Wriddhiman Saha remained unfazed in his finest cricketing hour and said his twin half centuries against New Zealand in Kolkata carry 'more value' than his unbeaten 203 in the Irani Cup, perhaps one of his best knocks.
Images from Day 1 of the 2nd Test between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede in Mumbai on Friday.
With the second Test set to start on Wednesday, here is a quick fact check on how both teams stand at the Gabba.
Much was expected from a revamped Kolkata Knight Riders set-up but it seemed Dinesh Karthik did not learn from his past mistakes
India have never won the first Test of a series in Australia and will be looking to come hard at Australia on Day 5. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers from the fourth day of the Adelaide Test.
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.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between India and South Africa, in Pune.
It is learnt that Shubman has been told that he would bat in the middle-order in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, where Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team in the absence of Virat Kohli, who is on a break.
The National Cricket Academy, which has often been criticised for its handling of players' injuries, is set to get the help of a BCCI medical panel and a dedicated social media department as part of its overall revamp plan. The development comes after the criticism the NCA drew for the injury management of leading India players, including Wriddhiman Saha and more recently Bhuvneshwar Kumar. All-rounder Hardik Pandya and premium pacer Jasprit Bumrah added to the NCA's woes by choosing personal rehabilitation over recovering in Bengaluru.
India's formidably consistent match-winners have a date with history in the New Year when they take on an out-of-sorts South Africa in the second Test in Johannesburg from Monday in pursuit of a coveted first-ever series win in the Rainbow Nation.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will take huge confidence from the fact that they managed to get the better of Delhi Capitals in both their league games, and boast of an impressive 11-6 overall head to head record against them.
BCCI said in a statement there are "no serious concerns" and that India's batting mainstay would be able to participate in the ongoing contest which marks Ranchi's debut as a Test venue.
RCB would be hoping Virat Kohli can shake off his recent below-par performances and announce himself with a match-winning batting performance in the Eliminator match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
India have a real shot at winning their first ever away series against South Africa,
A roundup of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day matches played on Tuesday.
A final decision by the team's think-tank will be taken after the final practice session on Friday.
KXIP got its campaign back on track with three consecutive wins -- over mighty Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore and the KL Rahul-led side would be hoping to carry the winning momentum forward to break into top four.
Some of his team-mates may have considered Anil Kumble 'strict' but India's Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha never felt that about the former coach, who quit after a bitter fallout with captain Virat Kohli.
Indian opener Murali Vijay will miss the second Test against West Indies due to a thumb injury and will be replaced by Lokesh Rahul, skipper Virat Kohli said ahead of the match that begins at Kingston's Sabina Park later on Saturday.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali on Thursday
RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
After losing the two-match Test series against New Zealand, India captain Virat Kohli on Monday defended wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant's selection in the playing XI ahead of Wriddhiman Saha. Pant was preferred over Saha in both the Test matches against the Kiwis and only managed to score 60 runs, with his highest score being 25 in the second innings of the first Test.
Jasprit Bumrah will have to squeeze every ounce of energy from his already overworked body, while Ajinkya Rahane will hope to get one final chance to save his international career when India take on England in the fifth and final Test, chasing a historic series win, in Manchester on Friday.
Wriddhiman Saha smashed a 55-ball 93 before the Kings XI Punjab pacers bowled an excellent spell in the death overs to help the visitors edge past Mumbai Indians by seven runs in a thrilling finish, in the Indian Premier League, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Shahbaz Nadeem took a five-wicket haul for the second time in the match to put India A on the cusp of a big win over West Indies A in the first unofficial Test, at North Sound, Antigua, on Friday.
India 'A' extended their domination of the hosts to the Tests after they opted to bat
Wriddhiman does acknowledge that he didn't score too many runs despite getting starts (25 and 35) in the first innings of both the Test matches Down Under.
Rishabh Pant's brute power will be put to test against Rashid Khan's bagful of tricks in an IPL encounter where Delhi Capitals will start as favourites against SunRisers Hyderabad due to their better bowling resources.
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane described Virat Kohli as an "aggressive" captain even as he praised former Test skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for instilling confidence to the cricket team.
In all likelihood, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane would get another chance but over the past two years, his inconsistency has hurt this team badly.
CSK and Sunrisers Hyderabad (since inception) have traditionally been two of the most balanced sides in most IPL editions but both have ensured scratchy starts this year
Rahul Dravid, head coach of the India U-19 ICC World Cup-winning outfit, received Rs 2.43 crore as professional fees from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the six-month period ended December 31, 2017.
India team continued to be dogged by injuries as young all-rounder Hardik Pandya was Sunday released from the Test squad due to a blow on the shoulder, sustained during a training session. Lokesh Rahul and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha were also forced to miss the third Test due to injuries but the BCCI is expecting the young opener to regain fitness before the fourth Test, scheduled to begin from December 8 in Mumbai.
Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir was dropped while India's medium pacer Bhuvaneswar was recalled to the 16-man squad for the next three Tests against England.
Recalling his early days of struggle, the Roorkee-born Pant said he used to take a bus at 2 o'clock in the night to travel to Delhi for practice.
The performance of openers Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul has been the biggest plus for India in the batting department. Both have showed remarkable temperament and technique in testing conditions to give the team a solid start.
Kohli has always led from the front but he knows his search for a maiden title will remain incomplete if the team doesn't perform in all departments.
Australia were on 103 for 2 in the second innings, a lead of 197 runs, at the close of play on the third day of the third Test against India, in Sydney, on Saturday.
South Africa will have to produce an exceptional batting performance to get back into the contest when skipper Faf du Plessis and Zubayr Hamza return to the crease in Ranchi on Monday.
He may have had to relinquish his captaincy and a place in the side during the World Cup, but Kings XI's George Bailey utilized his 'spare' time to prepare himself for the IPL.
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