Veteran Ashish Nehra dished out a brilliant spell of pace bowling after Suresh Raina's sparkling half-century as Chennai Super Kings registered a comfortable 27-run victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League match in Bangalore, on Wednesday.
More stars than they are in heaven were at the Sachin: A Billion Dreams premiere.
Chahal finished with 5-22 in 8.2 overs, ripping through the middle-order as India won the toss and skittled their hosts for 118, South Africa's lowest total in home ODI matches.
After back-to-back losses against Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers eked out a seven-wicket win over table-toppers Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad and David Warner's men need another inspiring show.
Lack of intent in Daredevils players has been very surprising.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's form will remain in focus when the struggling Rising Pune Supergiant square off against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune, on Saturday.
The destructive show of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers during their first meeting of Indian Premier League 9 still fresh in his mind, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody said he has a few ideas up his sleeve to stop the marauding Royal Challengers Bangalore duo.
Skipper Virat Kohli had to once again come to the rescue of under-fire former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni whose painstaking 37 off 58 balls came in for sharp criticism after England beat India by 86 runs in the second ODI at Lord's on Saturday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody has said his team has no special plans for restricting opposition captain and star player Virat Kohli when the two teams meet in the Indian Premier League.
The coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad Tom Moody is hoping for Yuvraj Singh's speedy recovery ahead of season nine of the Indian Premier League. The Hyderabad-based franchise made some smart picks in the 2016 IPL Player Auctions. But the biggest name that caught everyone's attention was Yuvraj. However, the senior all-rounder is recovering from an injury, that he sustained during the World T20 and is expected to miss out on the first two weeks of IPL. "A player like Yuvraj Singh is important to any team. He is not only a match-winner with the bat but he is a very useful bowler in those middle overs," Moody said. "Sadly, Yuvraj will be out for a couple of weeks but we don't know how long that is going to be," Moody hoped for Yuvraj's speedy recovery from an ankle injury.
A summary of the matches in the Vijay Hazare One-day championship.
Virat Kohli termed the entire series as a memorable one with a lot of positives for the national cricket team going forward.
For India, who are considered as title contenders, a good showing in the Asia Cup will give them the much-needed boost going into the World T20.
Hardik Pandya has come back 'wiser' into the Indian team after being dropped and says his recent performance has given him a sense of belonging at the highest level.
Andre Russell smashed a breathtaking half-century while Ryan ten Doeschate struck a fine unbeaten 51 to guide Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a stunning seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings.
Boosted by their 3-0 clean sweep of Australia Down Under, a confident India would seek to continue their winning momentum when they take on a depleted and new-look Sri Lanka in the first of three T20 Internationals, in Pune, on Tuesday.
The series already in their pocket, India would aim for a clean sweep against the hosts and end the tour of Australia on a high when the two teams clash in the third and final Twenty20.
Rajasthan Royals will look to extend their four-match winning streak.
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said that captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would play a 'more prominent' role as a batsman in the upcoming Indian Premier League by batting 'relatively high' in the order.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli is expecting an intensely-fought IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad since he and rival skipper David Warner are fierce competitors on the field.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said they will have to dish out a "big performance" against Bangladesh in the summit clash of the Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament if they desire to lift the trophy on Sunday.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar feels Indian batting is equipped to handle Pakistan pacers, who will have to deal with the dashing opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan when the arch-rivals clash in Asia Cup in Mirpur, on Saturday.
Uncertain for Wednesday's Asia Cup opener against Bangladesh, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni skipped the entire training session of the Indian cricket team in Fatullah on Tuesday even though he accompanied the team to the ground.
Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will start favourites when they take on the struggling-for-survival Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Mohali, on Thursday.
A clinical Chennai Super Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by three wickets in a nail-biting second qualifier to sail into the final of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Ranchi, making it a record sixth appearance in eight editions of the event.
India have a chance to hold the Proteas by the scruff of their neck with the latter seemingly at their weakest following back-to-back defeats,
The national selection committee, under Sandeep Patil, is likely to leave it to limited-overs' captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to decide on his availability for the short tour of Zimbabwe, from June 11-20.
Delhi Daredevils, looking to get back to winning ways after two straight defeats, face a stern test against formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in Thursday's IPL match, in Hyderabad.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj attributes his success to his good showing on the domestic circuit, the IPL and India 'A' team.
India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that "under favourable conditions", the hosts will be a "hard side to beat" in the ongoing World T20. India lost to New Zealand on a turner in the opening game but beat Pakistan easily in their next game on a similar surface. "I think, we are a very good team. On our day and unde conditions favourable for us, we are going to be a pretty hard side to beat," Ashwin told bcci.tv after the team's six wicket win over Pakistan. But as exception proves the rule, it can happen with 'Men In Blue' too. "There will be exceptions. We lost a recent game in Pune against Sri Lanka and another one in Nagpur against New Zealand. On both occasions, the opposition read the game better than us," said Ashwin. Ashwin, who is known to to be a thinking cricketer, said that even though there was much turn on offer at the Eden Gardens, it wasn't as easy as it seemed.
The all-round ability of the current Indian cricket team excites former captain Rahul Dravid, who feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are a certainty for at least the semifinals of the World Twenty20 Championships. Dravid, who was here for the Laureus Sport for Good programme 'Magic Bus' in his capacity as a member of its World Sports Academy, said India looks to be the most "formidable" team of the tournament, the main draw of which gets underway from March 15. "I think India would make the top four, but after that, it's just a question of who has a better day in the semifinal and final... There's a good crop of players coming through. I think it's going to be an exciting 24 months for the Indian team. "I think the good thing about this Indian team and this T20 World Cup is they have good depth, they have good all-round depth at the moment," Dravid said. "Players like Hardik Pandya and Pawan Negi, it just shows that they have got sort of batting right down to No. 8, 9. They have got six or seven bowlers to call upon in Indian conditions that they can use.
Cameron Bancroft hiding a yellow strip of sandpaper in his pants easily fits into one of the many bizarre ball-tampering tactics
Images from the 2nd T20 played between India and England in Nagpur on Sunday
Images from the ICC World T20 match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Sanjay Patel defended the omission of five senior players who were part of the victorious 2011 squad from the 30-man World Cup probables, saying their performance in domestic was taken into account.
India's selectors went on expected lines, leaving out former champions while giving the nod to top performers in domestic circuit in the 30-man probables' list for the 2015 World Cup.
Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography Playing It My Way saw its launch in the national capital today as the event celebrated the book's crossing a record 200,000 copies.
The clean sweep in the T20 series against Australia has lessened their dilemmas but selectors will debate.
Virat Kohli's elegant unbeaten 90 and some crafty bowling by their spinners secured India's comprehensive 37-run victory over Australia in the first Twenty20 International at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
