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.
Images from the fourth day's play in the second Test between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
India Abroad's Harish Kotian is at the Eden Gardens posting updates as they happen. Follow what's the latest from the Test on Harish's MyPage!
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!
Kerala pacer S Sreesanth, ruled out of the first Test against South Africa following a hamstring tear against Bangladesh in Chittagong last month, declared he is fully fit and ready to take on the Proteas.
Senior Indian batsman VVS Laxman will return home after a hand injury ruled him out of the second and final Test against Bangladesh starting on Sunday in Dhaka.
Ahead of start of play on Day 2, the former pacer was also seen having a chat with India's bowlers including Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
Look at your career before commenting on Dhoni: Shastri
Indian opener Gautam Gambhir capped a memorable 2009 by ending the year as the No 1 Test batsman in the ICC rankings issued on Thursday.
Ganguly however feels Dhoni has a lot of cricket left in him, especially in one-dayers.
Sachin Tendulkar may not have been a huge success as India captain but many a young career bloomed under his leadership, said former India skipper Sourav Ganguly.
VVS Laxman continued his prolific run in English cricket, hitting another half-century to guide Lancashire to 226 for seven against Yorkshire in their County Championship match at Headingley Carnegie. Opting to bat first, Lancashire ran into trouble losing both their openers when the score read just two before Laxman (50) starred in two crucial partnerships to steady the ship.
The PM appealed to politicians, members of the film fraternity, sportspersons, businessmen, spiritual leaders and members of the media to encourage increased voter participation and urged them to inspire more people to come out and vote during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
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.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli thwarted Australia in a diligent partnership to push India to a position of strength and a 166-run lead at the close of day three of the first Test on Saturday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 3:
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.
Virat Kohli, copping criticism for his debatable selection policy for the Centurion Test, should be backed to the hilt since it is his first 'real overseas tour' as captain, reckons seasoned Harbhajan Singh.
Sports fraternity mourns former PM Vajpayee's demise
Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly revealed on Friday that India skipper Virat Kohli is open to the idea of playing day-night Tests. His comments come following a meeting with Kohli, in Mumbai on Thursday, during which the idea was floated.
And congratulations were in store for the team.
Sourav Ganguly will have his hands full during his nine-month tenure
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.
Coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli's dressing room rift after India's ICC Champions Trophy final loss should have been handled in a matured way, former skipper Sourav Ganguly said in Kolkata, on Tuesday.
VVS Laxman could not repeat the first-innings heroics but his brief 23-run knock was crucial nonetheless as his team Lancashire escaped to a draw against Durham in a three-day match of the County Championships at Old Trafford.
Star Indian batsman VVS Laxman struck his first County Championship century to put Lancashire in the box seat against Yorkshire on day three of the Division One match in Manchester. After bundling out Yorkshire for 181 in the first essay, Lancashire rode on centuries from Mal Loye (146) and Laxman (109) to reach 489 for five before declaring their innings.
Statistical highlights of the second One-day International cricket match between India and England being played in Indore on Monday.
Sporting fraternity hails Sindhu's historic World C'ships gold
Middle-order mainstays Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, along with four other members of India's Test squad, left for New Zealand from Mumbai early on Monday for the three-match Test series starting March 18.
VVS Laxman played second fiddle to Andrew Flintoff as Lancashire thumped Derbyshire by 56 runs in the Twenty20 Cup in London. Flintoff hammered 93 from 41 balls to hog the limelight but Laxman's 45-ball 63 was no less significant as the duo shared a fourth-wicket stand of 99 to help Lancashire pile up 220 for five, their best ever Twenty20 score.
Statistical highlights on day two of the third cricket Test between India and New Zealand, in Indore, on Sunday.
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.
Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman flopped with the bat but Team India discard Dinesh Karthik slammed a whirlwind 153 as South Zone posted 329 on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy match against Central Zone in Bangalore on Thursday. In reply, Central Zone were 30 for no loss at stumps, with Tanmay Srivastava (13) and Shivakant Shukla (11) in the middle, still 299 runs behind South's first innings' total.
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.
As India and Sri Lanka clash in a three-Test series, here's a look at the career records of the Indian players.
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.
Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Tuesday denied undermining the authority of VVS Laxman, his captain at Deccan Chargers, but maintained that the Indian lacks aggression.
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.
Gautam Gambhir batted for almost 11 hours and VVS Laxman stroked his 14th Test century to ensure India secured a draw in the second Test against New Zealand in Napier on Monday. This was only the eighth instance of India facing 1,000 balls in second innings of a Test.
Riding on the match-saving hundred against New Zealand in the second cricket Test, Indian batsman VVS Laxman on Tuesday returned to the top-20 of the ICC Rankings, up six places to 15th in the latest list.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances