Delhi's strong batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fire on all cylinders right from the opening game.
Five members of the Indian cricket team for South Africa, including dashing opener Virender Sehwag, left in advance for the tour, in Mumbai on Monday.
Ajinkya Rahane's superb 84-run knock went in vain as Delhi Daredevils pulled off a dramatic one-run win over Rajasthan Royals to open up a three-point lead at the top of the Indian Premier League table in New Delhi on Sunday.
With this victory, Kohli became the first Indian captain to win seven consecutive Test matches.
A clinical India completed one of the most ruthless clean sweeps in recent times, demolishing a listless West Indies by 10 wickets in the second Test, inside three days, to clinch the series 2-0.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between Australia and India, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Monday.
Kuldeep Yadav, among all the players in this team, has more experience of playing with pink ball and the kind of revolution he produces, he could make it difficult for batsmen to spot the black seam of the pink kookaburra under lights.
Australia took India's last four wickets on Saturday morning to crush the tourists by 298 runs in the fourth Test and record a 4-0 series sweep.
Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who could only bowl four overs in the third ODI against Sri Lanka, is suffering from back stiffness, informed his pace colleague Umesh Yadav.
Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who could only bowl four overs in the third ODI against Sri Lanka, is suffering from back stiffness, informed his pace colleague Umesh Yadav.
David Warner is suffering from dizzy spells after being struck on the head by a bouncer from Indian paceman Umesh Yadav during the third Test but the Australian opener says he is "fit" to play the fourth match starting in Adelaide on January 24.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is in favour of drafting left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha in the India side for the Perth Test in place of a struggling R Ashwin.
Photographs from the first One Day International between India and West Indies at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee of the BCCI has picked the squads for India's upcoming series against New Zealand and Bangladesh
Two more failures in two home games could effectively mean end of the road for Ajinkya Rahane, who is leading India in the first Test in Kanpur, starting on Thursday.
With youngsters such as Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron making their presence felt, India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan cannot take his place for granted, feels former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram.Zaheer, recovering from an ankle surgery, had missed out on India's England tour and the current West Indies series but is expected to play in Australia next month.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni led from the front, scoring his first century in 21 months to help India put up a huge 631 for seven (declared) on day two of the second Test against the West Indies at Eden Gardens.
A total of 164 Indian players, 125 overseas players and three from associate nations have been enlisted for the auctions.
It was a much awaited but delayed debut. A career that seemed to be going nowhere for a while but unfolded like a dream at the venue of India's historic World Cup triumph.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer lavished praise on Rinku Singh for showing "outstanding" calmness under pressure, calling him an "asset" for the team.
It's not often that someone who is the national team doesn't make it to the playing XI in a domestic match when he is fit.
Ajinkya Rahane rubbished all the claims which stated that sometimes the emphasis is on the money in the IPL rather than the game.
Upset about being snubbed by INDIA, Nitish Kumar is weighing his political options. BJP would like him back knowing that it would jolt the Opposition alliance, perhaps irreversibly.
India's top order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is down with flu and did not come out to field on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
India dropped both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara from the side following the South Africa tour but brought them back rather than grooming youngsters? Rahane scored the bulk of the runs for India in the WTC final but was going back to him and Pujara the right call?
The Indian cricket team suffered an injury scare as Sachin Tendulkar escaped unhurt after being hit on the helmet by a rising delivery from fast bowler Umesh Yadav during pre-series training at coach Gary Kirsten's academy in Cape Town.
From Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma sharing the limelight with their raw talent, to SRH's Travis Head smashing some brutal boundaries to notch up big runs and totals for his franchise, this season has had some real power hitters on show.
Kohli decorated his innings with five boundaries and two sixes.
But the focus will be on 19-year-old Gill, who has broken into the Indian Test squad for the three-match series against the Proteas, starting on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.
The stage will also be set for Virat Kohli to score his first Test hundred since November 2019.
Ravindra Jadeja, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury, was included as the selectors felt that he would recover in time for the 2015 ICC World Cup.
Jadeja might take a painkiller injection and come out to bat on the final day of the game at SCG as India seek to save the Test.
The big question is of bench strength and chances for the likes of KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik and Umesh Yadav.
The Indian team on Sunday began training for the decisive third and final Test against South Africa here, hoping to recover from the defeat in Johannesburg and claim its maiden series win in the Rainbow Nation.
His captaincy debut soured by the embarrassing loss to Zimbabwe, skipper Suresh Raina blamed his inexperienced bowlers for the debacle in Friday's tri-series opener.
After a long wait of 12 years, Ishant finally got a five-wicket haul (5/22) at home.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the WTC final against Australia?
The Indian pace attack has been talked up of late and to be fair, they have done a decent job in South Africa.
Rajneesh Gupta previews Game 49 in IPL 12: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals.
Injured Rohit Sharma's availability for the second Test against Bangladesh, starting in Mirpur from December 22, will be known in a day or two, stand-in India captain KL Rahul said on Sunday.
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