riders by 52 runs in their opening Champions League Twenty20 match in Centurion on Saturday.
No Indian cricketer figures in the ICC's World Cup XI, which is dominated by runners-up New Zealand rather than champions Australia.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
The 6'7" seam-bowling all-rounder's inclusion in Australia's line-up was expected after his impressive hundred in the first warm-up game against India A.
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