India A could not take advantage of a strong opening partnership and lost four quick wickets for an addition of just 16 runs as they ended the third day of their four-day game against Australia A at 158 for four, still needing 108 runs to avoid the innings defeat, in Brisbane on Saturday.
On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders are overwhelming favourites against King's XI Punjab.
The only problem for India in the Asia Cup so far has been lack of batting time for the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik.
Captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with a sparkling 84 not out as an inspired Mumbai Indians cruised to a six-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders to open their account in the ninth season of Indian Premier League in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to bounce back when they take on Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
The cricketers, who have been in the eye of a storm following their sexist remarks on 'Koffee with Karan', will be returning from Australia where they were to compete in an ODI series starting on Saturday.
Dhoni would be the centre of discussion amid speculation that the Jharkhand player is contemplating retirement even though he hasn't spoken about it till now.
A fragile middle-order with over-the-hill players like Jadhav and Karthik has been the current team's biggest weakness and the World Cup semi-final result was a disaster waiting to happen.
The seemingly invincible Kolkata Knight Riders will start outright favourites when they square off against Australia's Hobart Hurricanes in the semi-finals of the Oppo Champions League T20 in Hyderabad.
Following their 11-match winning streak, Kolkata Knight Riders will be aiming to keep their juggernaut rolling as they meet Perth Scorchers in their third Group A league match of the Champions League T20 in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Be it some scintillating action from the Australia Open or Diego Costa's strike sealing the points for Chelsea against Arsenal. In cricket, The Indian team finally tasted success on the back of strong performances from two youngsters. A sensational debut by Jasprit Bumrah followed by a match-winning century by Manish Paney. Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
With India needing 34 runs off the last two overs, Karthik hammered 29 not out off just eight deliveries, his third six sealing India's third, and the most hard-earned, victory over Bangladesh in the tournament.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji check out how Team India fared on the Sri Lanka tour and find out which cricketers were truly valuable to the team.
Selectors continue to fret over who bats after the second wicket falls, however, with a series of candidates having fluffed their auditions.
With Rahul likely to bat at No 4, asks Harish Kotian, will Ajinkya Rahane get a look in?
The spotlight though was on the 36-year-old former India captain, who now has to fend off questions about his future with alarming regularity.
India again proved too strong for Zimbabwe, winning the second One-Day International by eight wickets in Harare, on Monday. After dismissing the hosts in 34.3 overs for a paltry 126, the tourists chased down the modest target in 26.5 overs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, having won the opening ODI by nine wickets on Saturday.
Having beaten them thrice last season, Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir has expressed hope of continuing their unbeaten run against Kings XI Punjab in the ongoing eighth Indian Premier League.
Sanju Samson replaced Virat Kohli for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, while Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team.
Table toppers Karnataka suffered a batting collapse as they were bowled out for 200 by Saurashtra on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match in Patiala on Tuesday.
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.
India, without captain Virat Kohli and veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni, won't have it easy against T20 World champions West Indies, who are bolstered by the arrival of star players Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell.
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their title defence against a formidable Mumbai Indians side in the opening match of the eighth edition of Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Amit Mishra produced a magical spell to send New Zealand crashing for a lowly 79 as India won by a massive margin of 190 runs to clinch the five-match series 3-2, in the fifth and final One-Day International in Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.
Rain is expected to play role in 5th ODI in Thiruvananthapuram even as the wicket-keeper batsmen will look to complete 10,000 ODI runs.
Stung by an improved New Zealand the other night, a wary India would like to quickly get their house in order when they square off with Kane Williamson's boys in the third ODI in Mohali on Sunday. While the six-run defeat in Delhi has given India plenty to ponder about, it has also renewed interest in the contest which had been dominated by the home team prior to Thursday, stretching from the one-sided Test series to the first ODI in Dharamsala. From the New Zealand point of view, a victory was all that they needed after a string of deflating defeats. As a result of their first win on Indian soil in 13 years, one can expect a certain spring in the stride of the visitors when they take the field at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
At the face of it, there is apparently no danger to Dhoni's captaincy since the team is still winning matches. But if one digs deeper, Kohli has slowly and surely been the man everyone is looking forward to as the leader, across all formats for India.
A stat pack of India and New Zealand's ODI careers...
Dinesh Karthik feels he has a good chance of making India's Champions Trophy playing XI.
India now are the only team to have chased 350-plus thrice and in each of them Kohli has been the backbone with centuries in each.
With Yuvraj Singh's injury-forced ouster disturbing their settled line-up, India have been left with a selection dilemma to handle as they gear up to take on the flamboyant and unpredictable West Indies in what promises to be a battle of nerves in the World Twenty20 semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday. Yuvraj, who has not got big runs but was involved in crucial stands with top performer Virat Kohli during the group stage matches, has been ruled out owing to an ankle injury that he sustained in the must-win game against Australia. Manish Pandey, not in the original 15, has been penciled in to replace the all-rounder in the squad although Ajinkya Rahane is also present as a viable alternative. But it remains to be seen whether skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni chooses between the two or decides to go with rookie all-rounder Pawan Negi.
Rajneesh Gupta throws up all the numbers of how both teams have fared in Twenty20 Internationals.
Indian cricket ushered in a new era as Virat Kohli was officially anointed captain for all three formats as he took over from Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's limited overs captain from the series against England, starting on January 15.
The series is an opportunity for players like Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair and Karn Sharma to impress the selectors and stake their claim in the national side.
Fit again Rohit Sharma and Mohammad Shami on Monday staged comeback in India's 15-member ODI squad.
India are eyeing a place in the final after three wins in as many matches, while Pakistan will look to step up their game in the Super Four match, after a scare against Afghanistan.
Delhi Daredevils will have to learn from the mistakes made in the previous game against table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad
The fact that some of the records in the ongoing IPL are held by KKR players reflects the red-hot form of the team.
Images from Monday's match between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Mohali.
India will start their Asia Cup campaign against minnows Hong Kong on Tuesday followed by the big game against Pakistan.
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