Batting great Viv Richards has slammed 'arrogant' Caribbean administrators for thinking they are as important as players and has laid the blame for the decline of West Indies cricket firmly at their door.
The 63-run win at the Wanderers ensured that South Africa cannot move ahead of India in the ICC Test Team Rankings at the 3 April cut-off date, even if they go on to win all four Tests against Australia in March.
During Sandeep Patil's four-year tenure as chief selector, India continued to be dominant at home in Tests but struggled to win an away series outside Asia, except for the West Indies, as it suffered series losses in England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
With the Eden Gardens set to host the country's first day-night match with a pink ball in club cricket, an expert panel, comprising Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Dean Jones, strongly feel the innovation is here to stay.
He expressed hope that it will also benefit a large number of Hindi-speaking umpires and those giving training in this field, to whom the rules in English are hard to understand.
India's ace bowler Ravichandran Ashwin hailed M S Dhoni as an illustrious leader and said a lot of leadership lessons can be learnt from him. He also said Virat Kohli, who will now captain the Indian team in all formats, is no less a player and in the right phase to take over. "I think he (Dhoni) is going to be available as a player, his career was wonderful and illustrious. As a captain there are lot of leadership lessons from Dhoni for even big leaders out there," he told reporters in Chennai.
'Dhoni was the captain and everyone else was battling for the second wicket-keeper's slot.' 'I was fighting with myself, always thinking of improving my game, getting better personally, not comparing myself with anyone else.'
Consistent death bowling from a Bumrah and spinners picking up wickets in the middle overs is why the average run-rate in the last few years hasn't exploded the way one would have expected, says Dhruv Munjal.
Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels captain Virat Kohli and chief coach Anil Kumble have got a chance to usher in a new era where Indian cricket teams will not require 'rank turners' to win matches as the long-used tactic is beginning to boomerang on the side.
Akram explained that Shami's erratic strides at times hinder his consistency level.
Ganguly, only the second Indian captain to take charge as the BCCI chief, sounded a pleased man on his first day at his new office at the BCCI head office
'This was Kohli's veneration for his master: The man who had inspired him to pick up a cricket bat in the first place, the man he had grown up watching. Just that now, he was exactly like him, or, dare it be suggested, maybe a shade better while chasing down daunting totals,' says Dhruv Munjal.
'They don't have a political strategy so they are going to try to deal with it purely as a law and order problem.' 'They will try to use the same strategy they have repeatedly used since 2014 in Kashmir.' 'Mr Modi has landed in a situation where he faces the possible prospect of not only being unable to Indianise Kashmir, but his actions may end up making the rest of India a virtual carbon copy of Kashmir.'
Cricketing legends Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram and Sourav Ganguly have heaped praise on Virat Kohli with one comparing India's batting mainstay to tennis great John McEnroe and another saying that his value in the team is more than his teammates.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag offers a straight bat on the best batsmen in contemporary cricket, IPL team Kings XI Punjab, of which he is mentor, and why he is comfortable doing cricket commentary. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar says South Africa will be a tough challenge for India in the upcoming Test series and marked out Proteas leg-spinner Imran Tahir as the one bowler to watch out for.
Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar and other ex-cricketers said in unison that one should refrain from drawing comparison between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his predecessors.
'It's Test cricket and (Shannon) is an emotional guy trying to do everything he can to win a Test match. Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret'
Younis Khan says Indian great Rahul Dravid played a huge role in his development as a top class Test batsman.
Vibrant New Zealand deserve all the plaudits.
The England-India series has brought the bowler back into what has been turned into a batsman's game, says Aakar Patel.
Unlike football, which offends the sensibilities of some very conservative Muslims because it is normally played in shorts, cricket is played in long sleeves and trousers, in line with traditional dress codes. It also bears some resemblance to traditional Afghan children's games involving throwing and using sticks to hit smaller sticks or balls.
'Kohli represents a new generation of young Indians who are willing to play hard, win every match and dominate the rivals,' says Indrajit Gupta.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India said on Friday it is "not looking for an escape route" but needs to time to implement the Lodha Committee's recommendations on reforms in cricket administration.
'We are not the best side in domestic cricket, we are not the best side in terms of skill sets or in terms of match-winners, but I think we are the best when it comes to being a unit, when it comes to playing like a family.'
'In the future, you will get pacers who will bowl even faster than the current lot because these guys are currently setting new standards.'
'I firmly believed that the wrist spinners can add lot of value as they are not dependant on the surface. It is about what you do in the air and you have varieties bowling leg-spinners as well as googlies'
Irfan Pathan discloses on how he coped with the disappointment of getting dropped from the Indian team and what inspired his superb comeback in domestic cricket this season which he hopes lead to bigger things and eventually into a 'a really good story and inspiration' for others.
Going into the final Test against South Africa, Australia are staring at the lowest ebb in their 140-year cricketing history.
'If we don't win the series, then there could be something radically wrong with the team.'
'Kanhaiya Kumar and others of his ilk are now out on bail. But what about the NIT 'anti-nationals'?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
Rajneesh Gupta one of the greatest cricketers ever to have played One-Day Internationals.
Rediscovering himself in the twilight of his career, a rejuvenated Mahendra Singh Dhoni would look to continue his regained form and guide India to a series-clinching win when the hosts take on New Zealand in the fourth One-Day International, in Ranchi, on Wednesday.
'Bhuvneshwar can swing the ball, Bumrah has a difficult action to pick, Shami's seam position is outstanding, one of the best probably in world cricket and his rhythm is outstanding.' 'Umesh is fantastic as well and so is Ishant.' 'So we have all the tools.' 'It is just about them hitting the right length as quick as possible.'
So India lost its first World Twenty20 game on Tuesday night. Maybe, we fielded the wrong team :) Haresh Pandya picks 11 India greats who never played the shortest format, but can take on any team in the World T20 championships.
There are bowlers who have a better statistical record than the 311 wickets in Tests and 282 in ODIs, but those figures do not reveal Zaheer Khan's match-winning abilities in all conditions
'All of Indira Gandhi's bad economic ideas are being strengthened, from nationalised banks to anti-poverty, handout yojanas,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Penpix of the West Indies squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
'The best remedy would be to scrap Section 124-A of the IPC, a colonial vestige, altogether.' 'However, if legislators don't want to do so, they can do two things.' 'They can formally amend Section 124-A to bring it in line with what the Supreme Court has said about sedition.' 'The words which stand on the statute book today were inserted in 1898.' 'The Supreme Court's words are not a part of Section 124-A.'
