Manoj Tiwary led from the front with a sparkling half-century and veteran pacer Ashok Dinda claimed four wickets as East Zone outclassed West by 24 runs to win the Deodhar Trophy Zonal One-Day Tournament, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Defending champions West Zone rode on gritty half centuries from Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel to scramble past South Zone by two wickets and enter the Deodhar Trophy final, in Mumbai, on Monday. Chasing an imposing 315 for victory in the second semi-final at the Wankhede stadium, West were struggling at 174 for 6 before Yadav (80 off 56 balls, 4 sixes, 7 fours) and No. 8 batsman Patel (64 not out off 38 balls) put together a match-winning stand of 70 runs off 76 balls that saw the hosts home with 17 balls to spare.
Their fate hanging in balance, a loss in the penultimate league round match may virtually sound the death knell for one of the two teams.
A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
The bench suggested that the hearing be adjourned "sine die" (adjournment of proceedings with no date of resumption).
Kedar Jadhav's maiden Twenty20 International fifty proved decisive as India scored a nail-biting three-run victory over Zimbabwe in the final match and won the series 2-1 in Harare, on Wednesday. The Maharashtra batsman smashed 58 off 42 balls before Axar Patel came up with a late cameo, scoring 20 off 11 balls, as India posted a competitive 138 for 6.
Having already clinched the series, India would look to hand Zimbabwe a third successive whitewash while testing more youngsters when they take on the lacklustre hosts in the third and final One-day International in Harare, on Wednesday.
Punjab pummelled Delhi by 10 wickets for their maiden win of the season on Friday while handing the hosts their first Ranji Trophy loss at home in five years.
Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, the two franchises that returned to the IPL after serving bans in the aftermath of the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, will come face to face for the first time in the ongoing edition, keen to regain lost momentum in Pune, on Friday.
Kolkata Knight Riders leg-spinner Piyush Chawla said Gujarat Lions got the advantage of bowling on a fresh wicket to secure a five-wicket win in the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament in Kolkata.
Powered by in-form, inspirational leader in Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to inch closer to a maiden Indian Premier League title triumph when they take on table-toppers Gujarat Lions in the Qualifier I, in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Indian limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Monday retained in Group A of the men's player contracts for 2015-16 by the BCCI.
Rajasthan Royals will need to regroup quickly after a heavy loss when they face Delhi Daredevils in what will be their first IPL home game in five years at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify Rediff.com's Most Valuable ODI Player in the 2016-2017 season so far.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday
Well-rested and rejuvenated Mumbai Indians would seek to turn the tables on travel-weary Rajasthan Royals.
Sachin Tendulkar warmed up for his farewell series against the West Indies next month with a gritty unbeaten half-century to keep Mumbai's chances alive in their Ranji Trophy match against a spirited Haryana in Lahli, Haryana, on Tuesday.
Rajasthan Royals beat SunRisers Hyderabad by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam. It was Rajasthan's fourth win in as many matches as keeps them top of the table.
Recently, the Bombay high court had set aside the lower court's order allowing extension of time to police to file its probe report against the rights activists in the violence case.
Veteran pacer Zaheer Khan's sensational three-wicket burst helped India 'A' crush West Indies 'A' by an innings and 54 runs in the third and final unofficial Test to level the three-match series, in Hubli.
Middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav joined rookie opener Jay Bista in the list of Mumbai centurions as the Ranji Trophy champions amassed an imposing first innings score of 603 against Rest of India in the Irani Cup match in Mumbai on Monday.
While the auction ahead of the ninth edition, starting in April, was great for Indian players in general, there were a few surprises in store. Rediff.com takes a look at the Indian players who secured themselves the best deals.
New Zealand beat India by 19 runs in the fourth one-day international to level the five-match series at 2-2 as the hosts suffered a mid-innings collapse at Ranchi on Wednesday. - Scorecard: Chasing 261 for a series clinching win, India were all out for 241 with eight balls to spare. Opener Ajinkya Rahane's fluent 57 put India on course for the chase and the right-handed batsman added 79 for the second wicket with the in-form Virat Kohli (45).
It was India's players all the way, with batting sensation Virat Kohli emerging the most valuable, ahead of senior spinner Amit Mishra. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji graphically depict the top players from the recently concluded India-New Zealand ODI series.
Captain Ravichandran Ashwin's superb all-round showing helped Kings XI Punjab outclass Rajasthan Royals by 12 runs, in the IPL match, in Mohali on Tuesda
Punjab seamer Siddarth Kaul returned with an impressive six-wicket haul to dismiss Delhi for 107 in their first innings on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match.
Rajasthan Royals face a herculean task when they take on mighty Chennai Super Kings in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) match, in Jaipur, on Friday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Gujarat Lions by four wickets to enter the final of the Indian Premier League.
As far as the Indian team is concerned, even a 3-0 result against the hosts will not be enough for the second-placed side to claim the number one spot in the ICC rankings, while a favourable outcome for the home team will boost its qualifying chances for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
Facing an early exit after their sixth loss in eight games, bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils, under new skipper Shreyas Iyer, will have to treat each upcoming IPL game as a virtual knock-out, starting with their clash against Rajasthan Royals, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
Dinesh Karthik led the way with a fluent half-century while Praveen Kumar produced a superb spell with the ball as Gujarat Lions snapped their three-match losing streak to reclaim the top spot with a comfortable five-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders.
Shane Watson smashed an unbeaten century and then bagged two wickets as Rajasthan Royals outplayed defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by nine runs to seal a play-offs berth in the IPL tournament in Mumbai on Saturday.
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.
Ambati Rayudu blasted a quickfire half-century to help Mumbai Indians overcome Rajasthan Royals by eight runs in their Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Friday.
Medium pacers Dhawal Kulkarni and Tushar Deshpande wrecked havoc by grabbing four wickets apiece as Mumbai put themselves in the drivers seat by dismissing Tamil Nadu for a paltry 87 on the opening day in their Ranji Trophy Group A match, in Lahli, on Thursday.
The apex court said banning entry of women to Kerala's Sabrimala temple is gender discrimination and the practice violates rights of Hindu women.
Captain Manoj Tiwary (83) and Naman Ojha (82 batting) hit aggressive half centuries to rescue India A from initial wobble and take them to a comfortable 304 for six on the opening day of the first four-day match against Australia A.
It will be a selection dilemma for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Anil Kumble as a fit-again Suresh Raina is back in the nets having recovered from a bout of viral fever that kept him out of first ODI in Dharamsala. With Kedar Jadhav picking up two wickets with his handy part-time off breaks, the same skill set of both the players is definitely going to be a factor as the team management decides to pick the XI for the second ODI against New Zealand on Thursday.
India again proved too strong for Zimbabwe, winning the second One-Day International by eight wickets in Harare, on Monday. After dismissing the hosts in 34.3 overs for a paltry 126, the tourists chased down the modest target in 26.5 overs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, having won the opening ODI by nine wickets on Saturday.
A stat pack of India and New Zealand's ODI careers...