KL Rahul will have to show drastically improved leadership acumen when he leads India against a buoyant South African side in the second ODI on Thursday.
The RCB spinners choked KKR for runs; and in the batsmen's bid to make up the run-rate KKR lost wickets regularly.
Dhoni's contract not being renewed is not exactly a surprise as he has not played a competitive game since that World Cup semifinal on July
Kohli, the IPL's highest scorer with 5,878 runs, is set to open the innings to give his team the early momentum.
The Indian team is scheduled to play the WTC final against New Zealand from June 18-22 before taking on England in a five-Test series.
Five India Test players, including vice-captain Rohit Sharma, opener Shubman Gill and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, have been placed in isolation and an investigation launched into a possible breach of the COVID-19 bio-security protocol by them, Cricket Australia said on Saturday.
Assured of a play-off berth, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to quickly recover from their loss in the previous game and finish the league phase on a high when they take on table-toppers Delhi Capitals in their final IPL round-robin game in Dubai on Friday.
Virat Kohli said that he baked a cake for the first time for his wife and Bollywood star Anushka Sharma on her birthday
"I asked the police to let them go even if they don't have the papers," he said.
Successive elections have demonstrated that the BJP campaign switches towards polarisation when it is faced with palpable discontent among the electorate, notes Utkarsh Mishra.
K L Rahul has been named vice-captain of the squad, which also has Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harshal Patel, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel.
'My goal initially was to play for the team (KKR) regularly and contribute to the wins. Hopefully, I will be able to perform for the Indian team. I want to thank selectors for having faith in me.'
Likely to be fit for 3rd Test against England.
"It is certainly affected. As you know the border is closed. The customers are coming in lesser number than before and so is the supply of goods into the market. There is a lack of supply and also a lack of buyers," vegetable wholesaler, Sumer Singh Saini told ANI when asked whether the business in the market is affected due to the agitation.
Siraj's brilliance saw KKR reduced to 14 for 4 inside 4 overs -- the lowest score by any team inside the Powerplay this season. The Hyderabad lad became the first bowler to bowl two maidens in an IPL game.
Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to build on the momentum when they take on a struggling Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League match in Dubai on Wednesday.
Rohit Sharma is likely to miss his third game in a row when Mumbai Indians take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday with both teams aiming to secure their spot in the IPL play-offs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's all-rounder Chris Morris talks about playing cricket in a bio-bubble environment.
India will surely fancy their chances of an encore, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Images from Tuesday's third T20 International between India and the West Indies, in Guyana.
Whether he is batting in the middle or fielding at the boundary line, Virat Kohli's every move will be tracked, though some of that attention will now be on skipper K L Rahul.
Enduring a forgettable outing in the first half of this year's IPL, two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look for reversal of fortunes when they resume their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second phase of T20 league in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Dhoni nearly won the match for CSK with a magnificent 84 not out off 48 balls
New Zealand defended a total of 273 by restricting India to 251 in 48.3 overs taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Some of their bowling and fielding frailties exposed in the series-opener, India will aim for quick course correction when they take on a resurgent New Zealand in a must-win second ODI, in Auckland, on Saturday. India find themselves in a familiar situation after the loss in Hamilton. But the visitors have come from behind against the West Indies and Australia to win their last two ODI series and Virat Kohli's men will aim to do the same against the Kiwis.
The poll results will depend much on whether the caste and community coalition worked out by Akhilesh can withstand the onslaught of the Hindutva forces who have increased their efforts to polarise the electorate on communal lines.
Virat Kohli inflicted more Super Overs misery on New Zealand as he helped India to a second successive victory in sudden death to win the fourth Twenty20 international in Wellington on Friday. Images from the fourth T20 International between New Zealand and India in Wellington on Friday.
Fit again Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari made their way back into the Indian Test squad, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya was left out for next month's IIC World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-match series against England.
Opener KL Rahul will be playing for India 'A' in their first unofficial Test against England Lions to be held in Wayanad from February 7-10.
Indian freestyle wrestlers claim Asian team title in U-17 category
The 34-year-old was India's number one Test wicket-keeper until a career-threatening shoulder injury ruled him out of action for almost a year.
Left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan earned his maiden call-up to the Indian Test squad after he was named as the replacement for the injured Umesh Yadav for the last two games against Australia.
Kohli said despite defeat, they have got some positives too from the lost series and they can make changes to the playing XI for the third match.
India 'A' bowlers were largely ineffective, allowing Steve Smith and senior batsman Shaun Marsh to strike comfortable hundreds as Australia started their Test tour in impressive fashion in the three-day warm-up game in Mumbai on Friday.
A day after Punjab Advocate General A P S Deol accused Navjot Singh Sidhu of spreading misinformation and obstructing him, the state Congress chief on Sunday hit back, alleging that the AG's 'earnest inaction' was subverting justice in the sacrilege and drug cases.
If RCB win their remaining two games, they will move to 20 points and have a chance of finishing in the top two.
The bowling attack looks the most settled this year and if batting manages to compliment the bowling, RCB can expect to have a solid season.
Mohammed Shami was dropped after he failed to clear the fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
His tweet pressing the Charanjit Singh Channi-led government to change the director general of police and state's advocate general appears to indicate that he continues to remain unhappy over certain key appointments.
RCB suffered four consecutive defeats to finish the league stage at the fourth spot, SRH registered a hat-trick of wins to edge past Virat Kohli's men in the standings.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances