BCCI's North Zone curator Sunil Chauhan overwatered the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch and then, breaching protocol, left the venue before the start of Delhi-Madhya Pradesh Ranji Trophy match on Saturday, his indiscretion leading to a delay of two and half hours.
England batsman Joe Root believes if they stay true to their character, it will not be a problem to beat West Indies in the ICC World Twenty20 summit clash on Sunday. "I don't think there's been an attitude swing or the way we approach practice or anything like that. We went into the tournament and stayed true to what we believe in as a side and the way we play our cricket. I think that's probably been the most important thing," Root said ahead of the final. The promising youngster struck a match-winning 83 from 44 balls to script their famous win against South Africa chasing a huge 230 as they have not looked back since then. "It's about making sure that we did not go away how we wanted to play and the way we wanted to approach our cricket. Having that self-belief in each other and we could get and win against South Africa and build our confidence from that point onwards. Everyone contributed in some way, shape or form which is always nice getting into the final," Root said. He however credited the captain and coach duo of Eoin Morgan and Trevor Bayliss for this turnaround, especially after their ignominous exit in ODI World Cup in Australia last year where they had failed to get past any team apart from minnows Scotland and Afghanistan.
South Africa will head to India armed with three frontline slow bowlers in their Test squad after recalling leg-spinner Imran Tahir and off-break bowler Dane Piedt for the four-match series starting in November.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his 18th five-wicket haul as India dominated the first day of the second test against West Indies in Jamaica on Saturday.
A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches played on Monday
Former India cricketers Bishan Singh Bedi and Kirti Azad slammed the proxy voting system in the Delhi and District Cricket Association polls, saying it proved to be a major factor in their defeat.
Still licking their wounds after a sound thrashing in the lung opener, India will have to regroup quickly and fortify the chinks in their armoury when they take on a determined West Indies in the second One-Day International in Delhi on Saturday.
Ajinkya Rahane rallied India with a gutsy, unbeaten 89 as India's much-vaunted top-order failed yet again on the opening day of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Thursday.
Virat Kohli batted continuously for over a day in Delhi and showed no signs of fatigue caused by the pollution, marvels Dhruv Munjal.
No one even comes close to the impact Anil Kumble has had on Indian cricket, when it comes to winning matches and series, say Aakash Chopra and Impact Index.
Captain Virat Kohli roared back to form with a scintillating unbeaten 83 as India further consolidated their position with whopping overall lead of 403 runs at stumps on Day 3 of the fourth and final Test against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Saturday.
Young batsman Karun Nair and debutant Sam Billings batted with lot of responsibility before their bowlers came good as Delhi Daredevils displaced Kolkata Knight Riders from the second spot with a comfortable 27-run win in their Indian Premier League match, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
It will be a test of character and battle for supremacy when Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions, two of the most impressive teams of IPL 9, lock horns against each other at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday. Barring one bad day in office, both Daredevils and Gujarat Lions had a near perfect campaign so far in the tournament. While new outfit Gujarat Lions are comfortably placed at the second spot in the eight-team standings with eight points from five matches, the Daredevils are a place below in the third position with six points from four games.
Virat Kohli says his fighting fifty last week in the Delhi One-day international against the West Indies was the kind of knock he needed to overcome the first lean patch of his otherwise prolific career.
India's Team Director Ravi Shastri on Friday said that South Africa are still a formidable side despite the retirement of some big players recently but his side will continue their aggressive brand of cricket in the upcoming series beginning on October 2.
A marathon session of over a dozen hearings on implementation of Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha panel recommendations on structural reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India came to an end on Wednesday in the Supreme Court, which took the Indian cricket board to task over issues like fund utilisation and avoiding of performance audits.
Riding on skipper Rohit Sharma's blistering half-century, Mumbai Indians cruised into the Champions League Twenty20 semifinals with a crushing six-wicket victory over Perth Scorchers in their must-win final group match in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Delhi survived a mighty scare before their lower order, led by Nitish Rana and Sumit Narwal, saved the day with some gritty batting as they beat Rajasthan by two wickets in their Group B Ranji Trophy match in Wayanad on Thursday. Resuming the final day on 51 for 3, needing 102 runs more to win, Delhi suffered a batting collapse but finally crossed the target of 153 with Rana (31) and Narwal (27 not out) playing some sensible cricket to take their side home at the Krishnagiri Stadium. The day's start for Delhi was a horrible one with overnight batsman Vikas Tokas (10) being bowled by Pankaj Singh in the fifth over of the day with the addition of just five runs to his individual overnight score. The score was 62 for 4 at that stage.
Bengal's most potent match winner Ashok Dinda rose to the occasion when it mattered the most as his five-wicket burst ensured a 43-run win against Railways in a Ranji Trophy Group A league encounter in Dharamsala on Sunday. Needing 119 runs on the final day with five wickets in hand to reach a victory target of 315, Railways could manage 271 in 93.2 overs largely due to Dinda's 5/67. Bengal are now firmly on course for a knockout berth with 15 points in their kitty with two outright wins and three points by virtue of first innings lead in a drawn match.
Opener Faiz Fazal led Rest of India's dominating display with the bat as the visitors chased down a record target of 480 against Mumbai to win the Irani Trophy. Half-centuries from Karun Nair (92), Sudeep Chatterjee (54), Stuart Binny (54) and Sheldon Jackson (59) powered Rest of India to an unlikely-five wicket victory against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, on Day 5, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. Fazal top-scored for the visitors as he scored 127 but Nair fell for 92, the second time he was dismissed in the 90s in the match. Bengal's Chatterjee played a steady innings of 54 before Binny provided the late boost as he smashed 54 from 51 balls. Saurashtra's Jackson carried his team home as he finished unbeaten on 59. For Mumbai, left-arm Iqbal Abdulla claimed five wickets for 154 in 42.4 overs but was still unable to prevent the visitors from chasing down the highest total in the history of the Irani Trophy.
Kings XI Punjab beat Delhi Daredevils by four wickets in their IPL match at Feroz Shah Kotla ground on Monday. It was Punjab's ninth win and made them the first team to make it to the play-offs.
Statistical highlights of the fifth and final day of the first Test between India and Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
'I was actually appointed captain for the West Indies tour (in 1971).' 'But Mr Vijay Merchant (the then chairman of the selectors) didn't like me nor did he like 'Tiger' Pataudi. He thought we were far too flamboyant.' 'He made Ajit Wadekar captain.'
They dampened the local spirits by knocking out India but a resurrected West Indies cricket team will bring its own brand of joie-de-vivre to the ICC World Twenty20 summit clash when they take on a transformed England in what promises to be a battle of power-hitting at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
A clash of contrasting styles, the ICC World T20 final in Kolkata on Sunday gives both England and the West Indies a chance to create history.
'Team India's strategy -- rather the lack of it -- boomeranged in the game against New Zealand. It's because of the T20 generation's lack of patience to counter spin,' feels Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com
Playing for Jharkhand, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was playing his first domestic match in eight years, made just nine before he was dismissed by Jammu and Kashmir's left-arm spinner Waseem Raza.
A summary of the first day's play at different venues in the Ranji Trophy.
Ajinkya Rahane said the key to his success was keeping a blank mind and playing one ball at a time.
Youngster Shreyas Iyer slammed his third ton of the season, a strokeful 137, while senior batsman Rohit Sharma hit an unbeaten 110 as Mumbai made an imposing 407 for four on day one of their Group B Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
A round-up of the opening day's actions of the Ranji Trophy matches being played in different parts of the country.
Virender Sehwag's decision to continue batting at No 3 didn't make much of a difference to his poor form but defending champions Delhi did enough to beat Jammu and Kashmir by 38 runs in the opening fixture of the north zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
A summary of the day's play in the Vijay Hazare One-day tournament.
It was another Ranji Trophy match at Bansi Lal Stadium that turned out to be farcical contest as Baroda beat Bengal by 21 runs with 40 wickets falling well inside two days.
Ajinkya Rahane opens up on the slot he likes to bat at, Virat Kohli's captaincy and India's record against spin
What makes Ravichandran Ashwin the world's premier Test spinner?
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played across the country on Saturday
Stuart Binny, who has lost his place in the Indian Test and ODI teams, struck his ninth first class hundred -- a blistering 156 -- as Karnataka grabbed a huge first innings lead over Assam on day three of their Group B Ranji Trophy match on Saturday.
Two seasoned, left-handed Bengaluru-born players -- Amit Verma and Sreenath Aravind -- representing rival teams, stole the honours on day one of a Group B Ranji Trophy match between Assam and Karnataka in Mumbai on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians gave a fitting farewell to Sachin Tendulkar's T20 career by notching up a comprehensive 33-run victory over Rajasthan Royals to clinch the Champions League Twenty20 title.
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