'Bhuvi's injury (stiff back) is a real setback for India' 'If the pitches remain flat and dry like the ones during the limited overs leg, India are in with a very good chance. But if it's a green top, obviously, the England seamers will come into the play'
England's transformation from 'startled rabbits' at this year's World Cup to record-breakers against New Zealand on Tuesday has left fans and pundits shaking their heads in disbelief.
With an impeccable tally of 2,633 runs across formats this year, Kane Williamson, says Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com, is right up there among the pantheon of modern great greats.
England coach Trevor Bayliss has dubbed his team's performance in the drawn first Test against India as "the best since he had been with the Alastair Cook-led team". Chasing an improbable target of 310 runs, Indian skipper Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja hung in as they remained unbeaten on 49 and 32 respectively in a tense final session to deny England victory at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Despite the outcome of the opening Test of the five-match series, Bayliss was impressed by the commitment his side had shown in gruelling conditions as well as on surfaces where England players generally struggle.
India lost the fifth and final Test against England by 118 runs on Tuesday despite heroic resistance from K L Rahul and Rishabh Pant, bringing the curtain down on a tour that started as a golden opportunity but ended in disappointment. A mediocre England team, with a fragile batting line-up, won the series by a comprehensive 4-1 margin after India were bowled out for 345 in pursuit of mammoth target of 464.
Smart India Hackathon 2017 saw them build computer programmes or smartphone applications for 598 problems identified by different government departments.
Sacked batsman Kevin Pietersen has put the blow-torch on Alastair Cook's England, saying the team's series defeat to Sri Lanka showed senior players are still shell-shocked from the 5-0 Ashes whitewash.
Indira Kannan picks Made in Bangladesh, Greed, Moothon.
Batsman David Warner has been dropped from Australia's one-day international squad while paceman Mitchell Starc will fly back home because of lower back soreness, the country's cricket board said on Sunday.
Olympic champion Andy Murray restored some order at the Western & Southern Open by cutting down South African giant Kevin Anderson to reach the quarter-finals on an upset-filled Thursday in Cincinnati.
Consistent death bowling from a Bumrah and spinners picking up wickets in the middle overs is why the average run-rate in the last few years hasn't exploded the way one would have expected, says Dhruv Munjal.
Dr Cabbie never takes itself too seriously, says Joginder Tuteja.
India's susceptibility to quality swing bowling once again came to the fore as they struggled to reach 174 for six after England's tail wagged considerably to give the hosts an upperhand on the second day of the fifth and final cricket Test, in London, on Saturday.
Bruised and battered by Chris Gayle's mauling on Wednesday, England are faced with a must-win situation as they look for ways to contain South Africa in their ICC World Twenty20 match in Mumbai on Friday.
Roy Hodgson has given himself the option to give England a youthful, fresh edge at the World Cup after including Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana in his provisional squad on Monday. There were no real surprises as the irresistible late-season form of Everton's attacking midfielder Barkley and Liverpool wide man Sterling made their inclusion an easy choice for Hodgson despite having only five caps between them.
Alastair Cook's side next travel to India, the world's top-ranked team, before hosting South Africa and West Indies in 2017 ahead of their ultimate challenge in a tour of Australia.
Raja Sen deciphers the Captain America: Civil War trailer.
Australia will start as favourites to reclaim the Ashes over the next seven weeks if only because of their home advantage but picking the winners in cricket's oldest Test rivalry has become a fool's game in recent years
'To become more Indianised we had to be more colourful,' Rahil Ansari, Audi's India head, tells Ajay Modi.
- 'Time Indian cricket looked beyond Fletcher' - 'Their bowling has been pretty inconsistent'
South Africa's Temba Bavuma struck his maiden Test century in quick time (102 off 148), and in so doing, became the first black South African to crack a Test ton.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Mario Balotelli will be available for Liverpool's home Premier League match against Aston Villa on Saturday after recovering from illness, manager Brendan Rodgers said.
While the Carribs have been panned even by coach Phil Simmons for 'poor body language', former West Indies captain Richie Richardson reckons that the Windies Cricket Board needs to be united in order to improve the scenario.
Manchester City are brimming with optimism with coach Manuel Pellegrini 'absolutely sure' of winning the Premier League title.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The England-India series has brought the bowler back into what has been turned into a batsman's game, says Aakar Patel.
India bowled with a lot of perseverance to restrict England to 268 for 8 despite a defiant 89 from Jonny Bairstow on Day 1 of the third cricket Test in Mohali on Saturday.
Young captain Steven Smith compiled a watchful half-century to guide Australia to 259 for five at stumps and leave the third Test against India delicately poised after an attritional opening day.
The Islamic State group has released a video showing the beheading of US aid worker Peter Kassig in a warning to Washington as it prepares to send more troops to Iraq.
England completed a crushing 347-run victory over Australia with a day to spare in the second Ashes Test on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
'Today, music directors do not work on a song that turns out to be the biggest hit of the year.' 'Their main focus is on creating a song which becomes an instant hit.' 'Whether the audience remembers that song after a couple of months or not, that does not concern them anymore.'
Sweden beat Italy 1-0 to gain the upperhand after their World Cup playoff first leg on a chilly night, while a young England side held Germany goalless and Belgium drew 3-3 with Mexico despite Romelu Lukaku's double but France eased to a 2-0 victory against Wales.
'Ashwin doesn't really need to be as attacking as Bhajji. His role within this side is well-defined by a slightly better fast bowling attack (as support cast) than what my generation was facing' 'Kohli would have done fine against Glenn McGrath'
'You spoke of intensity. Where does the intensity come from? When you have a leader like that, who leads by example, the other guys jolly well follow. Otherwise they know what to expect. That's the beauty about this team on this trip where I feel proud as a coach about my boys and the intensity they showed'
Their frailties against quality spin attack badly exposed in Sri Lanka recently, pace bowling great Glenn McGrath said that the Australians will have to quickly sort out their issues against slow bowlers if they don't want a disaster in their tour of India to play four Tests in February-March next year. "Especially with the way things went in Sri Lanka on turning wickets, they have got a lot of work to do between now and then. The Aussies will find it tough in India unless they turn things around pretty quickly," McGrath told reporters during a promotional event.
India are leading the five-match series 3-0 and should they taste success in the final Test, it will be their biggest against England, the previous being the 3-0 whitewash in 1992-93 under Mohammed Azharuddin's captaincy.
'Everybody says 5G and communication is important.' 'Everybody says automation, robotics, human computing interfaces -- people and machines working together -- is the future.' 'Everybody agrees that cybersecurity is something that is here to stay.' 'Everybody agrees that synthetic biology is important.' 'Instead of outlining thinking about industries for tomorrow and the future, let the evolutionary pathway be built in a way that it promotes robust, creative, thinking.'
Reaction after England beat New Zealand on number of boundaries hit in the Cricket World Cup final at Lord's on Sunday.
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