Former coach Ravi Shastri has backed India to win the Boxing Day Test, saying the visitors have exploited Australia's "brittle" top order to have their "nose ahead" in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
'I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal. I tried to ring to try and talk to him about it.'
LSG made a big statement by buying Rishabh Pant for a massive Rs 27 crore -- making him the costliest purchase in the history of IPL auctions.
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has refused to get drawn into the discussion over Mitchell Johnson's explosive column on opener David Warner and instead opted to provide a shining endorsement for his fellow World Cup winner.
If the humiliation of India being able to declare their second innings on 487/6 reflected poorly on the bowling unit, it was the Australian batting line-up dismissed for 104 in their first innings that bore the brunt of the blame.
Shubman Gill has made far too many changes in his batting approach, which is hindering his run-scoring ability on away tours, feels former Australian captain Ricky Pointing
Virat Kohli may reclaim the RCB captaincy in IPL 2025.
'We still prepare the pitch the exact same way every time to try and get the same good carry, pace and bounce that the Gabba is known for.'
Former Australia batsman Stuart Law has been appointed head coach of the US men's team ahead of their home T20 World Cup in June.
Bailey confirmed that Warner will be selected for the West Indies series and will be expected to participate.
Ben Stokes came up with a witty response after an Australian newspaper ridiculed him following the controversy over Jonny Bairstow's dismissal in the Lord's Test.
Bumrah leads a competitive field, including South African speedster Kagiso Rabada (856) and Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood (851).
Mohammed Siraj's hot temper has become a topic of discussion but Australian quick Josh Hazlewood says the Indian pacer is a 'good character' who fires up the crowd.
Australia's winning streak in day-night Tests was ended in January by the West Indies, who won a cliffhanger by eight runs at the Gabba.
In the shadows of a sliding rupee, India's knitwear hub Tiruppur is weaving a success story. While the domestic currency edges closer to the 86 mark against the US dollar, triggering concerns for many sectors, this textile town in Tamil Nadu is finding opportunity in adversity: Between April and December alone, Tiruppur's exports reached Rs 26,000 crore, almost eclipsing last financial year's total of Rs 30,690 crore.
He overtook Australian spinner Nathan Lyon to become the seventh highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Smriti Mandhana closed in on the top spot while occupying the second slot in both the ICC T20I and ODI batting rankings released
Back-to-back Test series wins over Australia are almost unheard of but India have won the last four they have played.
Gautam Gambhir's position as India's head coach is under scrutiny following a string of disappointing results and reports of discontent within the team.
Sunil Gavaskar feels a subtle adjustment to his batting stance in the second innings of the Perth Test helped Virat Kohli rediscover his batting form.
McSweeney was dismissed by Bumrah four times across six innings and the Australia selectors have replaced him with teenage sensation Sam Konstas for the Melbourne and Sydney Test.
Jaishankar said, "The immediate part which awaits us is what we call the de-escalation, which is the build-up of forces along the Line of Actual Control."
Huge tri-colour-themed banners have been put up along the Kartavya Path while the theme for this year's tableaux that would roll down the boulevard where the annual Republic Day celebrations take place is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on 75 years of the enactment of the Constitution.
Kohli is struggling for big runs of late and his last Test century was against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023.
'I want him to get out there, smash it, try and win this Test match.'
Michael Clarke expressed that if star India batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fail to perform during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, they could retire
The 53-year-old Dyson, who played 30 Tests and 29 one-dayers between 1977 and 1984, coached Sri Lanka for nearly two years from 2003.
At the grassroots level, CA reported an increase in registered participation in community cricket from 627,793 to 661,161, although there was a 3% drop in the number of junior cricketers.
Tahitian Kauli Vaast surfed a near perfect final to claim the gold medal for France in the men's event on Monday.
Ashwin's legacy, marked by his intellect and dominance on the field, will resonate for years to come.
Brook's average of 62.54 is the second highest in Test history among players with a minimum of 20 Test innings. His average is only second to the incpmparable Australian batter Sir Don Bradman, who scored 6,996 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 99.94, with 29 centuries and 13 fifties.
Australia's mouthwatering clash with India sees the two behemoths of the modern game go head-to-head in five tests over six weeks with the tourists eyeing a third straight series triumph Down Under.
Delving further deep into the chances of the Harmanpreer Kaur-led side, Sthalekar said India have the wherewithal to beat Australia, their nemesis in global events over the years
India claimed a memorable four-wicket victory at Adelaide Oval, on December 16, 2003 -- their first Test win on Australian soil in 22 years.
India's Arshdeep Singh is in the race for the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year along with Pakistan's Babar Azam, Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza and Australia's Travis Head, the ICC revealed on Sunday.
Blending the magic of the Kanjeevaram as a sculpted corset, worn with a Banarasi sari, the effect is both contemporary and exquisite.
All eyes will be on star India batter Virat Kohli, who is perhaps battling the biggest form crisis of his career.
2024 saw some of the most competitive and captivating cricket being played on the field.
Head blasted a match-winning, unbeaten 154 from 129 balls at Trent Bridge as world champions Australia stormed to a seven-wicket win over England in the first ODI on Thursday.
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