India made just one change to their squad as Umesh Yadav replaced Shardul Thakur for the last two Tests of the ongoing four-match series against England.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored the 27th first-class century of his career and the first one in county cricket as Derbyshire seized the initiative against Leicestershire in a Division Two encounter in Derby.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who was among the top-order batsmen who failed to click in the five-Test series against England, has turned his attention to Derbyshire to find form.
South Africa have often relied on fast bowlers on spicy home wickets to get them to victory, but are also well aware that India have developed an excellent pace attack that has brought them overseas success in the last few years.
Senior India pace bowler Zaheer Khan and prolific batsman Cheteshwar Pujara left Mumbai by an early morning flight to South Africa along with three other players well ahead of the two-Test series against the hosts.
The hosts are without the services of all-rounder Jadeja for the first two Tests of the four-match series against England as he is nursing a thumb injury he sustained on the tour of Australia.
Ian Chappell reckoned Indian batsmen need to strike a balance between caution and aggression. Known for his sharp cricketing mind, Chappell's line of thinking is a bit different from that of Kohli.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
Shastri, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Bharath Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar have all reached from their respective home cities on Sunday.
Opener Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara batted superbly to make centuries on Day 2 of the 2nd Test in Nagpur on Saturday. Here are the statistical highlights from the day's play.
As expected, the Indian selectors decided to stick with the same 16-member squad, which beat Bangladesh in the one-off Test, for the first two matches of the forthcoming four-match Test series against Australia, starting in Pune, on February 23.
Pant bludgeoned four sixes and nine fours in his innings of 96 in 97 deliveries as India reached 357 for six
Virat Kohli has not scored an international hundred since November 2019 but head coach Rahul Dravid dismissed notions that the owner of 27 Test hundreds is "lacking in motivation".
Australia pace spearhead Pat Cummins describes Cheteshwar Pujara as a 'brick wall', whose wicket he targeted once captain Virat Kohli returned home after the first Test during the recent series against India.
The spotlight will, however, continue to be on the 33-year-old Kohli in Mohali with the contest against Sri Lanka being his 100th Test match for the country.
We have to play aggressive cricket, says stand-in skipper KL Rahul
In the batsmen's rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara is the top-ranked Indian at the fourth position while opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed 21 places to be ranked 39th.
SKY perfectly equipped to play Tests, says Sachin Tendulkar
The four-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy that promises a lot of twists and turns, engrossing sub-plots and probably career-defining performances.
Pacer Ollie Robinson destroyed India's batting line-up with a five-wicket haul to power England to a huge victory by an innings and 76 runs, on Day 4 of the third Test, at Leeds on Saturday.
Pacer Craig Overton says England still hold all the aces going into Day 4 of the third Test against India, at Headingley, Leeds, on Saturday.
'I have seen him evolve and mature, both as a person and a captain.'
Delhi done in by poor batting as Karnataka win by 4 wickets
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar came down heavily on India opener Rohit Sharma for throwing his wicket away with a reckless shot, on Day 2 of the fourth and final Test against Australia, in Brisbane, on Saturday.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad.
New Zealand's Mumbai-born left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel is relishing every bit of his dream homecoming after grabbing all the four wickets during the first day's play against India in the second Test, on Friday.
Batting coach Vikram Rathour on Saturday said that a first innings score of 250-plus will put India in a fighting position against New Zealand, keeping the prevailing conditions in Southampton in mind during the ICC World Test Championship final.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between England and India, at The Oval, on Thursday.
West Zone produced a clinical all-round performance to score a comprehensive 133-run victory over North Zone in the final and win their third successive Deodhar Trophy in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. Riding on Kedar Devdhar's 94 and skipper Cheteshwar Pujara's patient half-century, West Zone posted a challenging 281 for 3 in 50 overs. Spinners Arpit Vasavada (3-20) and Akshar Patel (2-23) then emerged the pick of the bowlers as North Zone were bundled out for 148 in 37.1 overs at the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
Half-centuries by Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin kept India on course for a first innings lead after England made a spirited comeback on day two of the third Test on Sunday. - Scorecard: Having bowled out England for 283 earlier in the morning, India looked in charge at 148-2 at tea before Adil Rashid's double strike jolted the hosts who lost three wickets in 19 balls to slump to 156-5.
Shubman Gill once again showcased class as he hit his maiden Test fifty
'We only felt that it has never happened before, I don't think it will ever happen again. It was a freak inning'
India captain Virat Kohli will end the year as the top ranked batsman while Ajinkya Rahane slipped a rung to be seventh in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Tuesday. Kohli (928) remained 17 points ahead of Australia's Steve Smith who occupied the second spot while New Zealand skipper Kane Willamson (864) ends the year at number three.
'I am happy people are talking about me -- I always believe people talk about important people. I am not too concerned about that. It is all about contribution for the team.'
Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham said bowlers love playing under captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni because he knows their strength and how to get the best out of them.
South Africa batter Keegan Petersen says his team will look to keep India's lead under 200 in the second Test, as anything more will be difficult to chase on a pitch that is getting tougher by the day.
The 29-year-old, who signed a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire in 2019 only to return to the South African domestic circuit this season, returned figures of 3 for 64 as India were bowled out for 202 in 63.1 overs on Day 1 of the second Test, in Johannesburg, on Monday.
What happened at the Gabba on January 19, 2021 now sits at the pinnacle of India's most significant Test wins, declares Faisal Shariff.
Rajneesh Gupta surveys the batting landscape in India-Australia Test encounters.
Two more failures in two home games could effectively mean end of the road for Ajinkya Rahane, who is leading India in the first Test in Kanpur, starting on Thursday.
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