Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan destroyed South Africa's batting to give India the upperhand at the end of day two in the second Test.
Ricky Ponting, who stepped down from the captaincy in March and turned 37 on Monday, needs a first Test ton in nearly two years merely to save his career.
Former South Africa captain Clive Rice rates the India bowling attack higher than South Africa's and said the home bowlers would struggle to take 20 wickets against a batting line-up, which boasts of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, in the Test series starting next week.
And proud BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly posted pictures from the city as landmarks were adorned in the bright hue.
Images from the opening day's play of the second Test between India and West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Rahul Dravid slammed a fluent 119 to put India in command before the West Indies snapped up two quick wickets at the fag end of the day to recover marginally in the second Test at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Monday. Opting to bat, Dravid and VVS Laxman (73 batting) continued their love affair with their favourite Eden Gardens track as their 140-run partnership put India in a strong position of 346 for five at close on the opening day.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori had no qualms in admitting that India's lower-order batman Harbhajan Singh denied the Kiwis a possible win in the first Test in Ahmedabad with his aggressive brand of cricket.
Chris Martin claimed five wickets and Kane Williamson and Jesse Ryder hit centuries to help New Zealand push for victory against India, on Day 4 of the first Test at the Sardar Patel stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Sunday. At close on day four, India were struggling at 82 for six in 40 overs, for an overall lead of 109 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar's quest for a record 100th international ton continued, but India rode on his fluent 76 to script an admirable come-from-behind five-wicket victory over the West Indies with more than four sessions to spare at the Ferozshah Kotla on Wednesday.
Reading Team India's strong batting line-up in slow motion is sending shudders down New Zealand bowlers' spine, cricket columnist David Leggat has said.
Impressed with the way India team snatched a narrow one-wicket victory over Australia in the first cricket Test, legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar said it is one of the greatest sporting achievements of the country.
Abhishek Sharma smashed a 46-ball 100 as India thrashed Zimbabwe by 100 runs in the second T20 International.
New Zealand Cricket on Sunday confirmed that six Indian players would turn out in the domestic championship as warm-up to the Test series, diffusing the tension between BCCI and Kiwi players' Association over the involvement of ICL-linked players in the tournament.
He no longer plays for Australia, but Andrew Symonds showed he is still one of the most dangerous players around. In fact, he forms an integral part of the Deccan Chargers middle order and he proved that yet again with a cracking knock of 53 against Kings XI punjab in the IPL match in Cuttack on Friday.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers in Chennai, on Sunday.
Statistical highlights of the second One-day International cricket match between India and England being played in Indore on Monday.
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar tops the list of the world's 100 best Test cricketers named by legendary spinner Shane Warne in his book Shane Warne's century', which also features as many as 10 other Indians. Warne's list from among cricketers whom he had played with or against also includes Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri.
India opener Gautam Gambhir had his numero uno status intact while team-mate Virender Sehwag slipped a place to sixth in the latest ICC ranking for the Test batsmen.
Virender Sehwag on Friday slipped to fifth position, loss of one place, in the ICC ranking for the Test batsmen but his fellow opener Gautam Gambhir held on to his top position.
Ace statistician Rajneesh Gupta presents a detailed statistical analysis of Rahul Dravid's performances in the last few years and not surprising it has been dipping at an alarming rate in the last couple of years.
Interestingly, Sourav Ganguly's run-aggregate since his comeback in December 2006, is the highest by any Indian batsman in Test matches in this period.
Indian opener Gautam Gambhir regained the number one spot but veterans Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman lost ground in the International Cricket Council's Test Rankings, issued on Sunday.
Live updates from Day 5 of the third and final Test between India and South Africa in Cape Town, on Thursday.
Ace spinner Harbhajan Singh feels India have a great chance of winning the second Test against South Africa provided they bat well in the first session and post a target of over 300 on Tuesday, Day 3.
An inspired spell by speedster Dale Steyn helped by some poor shot selection from Indian top-order saw visitors reeling at 183 for six when stumps were drawn on a rain-curtailed first day of the second Test match at Kingsmead, Durban on Sunday.
Stalwarts Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, as well as in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, were not retained by their franchises for 2011 and 2012 Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons and will go into the players' auction pool to be bought by interested teams.
Impressed with his consistent performance and attitude, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram feels Virat Kohli can become the future captain of India if he continues to work hard.
Former India star batsman VVS Laxman prefers all-rounder Hardik Pandya over Karun Nair in the playing XI for the first Test match against England, considering his all-round skill sets. Laxman is a firm believer of the "five bowler theory" and wants Pandya to open the bowling with Mohammed Shami, with Amit Mishra playing as the third specialist spinner.
Rediff.com features the best sports images from the last 24 hours.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India named batsman Abhinav Mukund and pacer Jaydev Unadkat as replacements for Gambhir and Ishant respectively.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has hit back at John Buchanan for taking a swipe at some of the Indian cricketing greats, saying he was habituated to being criticised by Australians but surprised at the pot shots on the likes Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
India found themselves in trouble despite Virender Sehwag's unbeaten half-century after Sri Lanka had amassed a huge first innings total on day three of the rain-affected first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, on Tuesday.
Opener Gautam Gambhir is the highest-placed Indian batsman at fourth while Harbhajan Singh is the top Indian bowler at sixth in the latest ICC Test Rankings issued on Monday.
Sourav Ganguly completed his maiden double century in Bangalore Test. His innings is now the seventh highest by an Indian batsman.
Both India and England retained their teams that played the second Test at Trent Bridge.
The panel wanted Anil Kumble to continue as India's coach but the former captain was bent on quitting after his fallout with skipper Virat Kohli last year.
His prolonged slump in form notwithstanding, Rahul Dravid retained his place in Grade A as the BCCI on Monday offered new contracts to 37 players. The players have been clubbed in four grades in the new contract which would cover the October 2008 - September 2009 period, BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.
Images from the fourth day's play in the second Test between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Their number one ranking under threat, India cannot settle for anything less than a win as they go into the second and final Test against South Africa at the Eden gardens today. Can India bounce back and square the series? India Abroad's Harish Kotian is at the ground posting updates as they happen. Follow what's the latest from the Test on Harish's MyPage!
