Having made a commendable comeback from the brink of a series defeat, India will look to increase their stranglehold on hosts England to draw parity when the two teams square off for the fourth Test, in Southampton, on Thursday.
India captain Virat Kohli's stoic batting helped India eke out a draw on the fifth and final day in the opening Test against England in Rajkot on Sunday. But it was his English counterpart Alastair Cook, who stole the show and the records on the day!
England and New Zealand have both had to ride out the storm to make this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final. It has been far from smooth sailing for either side, but in the end it is Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan's side who have emerged on top, and deservedly so.
Skipper Virat Kohli batted like a man possessed, slamming an unbeaten 151 in company of another centurion Cheteshwar Pujara to steer India to a commendable 317 for four against England on Day 1 of the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the Lord's Test.
An inspired Ben Stokes revived England with ball and bat on the third day against Bangladesh on Saturday to put the visitors firmly in control of the opening Test in Chittagong.
Opener Tamim Iqbal led Bangladesh's fightback with a dogged 78 after the hosts had got off to a wobbly start in reply to England's first innings 293 on the second day of the opening Test on Friday.
With 36 different playing XIs in as many Tests under Kohli's captaincy, the Indian line-up is begging for some consistency.
Virat Kohli took a giant stride towards exorcising the ghosts of 2014 with a masterful century as he single-handedly pulled India out of the woods against England on an eventful second day of the first Test, in Birmingham, on Thursday.
England and India renew one of cricket's great rivalries at Edgbaston and, with so much on the line, it is no wonder the mercury is rising.
'Ashwin against the left-handers could play a big role. Kuldeep has done brilliantly but I feel India should persist with Ashwin. Kuldeep is young and can learn along the way'
Unlike in the T20I series, England do not have the option of battling this phenomenon with a practice outing against the spin-bowling machine, Merlyn. With both teams travelling to London on Friday, there might not even be enough time to sit down for some video analysis. In that light, the English batsmen will have to contend mentally with how to play Yadav on Saturday.
India's batting maestro Virat Kohli held on to the number two position in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen released on Monday, while Rohit Sharma dropped a place to seventh.
Rendered ineffective in the previous match, India's wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will look to bounce back against 'well-prepared' England batsmen when the two teams clash in the series-deciding third Twenty20 International, in Bristol, on Sunday.
Alex Hales hit an unbeaten half-century to steer England to a series-levelling five-wicket victory in the second T20 International against India in Cardiff.
Australia thrashed England by eight wickets in their fifth and final one-day international at Old Trafford on Sunday to win the series 3-2 and take some consolation for the pain of Ashes defeat.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal scripted a dramatic collapse with sensational figures of six for 25 to help India crush England by 75 runs and win the three-match T20 International series 2-1, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
Facing the prospect of a series defeat at home for the first time in 15 months, skipper Virat Kohli will have a relook at his team combination as hosts India take on a resurgent England in a do-or-die second T20 International, in Nagpur on Sunday.
In white-ball cricket things are different -- over there you outsmart the batsman, and over here in Test cricket it's all about patience and consistency. That was my main focus today. You can't blast the batsmen out. I was looking to bowl good lengths and always challenge the batsmen with good lengths and good line. So in the end it was a good day.'
Hardik Pandya has said that comparisons with Indian legend Kapil Dev are unwarranted
For the Indian team, the Trent Bridge Test will be their last chance to save the series after being outplayed in the first two Test matches -- by 31 runs Edgbaston and then by an innings and 159 runs at the Lord's.
The five-Test series starts with the first match in Birmingham on Wednesday.
A resurgent New Zealand beat England by 13 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method in a high-scoring second One-day international, marred by a late rain interruption, at The Oval on Friday to level the five-match series at 1-1.
It was the first time in the history of Indian cricket that three players -- Ashwin, Jadeja and Jayant -- batting at No 7 or below have scored a half-century each in the same innings.
Even as Chris Gayle's fastest World Twenty20 century hogged the limelight, West Indies coach Phil Simmons acknowledged Marlon Samuels's effort.
West Indies skipper Darren Sammy made it clear that they "can't take England for granted" in the opening group league fixture of the ICC World T20 on Wednesday in Mumbai.
'We bowled to two outstanding batsmen in good conditions, a very good cricket pitch. But to be able to pick up two wickets at the end certainly has given our dressing room a huge lift tonight'
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the Oval Test.
'Out of 7 innings England played before the Oval Test, their bottom half outscored the top-half in 4!' notes Rajneesh Gupta.
Images from Day 1 of the 5th Test at the Oval in London on Friday
Assistant coach Sanjay Bangar says India's batsmen are under tremendous pressure and "playing for their careers" after their poor showing in the first two Tests against England resulted in embarrassing defeats
Darren Gough feels India have enough firepower in their pace attack to cover for the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah i
The No. 4 slot is considered the most vital position for any successful ODI side, yet India are struggling to find a solution to their revolving door conundrum for some time now.
Former Pakistan players reacted strongly to the national team's 'great escape' in the first Test against England in Abu Dhabi with many saying that the batsmen's surrender in the second innings was appalling.
India and England will play three ODI games beginning Sunday. Rajneesh Gupta surveys the career figures of the players who will head to battle in Pune.
The Indian opener tops the Champions Trophy MVP table. But Hasan Ali, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma aren't too far behind, note Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
India's star batsman Virat Kohli has maintained his No 1 position in the ICC T20 batsmen rankings and so have India in the team charts after the conclusion of the World T20.
Former India star batsman VVS Laxman prefers all-rounder Hardik Pandya over Karun Nair in the playing XI for the first Test match against England, considering his all-round skill sets. Laxman is a firm believer of the "five bowler theory" and wants Pandya to open the bowling with Mohammed Shami, with Amit Mishra playing as the third specialist spinner.
England will be determined to get their act together against defending champions Sri Lanka.
England captain Eoin Morgan said the 57-run eight-wicket stand between Moeen Ali and David Willey proved to be the difference in his side's win against an ever-improving Afghanistan in a group match of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Feroze Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Wednesday.
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