Virat Kohli's participation in the fourth and deciding Test match against Australia, in Dharamsala, hangs in balance even as young Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer has been included in the team.
Both KXIP and the Royals would look to build a winning momentum after starting the tournament as underdogs.
Zimbabwe axed their coach Dav Whatmore and captain Hamilton Masakadza just days before the arrival of India for a five-match limited-overs tour.
Despite Gaikward's brilliance, Maharashtra could not qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.
With Delhi Daredevils surprising one and all with their consistent show in IPL-9, West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite said they now have a 'fun dressing room' and it is helping them play well this year.
India Green, resuming the day at 98 for two and chasing an improbable 474-run target, were dismissed for 303 in their second innings with Sharma taking six for 94 to take his match tally to 10 for 133, his best figures in first class cricket.
India beat Australia by 75 runs in the second Test to level the four-match series at 1-1 after home off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took 6-41 on the fourth day in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Having made a commendable comeback from the brink of a series defeat, India will look to increase their stranglehold on hosts England to draw parity when the two teams square off for the fourth Test, in Southampton, on Thursday.
Suresh Raina has been named captain of the India Blue team for the Duleep Trophy, which will be held in Kanpur and Lucknow from September 7 to 29, providing him a platform to make a return to the Indian team.
With the national selection committee and the team management deciding to promote Rohit as an opener, keeping his spunky strokeplay in mind, the next five Tests could be a make or break for the 32-year-old stylish right-hander.
All-rounder Stuart Binny stamped his class by hitting a sparkling unbeaten century as Karnataka took firm grip of the Irani Trophy match against Rest of India (ROI) with a 189-run first innings lead in Bangalore on Monday.
The shocking loss to Kings XI Punjab in their last match, notwithstanding, table-toppers Gujarat Lions will have to get their act together quickly if they wish to end their home campaign on a winning note against a formidable Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League match, in Rajkot on Tuesday.
A steadily improving Delhi Daredevils look all set to challenge the might of title contenders Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams clash for the second time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha turned out to be the biggest gainer while comeback man Amit Mishra got five wickets and more importantly vital overs under his belt as the first unofficial 'Test' match between India A and Australia A ended in a tame draw.
Karun Nair's unconquered 310 put Karnataka in the driver's seat in the Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. The defending champions ended Day 3 of the match with a mammoth 618 for 7, having added 295 runs to their overnight score, to extend their first innings lead to an imposing 484 runs at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai.
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.
This year's IPL was action-packed and Redifff.com reloads some of the memorable moments, in pictures, from this year's competition.
COA Meet on Wednesday: Team management, selectors to discuss 'communication' issues, Australia tour
India opener Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the third and final Test against New Zealand, starting in Indore on Saturday, with a minor fracture on his left thumb.
For Hyderabad, KXIP encounter is the last game where they can avail the services of Warner before he leaves home for Australia's World Cup preparations alongside Steven Smith and Marcus Stoinis.
Hardik Pandya stood tall amid the ruins with an unbeaten 79 as India collapsed to 169-9 on a rain-hit opening day of the second four-day Quadrangular A Series match against Australia, in Brisbane, on Thursday.
Down but not out. That's what pacer Liam Plunkett tried to convey while summing up the mood in the Delhi Daredevils camp after suffering yet another loss in the Indian Premier League.
Rain played spoilsport as the One-Day match between India 'A' and South Africa 'A' was abandoned after 35 overs in the first innings, taking the Manish Pandey-led side to the top of points table in the quadrangular contest. The Indians were struggling for most part of the 35.2 overs bowled today after being put in to bat at the Harrup Park. Openers Mandeep Singh (29 of 51 balls) and Karun Nair (15 of 25 balls) put on 31 in eight overs before the latter was dismissed by Dwaine Pretorius.
Images from Thursday's IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Dubai.
Mumbai Indians enter the match high on confidence following successive victories over holders Chennai Super Kings and last edition's finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad.
East Zone bowlers led by the seasoned Laxmi Ratan Shukla rattled South Zone in the final hour reducing them to 236 for nine despite Robin Uthappa scoring a well-crafted hundred on the first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Lahli on Wednesday.
In the Mumbai game, the spotlight was on Shaw, who proved his mettle, by toying with the Jharkhand attack
Pacer Mohammad Shami, who is recuperating after shoulder surgery, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, back with a re-modelled action, are among 30 players named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's senior selection committee for a preparatory camp ahead of the South African team's upcoming tour of India.
Smith was handed a one-year ban along with his then deputy David Warner exactly a year ago for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Reigning Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha completed a coveted a grand double by winning the Irani Cup after outclassing Rest of India on basis of the first innings lead, in Nagpur, on Sunday.
'There is no question of dropping Rahane. He has scored really well, he has been extremely successful over the last couple of years'
For the Indian team, the Trent Bridge Test will be their last chance to save the series after being outplayed in the first two Test matches -- by 31 runs Edgbaston and then by an innings and 159 runs at the Lord's.
Factbox on the four-Test series between India and Australia, which starts at Pune on Thursday:
Star batsman Suresh Raina will look to get some batting practice ahead of the upcoming South Africa series along with some of the other fringe players as India 'A' take on Bangladesh 'A' in a three-match One-Day series, starting in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
With their backs to the wall after conceding a big first innings lead, the top-order faltered again as India 'A' scored 265 for 6 against Australia 'A' by the end of third day's play in the second unofficial 'Test', in Chennai, on Friday.
Delhi Darevils opener Quinton de Kock, who scored the first century of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League, said that 192 against RCB was always a gettable target on a good batting track like the one at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the national cricket team and the junior hockey side for their recent successes, saying that their performances have done done the country proud. In his 'Mann Ki Baat' address to the nation, Modi appreciated the sporting success that India has achieved in the past fortnight during which the cricket team routed England 4-0 in a Test series while the junior hockey team became world champion.
Neither side will be at full strength, as a string of first-team players will be missing due to injuries, when India and New Zealand meet in the opening match of the ODI series on Wednesday in Hamilton.
'It's been a series of missed opportunities, in terms of catches that cost us'
Young batsman Krunal Pandya produced a blinder of an innings scoring 86 runs off only 37 balls as Mumbai Indians defended their massive 206-4 against Delhi Daredevils to record a convincing 80-run victory at Visakhapatnam on Sunday. This win by a huge margin has also boosted the net run-rate of Mumbai at a crucial time as they move above Gujarat Lions to third place in the points table. Pandya's knock was laced with half a dozen towering sixes and seven boundaries as he shared a 98-run fiery stand with opener Martin Guptill to power Mumbai to a commanding 206 for four.