Rahane to lead India in one-off Test vs Afghanistan
India's 3-0 whitewash of South Africa in the four-match Test series has surprised former captain Sunil Gavaskar even though he feels that the Proteas were incapable of playing on Indian pitches.
Following Rohit Sharma's fighting half-century, India finished the day on 227-8, taking a massive 339-run lead on Day 3 of the 2nd Test in Kolkata on Sunday. Here are the statistical highlights from the day's play.
Opener Shubman Gill, who is part of the Indian squad for the South Africa Tests, perished for a three-ball duck in the second innings.
Heavyweight Cheteshwar Pujara was down with fever as Bengal gained the upperhand against a scratchy Saurashtra on an attritional opening day's play in the Ranji Trophy final, in Rajkot, on Monday. Avi Barot and Vishvaraj Jadeja struck gritty half-centuries before Bengal pacer Akash Deep struck late in the final session to leave Saurashtra at 206 for five at stumps on Day 1.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's Committee of Administrators (COA) on Tuesday doubled the annual retainership amount to Rs 2 crore for seven Grade A cricketers, including captain Virat Kohli and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari put themselves in the reckoning for next week's first Test with contrasting hundreds as India thoroughly dominated Australia A on Day 2 of the day-night practice match, in Sydney, on Saturday.
Spin great Erapalli Prasanna says the time has come for Virat Kohli to lead India in all three cricket formats, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is captaining the One-Day International and Twenty20 squads, can continue playing as wicketkeeper-batsman in the limited-overs' formats.
India justified their top ranking with their breakthrough overseas win in Australia on Monday and captain Virat Kohli has reasons to be optimistic about leading a team which can dominate Test cricket for years to come.
Pick your Playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand.
a red-ball warm-up game will be the most welcome distraction for Virat Kohli and his men as a precursor to the two-match Test series starting next week.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2023 after Game 33.
Indian swashbuckler Virat Kohli says the added responsibility has left no room for complacency in his batting and that has helped him achieve the record-breaking feat.
'A player of Dhoni's stature needs to be told that he is not being awarded a central contract for the time being and it was done in an appropriate manner.'
Parthiv Patel's positive batting with scores of 42 and 67 (not out) have impressed skipper Virat Kohli so much that he did not rule out a possibility that along with second wicketkeeeper's slot, the Gujarat stumper could also be an option as back-up opener.
Having suffered back-to-back defeats against Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Capitals will aim to get back to winning ways against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Abhimanyu Mithun claimed a third five-for of the season as Vidarbha collapsed for 185 before Karnataka were left reeling at 36 for three on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final in Kolkata.
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.
Images from Day 1 of the second Test between India and New Zealand in Kolkata, on Friday.
Only four India regulars - Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha -- turned up for optional practice session.
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma is in sublime form and he can pummel any attack into submission on his day.
Indian cricket in 2022 was chaotic, to say the least and messy at most of the time both on and off the field.
RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
Ishant Sharma and his pace colleagues wreaked havoc with the pink ball to put India in charge of their maiden day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Rishabh Pant's brute power will be put to test against Rashid Khan's bagful of tricks in an IPL encounter where Delhi Capitals will start as favourites against SunRisers Hyderabad due to their better bowling resources.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead a full strength India squad for the two-match Twenty20 series against the West Indies in the United States on August 27 and 28.
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.
Royals are more affected than Sunrisers with the absence of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joffra Archer, who have left for England to join the World Cup camp.
Australia's David Warner and India duo Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli were found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the fourth day's play in the first cricket Test, which the hosts won by 48 runs.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Dubai, on Monday.
Ambati Rayudu will be aiming to make a statement when a marauding Chennai Super Kings take on a desperate Sunrisers Hyderabad
India's Rishabh Pant has grown a nice little reputation as a batsman who can whack the white ball pretty hard and the 20-year-old reckons he would need only minor adjustments to his technique to excel in Test matches in England.
Warner would be looking to make the most of the early start and put runs on the board again.
India produced a splendid performance to clinically decimate West Indies by 237 runs in the third Test thereby taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Images from Day 3 of the third Test between India and South Africa, in Ranchi, on Monday.
'No one is going to relax at any stage, we are going to go for a result in the third Test'
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni single-handedly scripted Rising Pune Supergiants' face-saving four-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab with a last-ball six to help them avoid the bottom-place finish in the Indian Premier League in Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.
India amassed 600 in their first innings and returned to blow away the top half of the Sri Lankan batting order to tighten their grip on the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
Kings XI Punjab all-rounder Axar Patel says his side's 19-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore was a huge confidence booster and they would look to carry on the momentum in the coming matches of the Indian Premier League.
