Pant had so far scored 222 runs in the IPL compared to a mere 93 by Karthik, but the latter's experience helped tilt the scale in his favour for the mega-event, starting in England from May 30.
Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings will look to complete the double against Kolkata Knight Riders, just like Delhi Capitals did, when the teams clash in Sunday's IPL match in Kolkata. The home side's consistency has suddenly taken a beating after two defeats on the trot, first in Chennai and then against Delhi Capitals on Friday night. Thus, the Knight Riders will be under immense pressure to arrest the slide when they face mighty Chennai.
The World Cup is just a couple of months away, and even after even a 0-2 loss in the just-concluded T20 series there won't be any shift in plans as far as skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri are concerned.
MS Dhoni is ready for limited overs series against South Africa.
Having decimated South Africa inside three days on a turning track in Mohali, India will again look to unleash their troika of spinners to spoil A B de Villiers's landmark 100th match when the two sides meet in the second Test, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
Rohit Sharma (57) and Virat Kohli (33) added 75 in an unbroken second wicket stand to carry India to a nine-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates in a World Cup Pool B encounter in Perth on Saturday.
As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
Courtesy Jadeja's knock, Saurashtra lead Railways by 144 runs after they ended the Day 2 at 344/8.
Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia is a surprise inclusion in the 30-man shortlist, for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20, to be held in Bangladesh from March 16 to April 6. It includes young Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand, Railways leg-spinner Karan Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.
Having struggled in the past one year after suspensions of Steve Smith and David Warner, Australia finally seemed to have picked their pieces and playing exactly like a five-time champions ought to.
AB de Villiers is leading the Paisa Vasool Index at IPL-11 ahead of Indians KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu.
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.
The incident occurred at Sindupur village under Bihar police station area. The victim has been shifted to a government hospital in Lucknow and is in a critical condition.
Glenn Maxwell blasted a splendid 83-ball 96 to lift Australia to a three-wicket victory against India that also helped the hosts seal the five-match ODI series 3-0, in Melbourne, on Sunday.
With the three-match T20I series ahead and also the World Cup round the corner, India will have to address this weakness to ensure that their much-vaunted batting doesn't crumble on an odd day when the condition aids swing bowling in England.
India's limited overs cricket will usher in a new era with the national selectors expected to name Virat Kohli as the captain when they pick the squad for three ODIs and three T20 Internationals against England in Mumbai on Thursday. Test skipper Kohli is expected to be anointed captain of the limited overs teams also, after Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to step down from the job in a surprise decision last night.
Pakistan spin great Saqlain Mushtaq fails to understand how a proven performer like Ravichandran Ashwin has been kept out of India's limited-overs set-up, saying a successful Test bowler is bound to succeed in the shorter formats. Ashwin, a regular in the IPL, has been kept out of the shorter formats since July 2017. Same was the case with Ravindra Jadeja but he is back playing all three formats, largely because of his all-round abilities.
Virat Kohli will be facing the toughest battle of his nascent ODI captaincy career when defending champions India take on South Africa in a do-or-die match of the ICC Champions Trophy, in London, on Sunday.
Team India, set for a gruelling tour of Australia, looked in top gear as they practiced diligently during a nets session on the eve of the first Test in Adelaide on Monday.
A few proven, but currently out-of-form, cricketers are likely to get the nod when the national selectors draw up a list of 30 Indian probables for the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in Mumbai on Thursday.
Do you feel Dhoni should bring in all-rounder Dhawan for Jadeja, or strengthen the pace attack by playing Ishant? Select your Indian team for the second match against Australia, in Brisbane, on Friday, January 15.
Rishabh Pant of the Delhi Daredevils, with a most valuable player index of 897, is the most valuable player of IPL 11.
With only 17 ODIs left for India before the World Cup, senior pros like Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin will aim to remain relevant in the 50-overs format in the forthcoming Deodhar Trophy.
Ahead of the upcoming Test and ODI series against Bangladesh Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical outlook on India's players selected for the two squads.
Professionalism will be pitted against passion when defending champions India square off with Bangladesh in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, in Birmingham on Thursday.
A near-perfect series for Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Dhoni has turned back the clock with his last three innings, two of them half centuries, adding to the fine run of imposing all-rounder Shane Watson.
Virat Kohli's Indian team will be aiming for another comprehensive show against a depleted Australia when the two sides square-off in the opening encounter of the five-match series, in Chennai, on Saturday.
Key facts on the India squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup.
A cricketing rivalry that transcends beyond the realms of 22-yards will be reignited when India and Pakistan square off in a World Cup encounter that could have fascinating sub-plots with rain gods threatening an anti-climactic twist.
Captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with an unbeaten half-century to help Mumbai Indians down Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets, in the Indian Premier League, in Pune, on Saturday.
Having decimated the opposition with clinical precision in all four matches, India will be aiming to complete a clean sweep when they take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Ranchi on Sunday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni nearly pulled off a heist but Parthiv Patel's last ball run out helped Royal Challengers Bangalore edge past Chennai Super Kings by one run off the last ball in a thrilling finish.
Virat Kohli, who recently became the fastest batsman in ODIs to score 9,000 runs, is the Most Valuable Player of the ODI series against New Zealand. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji explain why the Indian skipper is tops.
As far as fielding in the outfield is concerned, Pant is still a work in progress.
All eyes were on Virat Kohli during the team's two-and-half-hour training session on the eve of the second One-Day International between India and the West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, on Friday.
Some teams have completely overhauled their squads. Others retained their core at the IPL Players Auction.
India spinner Kuldeep Yadav said he needs 'more time' to improve as a Test bowler, stressing that playing red-ball cricket is vital for his growth.
India put themselves on the cusp of completing a comprehensive series victory with England caught in a spin web following skipper Virat Kohli's career-best 235 at the end of the fourth day of the fourth cricket Test. - Scorecard Records tumbled one after another as Kohli's third double ton in as many Test series was complemented by Jayant Yadav's maiden hundred with India piling up a mammoth 631 thereby taking a lead of 231 runs. In reply, England were left tottering at 182 for 6 needing another 49 runs to avoid innings defeat as the hosts are now all but assured to regain the Anthony De Mello Trophy that they had lost back in 2012.
India have won the first two Tests by comprehensive margins -- by 304 runs in Galle and an innings and 53 runs in Colombo.
