India put on a commanding performance to beat South Africa by 30 runs in their T20 World Cup warm-up clash at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, on Wednesday.
India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate highlights the team's challenges against finger spin and the predictability of their left-handed top order as they prepare for the T20 World Cup Super 8s.
The indefatigable duo of Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj is expected to be the big talking point on Saturday when the selectors pick a 15-member Indian ODI squad for a three-match series against New Zealand starting January 11 in Vadodara.
After Sanju Samson was included in India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka great and Rajasthan Royals Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara believes the 29-year-old will succeed in the upcoming global showpiece if he wins the race to be first-choice wicket-keeper for Men in Blue at the prestigious event.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav made optimal use of available resources in both departments as India did enough to beat a spirited Oman by 21 runs to end their league stage commitments in Asia Cup with a hat-trick of victories.
Rajasthan Royals announced Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara as their head coach for IPL 2026 next year, following the exit of Rahul Dravid from the role.
Shivam Dube flickered brightly with a fifty of exceptional quality but it was insufficient to prevent India's 50-run defeat against New Zealand in the fourth T20 International.
India will look to overcome batting inconsistencies and finish the tour of Australia with authority when the two sides clash in the fifth and final T20 International in Brisbane on Saturday.
Vice-captain Vihaan Malhotra's exhilarating stroke-play was well complemented by Aaron George's composure as India set up an Under-19 Asia Cup summit date with arch-rivals Pakistan after crushing Sri Lanka by eight wickets in a rain-curtailed semi-final, in Dubai, on Friday.
RR lost as many as 5 games this IPL after being in a seemingly winning position. Had they managed to win those games, they would have sealed a playoff spot.
The 34-year-old mystery spinner rewrote the record books during the fifth and final T20I against South Africa at Ahmedabad on Friday, casting a spell of his bamboozling spin magic on the Proteas batters, four of them surrendering to his bowling.
Samson is the first player in the IPL to score a century in his first match as captain.
Suryakumar Yadav, who returned to form with a blazing 82* against New Zealand at Raipur, spoke on how he dealt with his lean patch
'While acknowledging Sanju's potential to pivot the course of a game with his exceptional abilities, it's imperative to recognise the distinct role that Team India expects from him.'
After this snub, it looks difficult for Shubman Gill at this point to make a comeback to the T20 team with plenty of talented young players waiting in the wings.
'It is a passing phase'. 'He will bounce back'. 'He is a run machine; poor form is just temporary'. The vote of confidence in Gill was inspiring and reassuring, notes Sandeep Goyal.
'We wanted the sixth bowler to come in, so Sanju Samson missed out'
Test captain Shubman Gill also doesn't fit in the Indian T20 line-up, which has a settled top three in Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and captain Suryakumar Yadav.
'I can't express my feelings right now. It's unbelievable. Can't imagine scoring back-to-back hundreds, that too in SA. Right now, I can't express my feelings.'
Sanju Samson's entertaining half-century went in vain as Rajasthan Royals suffered a 20-run defeat against Delhi Capitals.
Images from the IPL 2024 match between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday.
Cricket's rulebook struck again in a bizarre Asia Cup Super Over moment between India and Sri Lanka, leaving fans stunned as Dasun Shanaka survived what looked like a certain run-out.
Samson's innings was complimented with fine strokeplay as well as quick running that brought him another IPL half-century and put RR in victory's path.
Samson was part of the squad in the recently concluded ODI series that the team won 3-0 and scored a half-century in the second game.
As India start their T20 World Cup title defence in less than 72 hours, one is tempted to look at Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir's working relationship which has been fantastic, at least so going by the results -- a whopping 31 wins in 39 games with a winning percentage of 79.48.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
"Gill should cement his place at the top order in T20": Irfan Pathan
That merging of skills and temperament has made him a much more desirable player than in the past.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhanjanlal Sharma on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, met the Rajasthan Royals players and management and congratulated them on their unbeaten run in IPL 2024.
SMAT 2025: Hardik comeback on cards, chance for rich domestic talent to shine before IPL auction
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson's calm demeanour and ability to read the game make him seem like a younger version of the great Mahendra Singh Dhoni, said former spinner Graeme Swann.
Kerala's Sanju Samson, 27, was part of the ODI series against Zimbabwe which India won 3-0. He has represented India in seven ODIs and 16 T20Is so far.
India lead the three-match series 1-0 following their narrow two-run win in the opener in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Playing as the opener, Sanju Samson has made just 39 runs in the first two T20 Internationals against Bangladesh.
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed that T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill is "ready to start" ahead of the first T20I against South Africa of the five-match series, which will take place on December 9.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson has made his case to become India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman at the Twenty20 World Cup in June, said Kumar Sangakkara, the coach of his Indian Premier League team.
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title. The 10th edition of the 20-overs global showpiece event will run from February 7 to March 8.
Yorkers on the field, reels off it -- Arshdeep Singh is mastering both games. The left-arm pacer, already India's leading T20I wicket-taker, is fast becoming cricket's social media star.
The report also indicated that Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are unlikely to get a call-up to the T20I squad as the team management might not upset the team's core combination.
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