Skipper Ishant Sharma shone with the ball with three wickets while debutant Kulwant Khejroliya impressed with his pace as Delhi restricted Assam to 224 for seven at stumps on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match.
After making impressive debuts in their respective openers, Rising Pune Supergiants and GujaratLions will test each others' strengths when the two new entrants clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in Rajkot on Thursday. The two teams feature a lot of faces from the suspended Chennai Super Kings and at least six players, who played in the same side till last year, will now be in opposite camps. Close friends and CSK teammates Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina will now be devising strategies as rival captains. Both have admitted that playing in a jersey other than 'yellow' has been very "emotional" but have promised to give their all for their new teams. The Dhoni-led Pune Supergiants were very convincing and dominant when they handed defending champions Mumbai Indians a nine-wicket drubbing. They did not even require their middle order, packed with Dhoni himself and players such as Steven Smith, to come out with the top-order delivering it for them comfortably.
Led by aggressive Australian opener David Warner, Sunrisers would be relying mostly on foreigners to deliver the goods, given the scarcity of local stars in their ranks.
Kings XI Punjab will be aiming to continue their late surge against Rising Pune Supergiant in a 'winner takes it all' Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Sunday.
Chahal, who has been an automatic choice in the limited overs format has not played any first-class cricket since December 2016 (against Haryana in Ranji Trophy), but the Indian team management and especially skipper Virat Kohli has indicated that he wants the wiry leg-spinner for five-day matches also.
Royal Challengers BangalorStruggling RCB face inconsistent Supergiant in must-win game will be striving to keep their IPL hopes alive when they meet an equally inconsistent Rising Pune Supergiant in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Saturday.
A determined Delhi Daredevils will make another push to stay in the hunt to make the playoffs when they take on bottom-placed Rising Pune Supergiants in the Indian Premier League in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
It will be a battle for survival for struggling Rising Pune Supergiants when they lock horns with formidable title-contenders Sunrisers Hyderabad in Tuesday's Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Saturday.
Rising Pune Supergiants now face an uphill task of taming the rampaging Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League clash, in Pune, on Friday.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel scalped four wickets without conceding a single run as India 'A' clinched the unofficial Test series against South Africa 'A' 1-0 after an imposing innings and 81 runs victory in the second and final match in Wayanad, Kerala, on Friday.
Abhinav Mukund and skipper Ambati Rayudu struck half-centuries as India A gained a slight edge, reaching 342 for six against South Africa A, thereby taking a 82-run lead at stumps on the second day of the second and final unofficial 'Test'.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel scalped five wickets as India 'A' spinners shot out South Africa 'A' for 260 on Day 1 of the second and final unofficial 'Test' in Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday.
Dinesh Karthik scored a solid 113 as Tamil Nadu took command of their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Maharashtra at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on on Thursday. On a deceptive green top that had little in it for the bowlers, he made hay even as half-centuries from Vijay Shankar (91), Ramaswamy Prasanna (64 not out) and Baba Indrajith (68 not out) down the order ensured Tamil Nadu amassed 426 for 5 in 177 overs at the close of play on Day 2.
Riding on Samson's record-breaking unbeaten 212 off just 129 balls, Kerala posted a mammoth 377/3 on the board and restricted Goa to 153/3 after play was called off due to inclement weather.
Senior batsman Shikhar Dhawan proved his form and fitness in style before the South African series as he led India 'A's strong reply against Bangladesh 'A' with an unbeaten century on Day 1 of the only unofficial Test.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Wednesday.
Ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin starred with a five-wicket haul to help Tamil Nadu bundle out Himachal Pradesh for 158 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match. A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Tuesday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be eager to break the sequence of reverses and get Rising Pune Supergiants' campaign back on track when they lock horns with in-form Kolkata Knight Riders.
Tamil Nadu edged out last edition's runners-up Maharashtra by virtue of first innings lead in a drawn encounter, to set up a summit clash with their southern rivals and reigning champions Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament.
Aditya Tare played a captain's knock while Abhishek Nayar and Shardul Thakur complemented their fine bowling effort with half-centuries to help Mumbai take the all-important first innings lead over Tamil Nadu in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament in Rajkot. Tare made a fine 83 off 181 deliveries with the help of nine boundaries to hold together Mumbai's first innings. He was ably supported by Nayar (58) and Thakur (52) as Mumbai made 406 in their first innings in reply to Tamil Nadu's 305 before being bowled out at stumps on the third day of the five-day marque encounter.
A summary of the first day's play in the Ranji Trophy league matches at various venues across the country.
Central Zone spinners, led by captain Piyush Chawla, weaved magic on a helpful track to steer the team to the Duleep Trophy title with a thrilling nine-run triumph over South Zone in New Delhi on Sunday.
Under scanner left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha today found a surprise visitor in legendary Bishan Singh Bedi, who dropped in at the Feroz Shah Kotla on the final day of the Duleep Trophy final to have an interactive session with him and three others.
Opener KL Rahul continued his dream form as he blazed his way to a brilliant unbeaten 121 after a classy 185 in the first innings as South Zone looked in cruise control in pursuit of 301 against Central in the Duleep Trophy final.
Karnataka batsman Lokesh Rahul gave the selectors food for thought before the upcoming Australia tour, scoring a classy century which gave South Zone a vital first innings lead against Central Zone on Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final, in Delhi, on Thursday. Replying to Central's first innings total of 276, South rode the opener's unbeaten 168 to end the day on 308 for three, a lead of 32 runs, at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
A talented Central Zone team led by Piyush Chawla is aiming to come out firing all cylinders when it squares off with an equally combative South Zone side in the final of the Duleep Trophy, starting in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
In-form Naman Ojha struck his third successive century while No.10 batsman Umesh Yadav smashed a quickfire 90 to give India 'A' the upperhand against Australia 'A' on Day 3 of the second unofficial Test match.
A round-up of results from the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday.
Virat Kohli and Steven Smith will be eager to stem the rot when Royal Challengers Bangalore square off with Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League encounter.
The Suresh Raina-led side suffered consecutive defeats against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders and title holder Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening two matches.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
All-rounder Stuart Binny stamped his class by hitting a sparkling unbeaten century as Karnataka took firm grip of the Irani Trophy match against Rest of India (ROI) with a 189-run first innings lead in Bangalore on Monday.
A supremely confident Delhi Daredevils return to their den and have a struggling and injury-ravaged Rising Pune Supergiants in their firing line up next in the Indian Premier League, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
South Zone took command of their Duleep Trophy semi-final after dismissing Central for a mere 209 and scoring 137 for 2 in reply on the second day of the match, in Chennai, on Friday.
Medium pacer Sandeep Warrier picked up three wickets, while opener Unmukt Chand struck a patient half-century as India's Under-23 team got the better of arch-rivals Pakistan by three wickets in a limited overs Group 'A' match of the ACC Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore.
Skipper Parthiv Patel struck an exemplary fifty, while Axar Patel chipped in with an unbeaten 36, after picking two crucial wickets, as Gujarat edged out Vidarbha by two wickets and advanced to the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy One-day tournament, in Alur, Karnataka, on Thursday.
Table-toppers Mumbai Indians will be itching to avenge their double defeat against Rising Pune Supergiant in the league stage when the two teams face-off in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
A summary of the day's matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament.
While KKR suffered their heaviest defeat of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last game, Pune looked to have found their mojo in the business end of the tournament having registered consecutive wins in their last two matches.