Young chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav kept the opposition batsmen on tenterhooks with a maiden five wicket haul as he took India Red on the cusp of an outright victory against the Green team in the inaugural Day/Night Duleep Trophy encounter in Greater Noida on Thursday. Chasing a mammoth victory target of 497, the Green team was tottering at 217/7 at the end of penultimate evening with another 280 runs to win the match. Suresh Raina was at the crease batting on 35.
The opening day of the Duleep Trophy final between Noth Zone and South Zone in Kochi on Thursday was called off without a ball being bowled due to a wet outfield, caused by overnight rain.
India Red entered the final of the Duleep Trophy after the rain-affected game against India Blue ended in a draw with entire fourth day's play being washed out due to inclement weather and wet outfield. With only 78.2 overs of play possible through out the entire four days, both teams got a point each and Yuvraj Singh's 'Red' team with seven points from two games ensured that they are through for the summit clash.
Ahead of the ODI World Cup, an inspection team from the International Cricket Council is checking the readiness of venues that will host the quadrennial extravaganza in October-November this year.
Former champions South Zone have virtually qualified for semi-finals after reducing West Zone to 156 for 6 in on the penultimate day of their four-day Duleep Trophy match in Chennai on Saturday.
Middle-order batter Hanuma Vihari on Tuesday accepted that making a return to the Indian team is tough, and getting dropped at times could affect a player's mindset.
Dinesh Karthik and Sheldon Jackson added 85 runs at a fair clip in only 16.2 overs before a sharp evening downpour rendered the outfield unplayable in the rain-hit Duleep Trophy cricket match between India 'Red' and India 'Blue' in Greater Noida on Wednesday. Jackson impressed with a strike-filled, unbeaten 48 off 55 balls, which contained eight hits to the fence.
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly backed Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan and said the 25-year-old should be given an opportunity to prove himself.
Pujara says getting dropped from Indian team left him frustrated and with a bruised ego
Chesteshwar Pujara displayed his appetite for a big score with a superlative unbeaten 256 as India Blue piled up a mammoth 693 for six in their bid to outbat the Reds on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said: 'Along with the international home series, the BCCI's domestic tournaments are crucial as they are a stepping stone towards making India a strong international side.'
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja could do with a break, which will allow India to try out new players in the Caribbean.
India will be sending a second string squad for the T20I series in Ireland but a fit-again pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is expected to be tested during the three matches in Malahide.
In a rare act, West Zone skipper Ajinkya Rahane ordered his teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal to leave the field for disciplinary reasons.
Central Zone's Madhya Pradesh duo of Jalaj Saxena and wicketkeeper batsman Naman Ojha took full advantage of dropped catches and took an inexperienced North Zone attack to the cleaners as they posted 344 for three at stumps, on the first day of their Duleep Trophy semi-final, at Mohali, on Wednesday.
Poor drainage facilities at Shahid Vijay Singh Patheek Stadium again came to the fore as a total of four hours and 45 minutes of play was wasted during the fourth day of the Duleep Trophy final that has already turned into drudgery.
Faiz Fazal and Jalaj Saxena hit half-centuries to keep Central Zone in the contest after South Zone had taken the first innings lead of day three of Duleep Trophy final at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, on Friday.
Double centuries by in-form Baba Aparajith and Manish Pandey helped South Zone amass 553 for 7 against West Zone on the second day of their four-day Duleep Trophy quarter-final in Chennai on Friday.
Under pressure to retain his place in the Test XI, Cheteshwar Pujara overshadowed Rohit Sharma by scoring a solid hundred as India Blue made full use of a placid track to amass 362/3 against India Red on the first day of the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida.
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.
Cheteshwar Pujara looked rock-solid while Suryakumar Yadav played his natural attacking game as their contrasting half-centuries put West Zone in complete control.
The unparalleled success of India's Test team on away tours over the past decade was largely because of its all weather pace attack but the same can't be said about the fast bowling resources available for the two-Test series against the West Indies.
Chandana, who is now a full-time coach, remembered Ranatunga as a shrewd tactician, whose strategic acumen were way ahead of the time.
Veteran opener Gautam Gambhir and young Mayank Agarwal helped themselves to half centuries before torrential rain played spoilsport in the Duleep Trophy match between India 'Blue' and India 'Red' in Greater Noida on Monday. Only 34.2 overs of play was possible which saw 'Blue' team skipper Gambhir (51 batting) and Agarwal (53 batting) put on 105 runs for the opening wicket. The two openers were solid without being flashy as they maintained a decent run-rate of just over 3 runs per over.
Having stuttered in the chase, Parag's yet another quickfire knock -- 95 from 65 balls with eight fours and five sixes -- revived East Zone's hopes of turning the tables on South Zone.
Ashwin went on to cite examples of other domestic stalwarts like Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Spinner Ravindra Jadeja reaped rich dividends for reading the pitch well and grabbed 5 for 95 as India Blue looked all set to win the first-ever day/night Duleep Trophy, having secured a huge 337-run first-innings lead.
Shivam Mavi hopes to build all-format career after six-wicket haul in Duleep Trophy semis
Skipper Abhinav Mukund and Baba Aparajith smashed hundreds as South Zone took a firm grip of the Duleep trophy semi-final against Central Zone by reaching 479/9 on the third and penultimate day of the match in Chennai on Saturday.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir's 37th first-class century might have made his case stronger for an India comeback but his knock could not help North Zone overhaul Central Zone's imposing first innings score on Day 3 of the four-day Duleep Trophy semi-final in Mohali.
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.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav's places could come under the scanner before the team travels to West Indies for a two-Test series.
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.
The death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, reignited the demand in India to bring back the Kohinoor.
Pujara overcame ball sighting problems and hit a crisp 166 before state-mate Sheldon Jackson sent the India Green bowlers on a leather-hunt with Blue team piling up a mammoth 707 in a virtual 'semi-final' of the Duleep Trophy, in Greater Noida on Monday.
Priyank Panchal smashed an unbeaten 99 off 69 balls as West Zone coasted to a comfortable nine-wicket victory
'The angry reactions are understandable but I can tell you with some degree of certainty that the reason behind Sarfaraz getting ignored time and again is not just cricketing one. There are multiple reasons for which he hasn't been considered.'
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has raised a concerns like "picking the googly", "spotting the seam" while batting against the pink ball under lights during the Duleep Trophy game between India Blue and India Green.
South Zone took just 40 minutes into the third morning to crush East Zone by an innings and 118 runs en route their entry into Duleep Trophy final, in Lahli on Friday.
From land of hockey to cricket stardom, Vidwath Kaverappa takes seven-star route