India will play their 250th Test at home when they face New Zealand in the second five-day game of the three-match series at the iconic Eden Gardens from September 30, and the Cricket Association of Bengal has lined up a host of events to make this a special occasion. To start with, a Lord's like bell will be rung to mark the beginning of the historic Test and the CAB also has plans to felicitate both the teams. "We just got a confirmation that this will be the 250th Test on Indian soil which makes it historic and special," CAB joint-secretary Avishek Dalmiya said.
After leading the team to their sixth consecutive bilateral series victory, a satisfied Kohli said he was satisfied with the overall performance of the team.
Prithvi Shaw is a 'different quality' player and that's why the youngster was rushed into the Test team, gushed an elated India captain Virat Kohli after the Mumbai teenager was adjudged man-of-the-match for his century on Test debut against the West Indies.
Kohli said it is imperative to think about the future teams.
For India, having someone who can go and get not just hundreds but even double hundreds is a major asset and also relieves the pressure on Virat Kohli a little, says former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
The conditions in Visakhapatnam were ideal for him as the Bengal speedster got the ball to reverse both ways.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test at Perth on Monday
Shankar believes how he prepares will be the key factor going into the tournament.
Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir asked the Indian selectors to have a word with veteran wicketkeeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni regarding his future plans.
Mohammad Shami and Wriddhiman Saha are among the India players, who will get a first-hand experience of day/night cricket with the pink ball when local giants Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore Club meet in Cricket Association of Bengal's Super League final, starting Saturday.
He has lost a good 5-6 kgs and worked that extra hard on his fitness, making him 'leaner than ever before' in the words of India captain Virat Kohli.
Indian pace spearhead Mohammed Shami has said that he played with his knee injury during the World Cup as the team's chief wicket-taker did not want to disturb the winning momentum in the final stages of the showpiece event.
India's seven-pronged bowling unit has five pacers with four quicks, who can regularly hit 140 clicks, and Prasanna wants captain Virat Kohli to play five bowlers in the first Test against South Africa.
It remains to be seen whether India stick to their combination of three specialist pacers and two spinners combination or bring in an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav to partner Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja.
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.
Six years later, Rohit Sharma makes his Test debut. It was supposed to happen at the VCA stadium in Jamtha (Nagpur) back in February 2010.
'We are expected to perform on a consistent basis. But I think the rest and time to prepare should be adequate for all'
Jasprit Bumrah, the fastest Indian pacer to 50 wickets, is now seventh in the bowlers' list after a leap of nine places owing to his five-wicket haul against the West Indies.
India will look to make the most of their only warm-up game, beginning, in Sydney, on Wednesday against Cricket Australia XI.
India's spinners were thwarted by a splendid display of ultra-defensive batting by England before the hosts took control dismissing rival skipper Alastair Cook on an engrossing fourth day of the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Dinesh Karthik pipped Pant in the fight for the second wicketkeeper's slot in India's 15-strong squad for the World Cup
With barely four months to go for the ICC Cricket World Cup in the Australian continent, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly feels Virat Kohli's batting success will decide India's success at the sporting extravaganza.
RCB have been inconsistent in their first six games in IPL-12, with both their bowling and batting faltering on many occasions.
K L Rahul broke into the top-10 at 9th, while Shikhar Dhawan also attained a career-high position of 28th in the latest ICC Test rankings after India's clean-sweep of Sri Lanka in a three-match series.
Former Team India manager Lalchand Rajput feels that Virat Kohli and his men play with a crush-the-opponents approach and that itself would be enough for them to eke out an unprecedented Test triumph in South Africa next month.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar feels including injury-prone pacer Mohammed Shami in India's Tewnty20 World Cup squad is a bit of a risk but the team announced by the Board's selection committee, on Friday, has "terrific balance".
India showed commendable character in Rajkot to level the series, proving that the panic buttons were pressed prematurely following the 10-wicket loss in Mumbai.
Ravindra Jadeja finally scored his maiden century after almost a decade in international cricket and the Indian all-rounder says being calm in the nervous 90s helped him reach the 'special' milestone.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead an 18-man squad for the Test series against England. Opener Gautam Gambhir, whose last Test was in 2012, makes a comeback while two uncapped medium pacers - Ishwar Pandey and Pankaj Singh - find a place in the team after Zaheer Khan, who had to set out of the India leg of the Indian Premier League following a back injury, was overlooked.
The Proteas skipper felt that the manner in which Rohit Sharma batted in the second innings for his knock of 127, really made the chase difficult for his side.
India will be desperately hoping that Rohit replicates his limited overs success in the traditional format
Images from Monday's IPL match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals, in Mumbai.
India are yet to finalise their middle-order ahead of the World Cup but are unlikely to tinker much with the playing eleven for Friday's second ODI in Mount Maunganui.
Images from Wednesday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, in Bengaluru.
The Indian pace attack is getting much attention Down Under, with Varun Aaron being singled out for special praise by Australian cricketers. They feel the youngster's biggest assets - pace and bounce - have troubled the visitors on previous tours Down Under.
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.
His confidence boosted after a two-wicket haul against the United Arab Emirates in the Asia Cup, India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar says he is now working on a slower delivery to further polish his skills.
Yuvraj Singh made it back to the Indian team for the limited overs series against Australia but seniors Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were again ignored.
Rival openers Evin Lewis of the West Indies and India's Lokesh Rahul have made huge gains in the latest ICC Players Rankings for T20I Batsmen after slamming fine centuries in the recent two-match series in Lauderhill, USA, played on 27 and 28 August. The first match, in which a T20I record aggregate of 489 runs were scored, saw Lewis slam a 49-ball 100 in the West Indies' total of 245 for six that has helped him move up 288 slots to reach 51st rank.
