India's bowlers, led by Ravichandran Ashwin, displayed outstanding perseverance to end South Africa's dogged resistance and register a comprehensive 337-run victory in the final Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Monday.
"Everybody has different tags and rankings that go up and down throughout the year, and I suppose they end up with different names. But you come into a tournament on any day, anything can happen, especially looking across all these teams with match winners throughout."
With Indian cricket team geared up for their busiest Test season comprising 17 five-day games, skipper Virat Kohli aptly stated that the coming days will be an indicator as to how they have shaped up as a Test unit. "This is the perfect situation and opportunity to challenge and assess ourselves as a Test team. These months will define how we play as a Test team in coming years," Kohli said at the pre-departure media conference ahead of Indian team's tour of the West Indies. Hailing Anil Kumble's appointment as the team's head coach, the Indian skipper said that now they have a man, who can also tell them how to win Test matches abroad.
South Africa and Australia will contest a four-Test series for the first time in almost 50 years when they clash in March and April 2018, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Wednesday. Australia will tour South Africa seeking revenge for their 2-1 home series loss in November and will play four Tests for the first time since being humbled 4-0 on South Africa soil in the 1969/70 season.
India opener Shubman Gill's reign at the top of the ODI batters' list was short-lived as he was replaced by former Pakistani skipper Babar Azam in the ICC Player Rankings issued on Wednesday.
International cricket will gingerly ease out of a 117-day shutdown in Southampton next week but the scars of the COVID-19 pandemic will be clearly evident at the Ageas Bowl. An encounter between the fourth and eighth ranked teams in Test cricket is hardly a pinnacle but England's series against West Indies could offer a glimpse into a future where the game plods on under the shadow of the new coronavirus.
India to play warm-up games against ahead of England limited overs series
England to host New Zealand for two Tests in June.
Shamar Joseph dismissed the formidable Steve Smith with his very first delivery in Test cricket.
Australia batting mainstay Steve Smith advised the 22-year-old Marnus Labuschagne to stay grounded after his meteoric rise in international cricket, which saw him post 896 runs at an average of 112, hitting four centuries -- two each against Pakistan and New Zealand -- this season so far.
The young India opener, who scored 206 and 36 in the drawn third Test against Australia, rocketed 11 places to 18th in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen. He started the series in 37th position but climbed 18 places after three Tests in which he has scored 463 runs.
'What you've really got to try and get is something that's less complex and a bit more straightforward in order for people to understand.'
Vaughan had also slammed Rohit for not being proactive during the series-opener last week.
Kohli has consistently dominated headlines with his extraordinary batting prowess.
Mayank scored 150 and 62 in the first and second innings respectively of the second Test against New Zealand before India defeated the Kiwis on Monday, December 6.
Besides the duo, 2017 World Weightlifting Champion in the 48kg category, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and former Asian Games gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman were conferred with the Padma Shri award.
As vice-captain, 28-year-old fast bowler Pat Cummins would be the obvious choice to replace Tim Paine. His appointment would enable a rapid transition with the start of the Ashes series against England only three weeks away.
The weather-ravaged, dead rubber third Test between Australia and the West Indies petered out in a draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday.
Head coach Ravi Shastri has called Virat Kohli the 'boss' of Indian cricket and said the support staff is there to 'take the burden off' the skipper.
Accumulating 500 wickets in 218 international appearances, Rabada maintains an average of 24.79
Batting great Sachin Tendulkar, on Thursday, heaped praise on India captain Virat Kohli for bagging most of the major honours at the ICC Annual Awards.
The Australia captain is at the top of the Test rankings for almost two years. His batting average of 62.32 is second only to Don Bradman.
Rohit Sharma has overtaken captain Virat Kohli to become the top-ranked Test batsman from India.
India skipper Virat Kohli says the much improved batting performance by the lower order batsmen, particularly wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, was the biggest gain of the West Indies series, which they won 2-0.
Rajasthan Royals brought back former Team India mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton in their ranks for the forthcoming Indian Premier League season.
Marnus Labuschagne has been practising batting on his home balcony on a rubber mat laden with pieces of taped aluminium sheeting to try to emulate the variable bounce and turn of Pakistan wickets as Australia readies for its first tour there since 1998.
Celebrated Indian spin maestros Anil Kumble and Ravichandran Ashwin showered praise upon Lyon.
India go into their One-day International series against Sri Lanka starting Sunday with the aim of winning 3-0 and overtaking South Africa to take top position in the ICC ODI Team Rankings.
Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler
After the win in their opening match of the series, South Africa led the WTC25 rankings, but the loss in the second Test meant their win percentage fell down to 50%, the same as New Zealand, Australia, and Bangladesh.
India will enter the Asia Cup as a seven-time champions, most by any team, but adding an eighth title might just not feature on top of their bucket list.
A survivalist's mindset sees Indian batsmen fail again on the first day of the SCG Test.
The ICC confirmed the rating on Tuesday, a marked improvement from the three demerit points that they earned after last year's drawn Ashes Test.
India recorded their biggest Test series win on Caribbean soil with a 2-0 victory over West Indies following a washout in the fourth and final Test match but ended up losing the number one spot in the ICC rankings, in Port of Spain, on Monday.
Former Ashes-winning captain Andrew Strauss has expressed his interest in the newly-created director of English cricket role for the ECB.
Up against fancied India, Bangladesh's ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza says the home team should be 'realistic' and enter the one-off Test with an aim to achieve a draw.
It was widely reported that the T20s against the Lankan side will take place before Test matches in Mohali and Bengaluru and the cricket body has now confirmed it.
Jasprit Bumrah's throbbing afternoon spell on the second day of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam on Saturday made former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly advocating for sporting pitches rather than preparing rank turners.
Despite his meteoric rise to the top of ICC Test batting charts, India's star opener Gautam Gambhir admits that maintaining consistency is becoming increasingly difficult given the hectic international schedule these days.
Hafeez represented Pakistan in 392 international matches in which he scored 12,789 runs and took 253 wickets.
