His captaincy debut soured by the embarrassing loss to Zimbabwe, skipper Suresh Raina blamed his inexperienced bowlers for the debacle in Friday's tri-series opener.
New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme changed the script completely with a final over assault that enabled Royal Challengers Bangalore put up a healthy total against Mumbai Indians.
Mitchell Starc smashed an unbeaten half-century to steer Australia to 256 for nine on a difficult pitch on the opening day of the four-match series in Pune on Thursday.
The Indian cricket team were unhappy with practice facilities at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground with both coach Anil Kumble and skipper Virat Kohli expressing their displeasure with the local authorities in Birmingham on Thursday.
Injured India speedster Jasprit Bumrah will be off to the United Kingdom to seek opinion on his lower back stress fracture from multiple specialists.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been an integral part of SunRisers Hyderabad in IPL in the last few years. This year the T20 league has been suspended indefinitely due to the pandemic and it is likely that it could be held overseas later this year.
Shami said the success of the current group boils down to the joy they share in each other's success.
Sanjay Bangar termed Umesh Yadav, who has been providing the team with breakthroughs at crucial juncture, as 'the most improved bowler' in the last one and half seasons.
Acutely short of match practice, senior fast bowler Ishant Sharma is set to play the next Duleep Trophy match between India Blue and India Green, starting in Delhi, on Tuesday.
After eight defeats in 11 outings, Chennai Super Kings will look to give their forgettable campaign a semblance of respectability when they take on in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in Dubai on Sunday.
Lockie Ferguson's inclusion gave the much-needed impetus to the side, but KKR are still struggling with their star all-rounder Andre Russell who capped yet another flop show with the bat.
India speedster Umesh Yadav on Saturday admitted that being a senior bowler he needs to perform better in the death overs if he has to consistently feature in the playing XI in the limited overs cricket.
Ahead of the three-match series, here's the schedule and key stats between the teams.
If MI have their problems to sort out, having lost at the death in all three games so far, RCB too have their own shortcomings to address with only one win in three games under their belt.
Statistical highlights of Friday's India-Zimbabwe tri-series match in Bulawayo.
The white-ball games that were held in Sydney indicated that the deck was a flat one and express pace comes in handy on such surfaces.
For KKR, the biggest cause of concern will be the availability of big-hitter Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday.
'I think it is very difficult to bowl on this track'
Both DC and RCB have looked solid so far and are placed atop the standings with three wins out of four games each.
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
Unchallenged by Sri Lanka so far, India would look to keep the foot on the pedal in their pursuit for a series whitewash when the two teams face off in the fourth and penultimate cricket One-dayer at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was rested for the first three One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka next month and batting mainstay Virat Kohli will lead the side in his absence.
Jonny Bairstow's composed 89 helped England survive some atrocious top order shot-making and reach 268 for eight at close of play on the first day of the third Test against India on Saturday.
'There's an innings to go and I'm looking forward to the entire Test series. It's a great opportunity for me.'
Buoyed by their spectacular win over Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of this season's campaign, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on spirited qualifiers Lahore Lions in their second game of the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad on Sunday.
India's captain Virat Kohli will have to think overtime about the balance of his squad, with a long tail, often bushy with runs, and just two openers -- one untested (Rohit Sharma) but very capable and another supremely talented (KL Rahul) but highly reluctant starter.
Rahane spoke about how pink ball's increased pace off the pitch during the 40-50 minutes of the twilight session, will be the biggest challenge for any batsman.
Ajinkya Rahane cracked a superb half-century to power Rising Pune Supergiants to a competitive 160-5 against Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday.
Their morale on the upswing after back-to-back victories, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will aim to continue the winning run when they take on the inconsistent Sunrisers Hyderabad in their fifth IPL cricket match in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
Often criticised for not bowling consistent yorkers like his younger fast-bowling counterpart Jasprit Bumrah, Indian pacer Umesh Yadav says his action is more suited for full length outswing deliveries. "I know a lot of bowlers are judged by their ability to bowl yorkers at the death. I can also bowl yorkers effectively but it is a delivery that can go wrong as it is difficult to bowl consistently," Yadav told PTI during an exclusive interaction. "There would be days when the length would be wrong. The advantage for Jasprit (Bumrah) is that his action is natural when it comes to bowling yorkers while my action means that my stock ball will be outswinger," he said.
The change in format may bring about some strategic shift in the playing eleven for India with captain Virat Kohli expected to open the innings.
Fresh from his good showing for India 'A' during their recent tour of Australia, paceman Umesh Yadav revealed that his Kolkata Knight Riders bowling coach Wasim Akram helped him get his yorkers right and he is now keen to use the toe-crushers against England batsmen in the limited overs series.
A dominant India quickly wrapped up the last two wickets to win by a comprehensive margin of an innings and 202 runs and complete an emphatic 3-0 series whitewash against South Africa.
A formidable India will fancy their chances of taking an unassailable 2-0 lead against a weakened West Indies when the two sides lock horns in the third game of the ongoing five-match ODI series, in North Sound, Antigua, on Friday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that the trio of Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma should not be forced to play domestic games.
Ravindra Jadeja was called up to the Indian team as the replacement for Axar Patel for the first three ODIs in the five-match series against Australia starting in Chennai, on Sunday.
The legendary Kapil Dev heaped praise on India's current pace battery, saying the fast bowlers have changed the face of Indian cricket in the last four to five years.
Former India pacer Rudra Pratap Singh believes the defending champions have found form at the right time and sent out a warning to other teams in the ICC World Cup.
The talented Punjab youngster Gurkeerat Singh Mann was selected for the upcoming One-day International series against South Africa.
50 overs cricket is a batsman's game, or so the conventional wisdom goes. But the Champions Trophy is being played in England, which means a different ball game :)
