Dinesh Karthik said the Indian team's uncapped players are not 'perturbed' anymore and their experience of playing in the Indian Premier League will hold them in good stead in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, starting in Cuttack on Wednesday.
In a potential knock-out clash, Pune defeated Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets on Sunday to finish second in the points table behind Mumbai Indians, which means they will get two shots for a place in the summit clash.
A depleted Rajasthan Royals will have an onerous task of stopping the mighty CSK
With only 17 ODIs left for India before the World Cup, senior pros like Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin will aim to remain relevant in the 50-overs format in the forthcoming Deodhar Trophy.
Manoj Tiwary and Robin Uthappa have been named India 'A' captains of the four-day and one-day squads respectively, which will leave for a month-long tour of Australia.
'We are not the best side in domestic cricket, we are not the best side in terms of skill sets or in terms of match-winners, but I think we are the best when it comes to being a unit, when it comes to playing like a family.'
'We are all going through an entire gamut of emotions. I only saw these players on TV and now I will play alongside them. It's indeed a great feeling.'
Saurashtra seamers Jaydev Unadkat, Shaurya Sanandia and Chirag Jani shared seven wickets among them to bundle out Haryana for 140 in their second innings and lift their team to an innings and 31-run victory on the third day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match, on Sunday.
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.
Dwayne Smith cracked a blistering 79 as a dominant Chennai Super Kings steamrolled Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets for their sixth straight win in the Indian Premier League.
However, Rajasthan would be a bit more desperate than Delhi as they are languishing at the second last position in the points table with just three wins from nine outings.
CSK will be brimming with confidence having defeated the Royals earlier in the season
For Saurashtra, the star performers were Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, and of course, their captain Jaydev Unadkat.
The Indian selectors finally lost patience with the under-performing pace duo Ishant Sharma and R Vinay Kumar and ignored them for the upcoming three-match One Day International series against the West Indies.
Inclement weather poses a threat to the India-Australia T20 international in Rajkot on Thursday, with the Met department forecasting rainfall over the next 48 hours.
Was any cricketer missing at the skipper's wedding reception in Mumbai?
'My father's dreams for me were connected to cricket.'
'I knew if I did well in cricket, his soul would rest in peace.'
Set a target of 206, Saurashtra folded for 127 in 58.4 overs, giving Vidarbha their second title triumph in the country's marquee first-class tournament.
Uttar Pradesh comfortably beat Delhi by 46 runs to reach Hazare semi-final.
Kings XI Punjab will be looking to get their campaign back on track after a couple of defeats when they lock horns with bottom-placed Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in Indore on Sunday.
India 'A' registered a thumping innings and 13 runs victory over South Africa 'A' on the fourth and final day of the unofficial first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, in Rustenburg, on Tuesday.
Sanju Samson's breathtaking strokeplay formed the cornerstone of Rajasthan Royals' 19-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a high-scoring Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's Most Valuable Players up to Game 21.
Flamboyant Australian Glenn Maxwell is expected to be a favourite, despite his under-whelming record, along with England's spin bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali, while Kerala's batting sensation Mohammed Azharuddeen could be in hot demand during a condensed IPL players' auction, to be held in Chennai, on Thursday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 11.
With the One-Day International series proving to be a stroll in the park, Mahendra Singh Dhoni would look to finish the tour of Zimbabwe with another dominant performance when he leads India in the three-match Twenty20 series against the hosts, starting in Harare, on Saturday.
India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday said his side would have overhauled even a bigger target in the third and final T20 International against Sri Lanka, though they needed to bat till the final over to chase down 136 for victory, which lifted them to a 3-0 series whitewash.
A dominant Indian team is expected to maintain its stranglehold on a miserable Sri Lanka and wrap up the three-match series when the two mismatched teams face off in the second Twenty20 International in Indore on Friday.
Steve Smith celebrated his return at the helm with a captain's innings that powered Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket victory over a formidable Mumbai Indians.
Fast running out of time, a struggling Rajasthan Royals will hope to complete the double against Mumbai Indians in a return-leg IPL fixture and revive their campaign in Jaipur Saturday.
India gets new face in pace attack
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's well-calculated half-century in challenging conditions turned out to be game-changer as Chennai Super Kings won their third match of the season with a eight-run defeat of Rajasthan Royals, in Chennai, on Sunday.
Captain Virat Kohli's huge workload will come up for discussion while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are expected to make a comeback when the selectors announce the India squad for T20 and Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively.
A summary of the second day's play in Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Rising Pune Supergiant look to build on gains against Kings XI Punjab.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2020's Paisa Vasool Players.
An inspired Yuvraj Singh once again led from the front with an all-round effort while leg-spinner Rahul Sharma produced a five-for as India 'A' cantered to a crushing 93-run win in the one-off Twenty20 match against the West Indies 'A'.
It will be a different sort of challenge for Mahendra Singh Dhoni when he captains a new-look Indian cricket team against Zimbabwe in the first ODI of a short series starting in Harare on Saturday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 29.
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.
