Tamil Nadu edged out last edition's runners-up Maharashtra by virtue of first innings lead in a drawn encounter, to set up a summit clash with their southern rivals and reigning champions Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament.
RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
The Elite list is set to comprise only three players ---skipper Virat Kohli, his limited overs deputy Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat.
Deepu Kumar (27) was expecting his first child in June but his life was cut short in a terror attack in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, leaving his poor family without its sole breadwinner.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel scalped five wickets as India 'A' spinners shot out South Africa 'A' for 260 on Day 1 of the second and final unofficial 'Test' in Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday.
England Lions cruised to a seven-wicket victory in the opening encounter of the Tri-nation 'A' series, in Derby, on Friday.
Manish Pandey continued his good form as India 'A' outclassed Afghanistan 'A' by 113 runs.
A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
A summary of Ranji matches played on Tuesday.
Time is fast running out for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, a team which desperately needs its batting to click when it takes on SunRisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Tuesday in a battle to keep its IPL hopes alive.
A new captain in the saddle, Kolkata Knight Riders would look to sort out their batting woes and strive for consistency when they face Sunrisers Hyderabad in an intriguing mid-table Indian Premier League clash, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.
Their bowling attacks struggling to find form, Kings XI Punjab and SunRisers Hyderabad will look towards their power-hitters to do the job when the two erratic teams go head to head in an IPL match, in Dubai, on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma is in sublime form and he can pummel any attack into submission on his day.
Skipper David Warner felt Sunrisers Hyderabad were were probably 20-30 runs short in the loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League on Saturday.
Though different voices are emerging from within the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh over the issue, several saffron party MLAs, including senior leaders, appeared worried about a possible repeat of the 'Gujarat formula' to overcome anti-incumbency in the central state, where Assembly elections are due in end-2023.
Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday announced that opener Shikhar Dhawan has been traded to Delhi Daredevils for the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League next year.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
India coach Ravi Shastri said he would have preferred a 16-member World Cup squad instead of the mandated 15 and urged those who missed out to 'not lose heart'.
For all those who are likely to get a game, there will be just one target -- to make most of their chances as some of them might not get too many with just about 16 months left for the 50-overs World Cup.
Uncapped left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar has joined the test squad from the Pakistan A team currently in Hamilton.
Usman Khawaja struck his second century in three matches as Australia thumped India by 35 runs in their final one-dayer to seal a come-from-behind 3-2 series victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, on Wednesday.
Krishnappa Gowtham's late assault proved to the difference as India B registered a comprehensive 51-run win over India C to win the Deodhar Trophy title.
While the two T20 matches will be a precursor to the ODI series, vice-captain Rohit Sharma is likely to be given a short break to rejuvenate and come back fresh for the ODIs.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy semi-final matches played on Monday
'He also understands and foresees potential challenges.'
The paucity of pace-bowling all-rounders in Indian cricket played a role in Hardik Pandya being fast-tracked into the senior team but he deserves credit for making the most of his rare talent, says former captain and under-19 coach Rahul Dravid.
One more factor that could go in Agarwal's favour is Shikhar Dhawan's prolonged bad patch and the need to have another back-up option, apart from K L Rahul, ready.
Virat Kohli shows no signs of pressure when he bats but the India captain says it's because he knows how to fake it.
'It has been a really important last few series for me to set the benchmark at the No. 4 position, which all of us are competing for at the moment'
Getting the combination right would be topmost on Sunrisers Hyderabad's to-do list when they take on a qualitatively superior Mumbai Indians in an IPL encounter in Chennai on Saturday, trying to arrest an early slide after back-to-back defeats.
The former captain's struggling innings of 51 off 96 balls and his failure to rotate the strike in the first ODI has brought to focus the rejigging that captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri will have to fret upon.
One of the most consistent teams in the Indian Premier League over the last few years, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be one of the teams to watch out for in IPL 2021.
With quite a few characters joining the cast, it would be interesting to see how the story unravels in season two, notes Namrata Thakker.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bangalore on Saturday
The Aussie opener is back with the Orange Army after he was not disallowed by the BCCI last year following his involvement in the ball tampering saga in the Cape Town Test in March 2018.
Abhinav Mukund and skipper Ambati Rayudu struck half-centuries as India A gained a slight edge, reaching 342 for six against South Africa A, thereby taking a 82-run lead at stumps on the second day of the second and final unofficial 'Test'.
Middle-order batsman Omphile Ramela struck an attractive century as South Africa 'A' posted a comfortable 293 for 4 on the opening day of the first unofficial 'Test' against India 'A', in Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday. Riding on the left-hander's 112 off 197 balls, the Proteas dictated terms after skipper Dane Vilas chose to bat.
'If you want to win the tournament everyone needs to do well.'
For Hyderabad, KXIP encounter is the last game where they can avail the services of Warner before he leaves home for Australia's World Cup preparations alongside Steven Smith and Marcus Stoinis.
