Shreyas Iyer's 51-ball 86 run blitzkrieg helped Mumbai sail past a tall Vidarbha total to notch up a five-wicket win in the Super League phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Group A match in Mumbai. Chasing Vidarbha's score of 181 for four, built mainly around opener Jignesh Sharma's punishing knock of 56 off just 30 balls, Mumbai cantered home in 18.5 overs to register their second straight victory in as many days in the tournament, at the Wankhede Stadium. Iyer and skipper Aditya Tare (41 in 24 balls) steadied the Mumbai innings after the early loss of left-handed opener Akhil Herwadkar (4) through a brisk second-wicket partnership of 71 runs in 7.2 overs.
India's old warhorses like Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh will look to impress the Indian Premier League franchises when they take the field in the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, starting in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Mayank Agarwal could likely to make his ODI debut as the first of the three-match ODI series kicks off in Chennai on Sunday. But all eyes will be trained on under-fire Pant who will have to work to prove his worth in the squad.
Besides KL Rahul, another individual who would like to answer his critics with solid performances is Pant.
In a thrilling match in Surat, Gujarat defeated Rajasthan "by one over eliminator" after the two teams ended with identical scores in 20 overs and the match was tied.
Wriddhiman Saha, who appeared to be doing well in Tests before his untimely injury during the England series, hopes to make a comeback on the strength of a good domestic performance, even if he is dropped for the time being.
Pawan Negi, who became a household name for his whopping Rs 8.5 crore ($1.25 million) bid, has been released by Delhi Daredevils along with five other players for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
A look at the top 10 purchases at the IPL auction.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy limited-overs' tournament.
Vijay Shankar is dealing with as he tries to move on from a "disheartening" off day that nearly cost India the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh.
It was batters who mostly lead their teams to victories and some into the knock-outs. While Mumbai trailblazer Sarfaraz Khan continues to find the big runs, Baba Indrajith's consistency wasn't enough for Tamil Nadu to make even the top two in Group H.
'I'm trying to learn Hindi now'
Defending IPL champions Mumbai Indians have been hit hard by the Bombay High Court decision to shift all their home games out of the Wankhede Stadium, but the side were focused only on the game, according to wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel.
Rishabh Pant cracked a fourth successive fifty-plus score to lead Delhi's eight-wicket rout of Tamil Nadu while Baroda, Mumbai and Punjab also secured wins in their respective Super League matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, in Kolkata on Sunday.
The clean sweep in the T20 series against Australia has lessened their dilemmas but selectors will debate.
Baroda and Uttar Pradesh will square off in the final of the Mushtaq Ali T20 cricket championships after notching up contrasting wins over their respective opponents in the final Super League encounters.
During the ICC Cricket World Cup that was played Down Under, last year, Mohammed Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers.
The 13th edition of the IPL will have added significance as 2020 is also a T20 World Cup year.
Pacer Mukesh Kumar took six wickets to help Bengal beat Karnataka by 174 runs and enter the final of the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 13 years, in Kolkata, on Tuesday. Chasing 352 for victory, Karnataka were bowled out for 177 in their second innings with Mukesh taking 6-61 in 21 overs, while Ishan Porel and Akash Deep took two wickets each.
Domestic cricket will only happen when travelling is safe: Ganguly
For the visitors, the game against the Mandeep Singh-led India 'A' side will be more about getting into the match simulation mode before they get going against Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team in the opening T20 International at Dharamsala on October 2.
Sreesanth, who was not shortlisted in IPL 2021 auction's final list, returned figures of five for 65 in his first List A game in more than eight years.
The IPL auctions are known to spring surprises with little known players hitting a jackpot to become millionaires. Here's a look at some buys that left most people surprised. Carlos Brathwaite (Rs 4.2 cr): Inarguably the biggest surprise buys of 2016 IPL auctions. The Caribbean all-rounder has shown his hitting talent during his heroics against Sri Lanka, lower down the order. But not many would have expected Delhi to roll out a whopping 4.2 crore, which is 14 times his base price Pawan Negi (Rs 8.5 cr) : The new million dollar man! After his selection for the World T20 squad, here came another good news for Pawan Negi. It was Delhi again, that snapped the all-rounder for a monstrous Rs 8.5 crore.
India and Gujarat left-arm spinner Axar Patel acknowledged RP Singh that veteran pacer Singh's presence in the Gujarat dressing room for the past two years played a big role in the team's development.
It is difficult to expect that selectors would ring in changes when an Indian cricket team wins a series 3-0 on Australian soil which is precisely the reason why Pawan Negi is "pleasantly surprised" after knowing about his selection for the T20 series against Sri Lanka.
While 41 times champions Mumbai are expected to last the distance, it will be a stern test of character for Gujarat who are in their first final in 66 years with the baggage of never winning the prestigious domestic trophy.
War-torn Afghanistan, playing only their third match after being inducted as a Test-playing nation two years ago, completed a famous victory by defeating Bangladesh by 224 runs with 3.2 overs left on the final day on Monday.
Out-of-favour India all-rounder Suresh Raina knows his worth in the Indian Premier League and credited Chennai Super Kings for transforming him into a 'real cricketer'.
Saurashtra left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has been recalled, while India also have three first-timers in Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka.
There will be a strong focus on buying uncapped Indian players with eight franchises gearing up to pick a maximum of 76 out of the 350 plus, who will go under the hammer at the auction for the 10th Indian Premier League.
'You can still acquire the COVID-19 virus even if you are vaccinated.' 'But if you develop the disease, (after being vaccinated) the likelihood is that it will be mild.' 'It just makes sense to continue to take precautions, because you may be around a lot of unvaccinated people.'
'It is not due to my effort that I am sitting out of the team, it is due to the supply and demand that the team requires.' Ravichandran Ashwin tries to figure out why he is not being considered for the Indian team in ODIs and T20Is.
Uttar Pradesh clinched their maiden Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with a thumping 38-run win over two-time champions Baroda in the final under flood-lights at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar on Saturday slammed India's team selection in the ongoing Test series against South Africa, saying it is a shame to pick players for a Test match based on their form in limited overs cricket.
A summary of the day's matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament.
Central Zone upstaged star-studded North Zone by four runs in a close match to remain in the hunt for the title in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Inter Zonal League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Bowler Jaydev Unadkat in another player to watch out for as the three-match series in the shortest format kicks off in Johannesburg on Sunday
'I just want to keep learning and keep getting better.'
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah produced his career-best spell in first-class cricket as Gujarat staged a sensational comeback to beat Jharkhand by 123 runs and reach their second ever final of the Ranji Trophy cricket Tournament. Bumrah finished with figures of six for 29 and alongside veteran pacer R P Singh plotted the downfall of Jharkhand, who were skittled out for 111 in their second innings after being set a target of 235 runs on day four of the semifinal.
'I just need to go back and bat at my old position at No 3.' 'In the IPL, captaincy is just for namesake. You just need to go out there and play well.' Suresh Raina tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about the challenges that lie ahead as he leads the Gujarat Lions and how much he will miss his beloved Chennai Super Kings and under his favourite skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.