'The boys deserve all the credit for the character they showed, real character.'
'The key for India winning this series will be the batsmen around Kohli.'
Ravi Bopara stood firm in the face of some magnificent fast bowling from Fidel Edwards on Wednesday to steer England to a respectable 289 for seven on the opening day of the first Test against West Indies at Lord's.
Livid with constant scrutiny of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's finishing skills, India captain Virat Kohli hit back at the critics for 'conveniently' singling out the former skipper while ignoring failure of other players, including himself.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori recorded his highest Test score with a defiant 140 on Sunday but was unable to prevent Sri Lanka winning the second Test by 96 runs to wrap up the series 2-0.
Interestingly, Sourav Ganguly's run-aggregate since his comeback in December 2006, is the highest by any Indian batsman in Test matches in this period.
Dinesh Karthik pipped Pant in the fight for the second wicketkeeper's slot in India's 15-strong squad for the World Cup
There were three attractive half-centuries but a top and lower-middle order collapse saw hosts Karnataka manage a below-par 264 for 9 against Saurashtra on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final on Thursday.
'The way Vijay and Rahul batted in second innings, I think it was overcast and very important phase, they took on the bowlers, especially Rahul. I think those contributions should not be neglected. A 44-run contribution in the context of a 323-run target is massive'
Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar and middle order batsman Praveen Amre, on Sunday, hailed the Indian cricket team which is on the cusp of making history in Australia.
Opener Smriti Mandhana led the chase for India with familiar panache after a feisty bowling performance that steered the side to a series-clinching eight-wicket triumph over New Zealand Women in the second one-dayer.
The only way for Dravid to sort out the mess was by forcing a showdown and getting Chappell removed as coach. That possibility was remote as Dravid neither had the ears of the BCCI nor was he the sort to confront knotty issues head on. A fascinating excerpt from Pradeep Magazine's Not Just Cricket: A Reporter's Journey through Modern India.
That's why he is now finally focusing on the two things that alone can help: Fiscal expansion -- from December onwards -- and supply management via amended laws and rules that affect business, notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan
Uday Kaul (144) and skipper Pankaj Dharmani (94) forged a 181-runs fourth wicket stand to help hosts Punjab take crucial 38-run lead against Andhra Pradesh at stumps on the third day of their Ranji Trophy match.
'We shouldn't compare him to anyone yet. We shouldn't put him in a space where he feels pressure of any kind and he should be left in a space where he enjoys his cricket and slowly grows into a player we all believe in'
Captain Shiv Sunder Das (82) and wicketkeeper Haladhar Das (78 not out) ensured East Zone reach a respectable total (265/7) at close of play on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy Group A match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane conceded that the batsmen committed mistakes under challenging conditions as India were bowled out for just 107 runs in the first innings of the rain-affected second Test against England, at Lord's, on Friday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad stand in the way of two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders, who would be looking to bring their campaign back on track at home during an Indian Premier League T20 cricket clash, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Youngsters Sudip Chatterjee and Abhimanyu Easwaran showed maturity beyond years in a brilliant 163-run partnership before another familiar middle-order collapse saw Bengal end Day 1 in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Railways on 274 for 8 in Kolkata on Wednesday.
"As much as he (Pujara) would love to play ODIs, it is hard to see him break into the team, given how strong it is currently."
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell doubted whether he would play Test cricket again but he is now looking to emulate his captain Steve Smith, the 28-year-old said on Friday.
Tendulkar expects Dhoni to control the game from one end now
Agarwal, thrusted into the squad following failure of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, responded with a 76-run knock off balls, sorting out India's opening woes to some extent.
England coach Duncan Fletcher gave equal chance to both India and England to win the third and final Test.
An incisive spell of seam bowling by Karnataka's Abhimanyu Mithun helped South Zone reduce Central Zone to 123 for five on a rain curtailed first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Chennai.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc produced high-quality reverse-swing to claim five wickets against South Africa as the tourists seized control of the first Test with a first innings lead of 189 at the close on the second day.
Images from 1st ODI between India and West Indies in Chennai on Sunday.
Karnataka batsmen did not capitalise on their starts and were restricted to 273 for 8 in their first innings on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'A' match.
Norma Godinho evaluates the Indians after their humiliating loss in Perth.
Cook stands tall in final Test as England take healthy lead against India
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday.
A ruthless India completed a nine-wicket demolition of the West Indies in the fifth and final ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday for their sixth successive series win at home.
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.'
Is anyone in the BJP listening -- to what Nitin Gadkari had to say, but possibly left unsaid? asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between West Indies and India, in Jamaica, on Saturday.
India's limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the job of a finisher is one of the toughest and it is difficult to find a 'complete' player who is adept at batting in lower order and take the team through when the chips are down.
Shikhar Dhawan was all guts and grit while negotiating tough conditions in his comeback game as he boosted Delhi's morale with a well-controlled 137 against Hyderabad in their Ranji Trophy Group A match in New Delhi. A round up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Having showed enormous amount of patience during his 134-run knock, opener Shikhar Dhawan Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan expressed great satisfaction in being able to show a different kind of batsmanship to the one people have been used to over last couple of years.
A look at the key players to watch out for in Thursday's match between India and New Zealand.
The ball was old, the stage set and expectations high but India's Rohit Sharma again spurned the opportunity to assert his long-form credentials in the first test against New Zealand on Thursday. Often hailed as the next big thing to come out of Mumbai since Sachin Tendulkar, the 29-year-old is an automatic choice in the limited-overs side and the only batsman to score two one-day international double centuries.
