Lungi Ngidi bowled the most economical figures of this season's IPL to uproot Punjab's innings.
R Ashwin is in line for another player of the series award, says Bikash Mohapatra. After the first two Tests against Australia, has already a tally of 18 wickets, four more than he finished with against England.
The selectors handed out of favour spinner Harbhajan Singh another lifeline when they picked him up in the 15-man Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia.
Delhi's strong batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fire on all cylinders right from the opening game.
Debutants Gujarat Titans capped a fairytale season by beating inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets to win the IPL title in their first season in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Six players to watch when India host England in a four-match Test series which begins on Feb. 5
The national selection committee announced the squad for the two-Test series against the West Indies.
Ravichandran Ashwin made most of helpful conditions and finished with wonderful figures of four for 40 as Australia struggled to 231 for eight after electing to bat in the fourth Test.
A dogged half century by R Ashwin helped India avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat in the third Test against England at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu says the spirit for which Harbhajan is known for was never visible during the second Test in Mumbai.
India scored a comprehensive innings and 135-runs win over Australia in the second Test at Hyderabad on Tuesday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja produced a mesmerising spell as India crushed a clueless Australia by an innings and 135 runs in less than three and half days to win the second cricket Test and take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Statistical highlights from Day 1 of the second Test played between India and England at Wankhede in Mumbai on Friday.
India moved up a rung to fourth in the ICC Test rankings for teams, displacing Pakistan, while veteran Sachin Tendulkar rose three places to 17th in the batsmen's chart. Among the bowlers, off-spinner R Ashwin was rewarded for his match haul of 12 for 198 in the first Test against Australia with a jump to a career-best 11th.
India won the opening match in the four-Test series against Australia by eight wickets on Tuesday. Captain MS Dhoni and spinner R Ashwin were the wreckers-in-chief, as the Aussies were outplayed on a dustbowl of a pitch through the five days of the Test. Rediff.com looks back moments from the memorable victory.
Captain MS Dhoni's heroics with the bat and spinner R Ashwin's 12 wickets in the match, helped India register a comprehensive 8-wicket victory against Australia. Here are a few statistical highlights from Day 5 of the first Test played in Chennai on Tuesday.
Discuss the first Test, with India Abroad's Bikash Mohapatra on Rediff ZaraBol at 14.45 IST.
Rising talent, off-spinner R Ashwin replaced out-of-form senior tweaker Harbhajan Singh in the top bracket of BCCI's list of central retainership contracts, while struggling pacer Ishant Sharma was also demoted from Grade A to B.
Veteran Yuvraj Singh made a comeback to the Indian team, while Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the forthcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against England, starting in Pune, on January 15.
Jackie Shroff talks about his much-awaited new film.
India's captain Virat Kohli will have to think overtime about the balance of his squad, with a long tail, often bushy with runs, and just two openers -- one untested (Rohit Sharma) but very capable and another supremely talented (KL Rahul) but highly reluctant starter.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar slammed Australia skipper Tim Paine for sledging Ravichandran Ashwin during the drawn third Test in Sydney, saying his behaviour was "unbefitting" of a leader and could cost him his captaincy.
Rediff.com's Manu Shankar points to the factors that led to Team India's downfall in the Kolkata Test.
India's No 9 batsman R Ashwin (83 batting) scored a defiant half-century to help India take a 32-run lead in their second innings on Day 4 of the third Test against England on Saturday.
Images from Day Two of the opening Test between India and New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Uppal on Friday.
Day Two of the first Test between India and England brought bad news for the visitors. But Cheteshwar Pujara dominated all the headlines.
Virat Kohli Foundation has joined hands with Abhishek Bachchan's 'Playing for Humanity' to hold a charity football match which will also feature limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni part from the Test captain and top Bollywood actor like Ranbir Kapoor. The match termed as 'Celebrity Clssico 2016' will take place at the Mumbai Football Arena, Andheri Sports Complex, on Saturday, June 4 with an objective to generate funds for the foundations' charitable initiatives. Virat will lead the All Heart Football Club (a property of The Virat Kohli Foundation) and Bachchan is set to lead All Stars Football Club (run by Playing for Humanity).
With two senior pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (thigh injury) and Ishant Sharma (side strain) all but ruled out, Navdeep Saini will certainly be the fourth pacer after Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav.
Both are 26 years of age. They have nothing in common when it comes to their bowling styles, one being an off-spinner and the other a left arm leg-spinner. However, both bowling in tandem have, in the last year, fetched Team India rich dividends.
'...the one that turned the match firmly in India's favour was the Johnny Mullagh medal-winning contribution from Rahane. The captain's century came at a time when India could easily have faded to a two-nil deficit, and it was this performance that gave his team the conviction that victory was attainable.'
Skipper Joe Root, who led England to a series-levelling win at the Headingley, expects an Indian backlash in the penultimate Test and said they're ready for all combinations including facing the "world-class" R Ashwin at Oval.
Dhoni fetches 'Spirit of Cricket' honour.
Photos from Super Eights match between India and Pakistan being played in Colombo
Albie Morkel, a regular in the Chennai Super Kings line-up during IPL, says the experience of sharing the dressing room with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, R Ashwin and Suresh Raina will help South Africa when they take on India in their final Super Eight game of the World Twenty20.
If you have a question relating to cricket and did not know who to ask, bounce them off to Rajneesh Gupta. He will pick questions readers send him and provide answers. Your queries should be addressed to: Ask Rajneesh on Facebook or askrajneesh@rediffmail.com Rajneesh replies to questions he received from readers last week:
Punjab bowlers gave nothing away, especially after taking out Hyderabad opener Jonny Bairstow (1 off 6) in the second over. With their middle order getting few chances to bat in this IPL, it was going to be a task for them to get going.
Team India's policy of rotating its three openers, including Sachin Tendulkar, was again thrown into confusion with offspinner R Ashwin saying that he is not aware of the team's selection policy.
For India to successfully defend the top ranking, they will have to draw at least one Test.
Showing utter disrespect towards the Indian cricket team, a Bangladeshi newspaper has produced a fake 'cutter' advertisement, in which seven Indian cricketers are seen standing with their heads half-shaven.
After being rattled by Indian off-spinner R Ashwin in the opening Test, New Zealand's cricketers on Monday sweated it out at the nets for two hours to prepare for the second and final Test in Bangalore starting August 31.
