In a big blow to India, opening batsman Murali Vijay and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha were ruled out for the remainder of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to injuries.
Virat is No 1, Rohit is No 2, but guess who are 3, 4 and 5?
India opener Lokesh Rahul says the thumping 278-run victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test will help the players regain confidence going into the third and final Test of the series, starting in Colombo on Friday.
Barring Amit Mishra's inclusion, there were no major surprise in India's Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, the selectors retaining as many as 14 players who had toured Bangladesh for the one-off Test earlier this month.
India opener Lokesh Rahul is determined to make amends in the second innings after failing to convert a fifty into a century for the fifth time in the ongoing series against Australia.
Kohli scores brilliant century to leave first Test finely poised
Cheteshwar Pujara contributed an unbeaten 130 to India's 303 for four on the opening day of the fourth Test against Australia in Sydney on Thursday, keeping the tourists firmly on track for a historic breakthrough with his third century of the series.
His unbeaten hundred could not help India get over the line but Indian batsman Lokesh Rahul said his side's fighting spirit till the last ball of what could have been a world record chase, was a huge positive to draw from the one-run loss.
The time for experiments is over, Harish Kotian points out.
Cheteshwar Pujara struck an unbeaten 79 as Indian batsmen gave a far better account of themselves to keep the hosts afloat by taking a 126-run lead.
The visible discomfort of their own batsmen on a seaming track made them over-excited which is the reason for leaking way too many runs on the third day, feels seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli thwarted Australia in a diligent partnership to push India to a position of strength and a 166-run lead at the close of day three of the first Test on Saturday.
Sri Lanka pacer Suranga Lakmal wrecked the high-profile Indian top-order in overcast conditions to leave the hosts reeling at 17/3 on a rain-affected day one of the first Test at EdenGardens on Thursday.
Cheteshwar Pujara struck a defiant century in an Adelaide Oval furnace to rescue India after Australia's pacemen threatened to dominate day one of the series-opening Test on Thursday.
Pushed to the bottom of the table following their fifth defeat in six outings, former champions Mumbai Indians will look to keep their chances alive when they face a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad in a crucial Indian Premier League game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Zadran says tricks of the trade learnt from Ravichandran Ashwin in this season's Indian Premier League will come in handy during his team's inaugural Test against India, starting in Bengaluru from Thursday.
A patient half-century by Ajinkya Rahane and some disciplined bowling display helped Rajasthan Royal notch up a comfortable four-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL match in Abu Dhabi.
First Lokesh, then Rahul and now, Gaurav Chopra -- every time a dull celebrity begins to take a stand, s/he is evicted.
Indian limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Monday retained in Group A of the men's player contracts for 2015-16 by the BCCI.
Lokesh Rahul enhanced his case for inclusion in India's first Test XI with a composed half century, guiding Board President's XI past a difficult period on day one of the two-day practice game against visiting South Africa on Friday.
Andre Russell's second consecutive blistering knock made all the difference as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 28 runs in the IPL match IN Kolkata on Wednesday. The Jamacian, who hit a sensational 19-ball 49 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in KKR's previous match, bludgeoned his way to a 17-ball 48 to propel the home side to a massive 218 for 4 after being sent in to bat.
Three consecutive defeats have more or less sealed their fate and for things to turn around for the Royals, every aspect of their game needs to improve and click for them.
Rohit Sharma and Krunal Pandya's late cameos saw Mumbai Indians snatch a thrilling six-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab to keep their hopes alive, in the Indian Premier League, in Indore, on Friday.
India's Test captain Virat Kohli has dropped out of ICC's top-10 list for batsmen in the five-day format.
Skipper Virat Kohli's strategy to field five bowlers would mean that six specialist batsmen can hardly afford to relax but opener Murali Vijay said there won't be any extra pressure on them when they clash with Sri Lanka in a Test series, starting next week.
Responsible batting by young Tamil Nadu all-rounder Baba Aparajith and talented Karnataka batsmen Manish Pandey to guide South Zone to 213 for three at stumps on the day one of the Duleep Trophy quarter-final match against West Zone in Chennai.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, on Thursday.
India's run-machine Virat Kohli and in-form Murali Vijay smashed big centuries in a massive 283-run stand to deflate Sri Lanka on the opening day of the third and final Test on Saturday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, on Wednesday.
Images from the third Twenty20 International between India and Bangladesh, in Nagpur, on Sunday.
KL Rahul, who is having a good run with the bat in the Test series against the West Indies, says the unbroken century partnership between R Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha could prove to be crucial to the outcome of the ongoing third Test in St Lucia. India lead the four-match series 1-0. India were in trouble at 126 for five before Ashiwn and (75 not out) and Saha (46 not out) engineered the rescue act.
Images from the 1st T20 International played between India and England at Green Park stadium in Kanpur on Thursday
Captain Manoj Tiwary (83) and Naman Ojha (82 batting) hit aggressive half centuries to rescue India A from initial wobble and take them to a comfortable 304 for six on the opening day of the first four-day match against Australia A.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify Rediff.com's Most Valuable ODI Player in the 2016-2017 season so far.
Jimmy Anderson showed he remains a deadly proposition in English conditions, taking 5-20, as England bowled out India for a miserly 107 on the second day of the second Test at Lord's, on Friday.
With two fifties in the two practice games, Lokesh Rahul has virtually staked claim for a Test spot when the series against the West Indies gets underway in Antigua on July 21 but the youngster says that thought has not yet struck him.
The R Ashwin-led Kings XI slipped to the fifth spot after suffering back-to-back losses against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. Overall, the hosts have registered four wins from eight matches this season.
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.
The emergence of youngsters Lokesh Rahul and Karun Nair will increase the pressure on India's established batsmen to be more consistent as the world's top-ranked Test side look to dominate next year. Under captain Virat Kohli, India have been unbeaten in the last 18 tests, registering series wins in Sri Lanka and West Indies, and thumping South Africa, New Zealand and England at home.
India made a strong reply to England's first-innings total of 477 after half-centuries by debutant Liam Dawson and number nine Adil Rashid underlined the tourists' batting depth in the fifth and final Test on Saturday. - Scorecard: India claimed three wickets on the second morning but the 108-run partnership between Dawson and Rashid in a productive second session for the touring side frustrated the hosts.
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