India's stand-in-captain Virat Kohli is facing baptism by fire in the first Test against Australia in Brisbane next month, but former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin feels the result of this one match should not be the basis for passing a judgement on his leadership skills.
However, if anyone has unfinished business over a decade of IPL, it is India captain Virat Kohli. He made his intent amply clear earlier this week.
The indomitable Chennai Super Kings will have the advantage of familiarity with the conditions but the unbeaten Kolkata Knight Riders would still be a tough nut to crack when they clash in the Oppo Champions League T20 final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey smashed attacking half centuries to keep IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders winning run intact with a convincing 36-run victory over Dolphins in an inconsequential Group A match of Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad.
A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Tuesday.
It will be a battle of survival for the two national captains as Virat Kohli's struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore square off against a fledgling Pune Supergiants led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an IPL encounter for the bottom-rung teams in Bengaluru on Saturday. With five defeats in seven games, RCB are currently placed at a lowly seventh spot in the table with four points while Pune are just a notch above in sixth spot courtesy their third win against Delhi Daredevils, on Thursday. It has been a tough journey for the two superstars of Indian cricket as their franchises have dished one disappointing performance after another. RCB with perhaps the most intimidating batting line-ups has had to taste defeat because of a pedestrian bowling attack that has failed to defend 180 plus scores in most of the matches.
A summary of Wednesday's action in Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
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.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players in IPL 2019 at the end of the season.
'We cannot express the sorrow in words.'
Holders Vidarbha thrashed Mumbai by an innings and 145 runs to knock out the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions.
Robin Uthappa and Sunil Narine played lead roles as Kolkata Knight Riders booked a berth in the play-offs of the Indian Premier League after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
The big-hitting Rajasthan Royals batsman Deepak Hooda credits his IPL success to mentor Rahul Dravid, and teammate Steven Smith. Rediff.coms Harish Kotian caught up with the youngster to figure out his success mantra.
Supremely confident on home turf, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to continue their forward march when they face an inconsistent Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament at Eden Gardens, in Kolkata on Thursday.
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Delhi Daredevils by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Ahead of the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League here's a look at some records from the inaugural edition in 2008 still standing.
India's 2011 World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten says the 2015 tournament boils down to three games: quarters, semis and final.
India have won six ODI series on the trot. New Zealand have never won an ODI series in India.
The reliable Wasim Jaffer led from the front and scored his 35th Ranji century to guide Mumbai to 242/2 on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A clash against Odisha at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a clinical performance to seal their place in the Qualifier 2 as they crushed the hopes of two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders with a comfortable 22 runs win in the IPL Eliminator.
Rising Pune Supergiants will stand in the way of Kolkata Knight Riders's revival when they clash in an Indian Premier League T20 match?
'My simple thinking about bowling in the death: Number one is that mentally you have to be very strong,' Ashish Nehra tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian.
Mumbai Indians need to rethink their strategy; Narine boost for Kolkata Knight Riders.
A clutch of Indian stars led by India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli are either sidelined or ruled out of this edition of the tournament, lessening the wow factor of the IPL.
Shane Watson smashed an unbeaten century and then bagged two wickets as Rajasthan Royals outplayed defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by nine runs to seal a play-offs berth in the IPL tournament in Mumbai on Saturday.
Ravindra Jadeja kicked-off Chennai Super Kings' campaign in the opening match of the India leg of the Indian Premier League with a match-winning performance with bat and ball, as the two-time champions easily beat 2012 winners Kolkata Knight Riders by 34 runs, in Ranchi, on Friday night.
Sandeep Sharma scalped three crucial wickets as Kings XI Punjab produced a disciplined bowling display to compensate for their batting failure and notch up a comfortable 23-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match in Abu Dhabi.
Hardik Pandya staged a late assault to help Mumbai Indians pull off a thrilling four-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders for their first win in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers continued their sparkling show with the bat to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a commanding nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders and keep their play-off hopes alive in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Monday.
India's batting ace Yuvraj Singh commanded the highest price, Royal Challengers Bangalore paying a massive 14 crore for him, while Dinesh Karthik was a surprise pick at 12.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils.
He could be overtaken by Sunrisers Hyderabad Captain Kane Williamson (760) or Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Sunil Narine (703) or even the intrepid Ambati Rayadu (675) of the Chennai Super Kings.
India's champions from the last edition who will be missed when the action commences in Australia-New Zealand next year.
Round up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played in different parts of the country
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 26 games in IPL-12.
An unstoppable Kolkata Knight Riders stretched their winning streak to a record 12 after the reigning IPL champions edged past Perth Scorchers by 3 wickets to all but confirm their semi-final spot in the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you all the numbers from the first 35 games in IPL-12.
Manish Pandey played a blinder as Kolkata Knight Riders held their nerves to beat a spirited Kings XI Punjab by three wickets in an exhilarating summit clash to win the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore on Sunday.
Young batsman Karun Nair and debutant Sam Billings batted with lot of responsibility before their bowlers came good as Delhi Daredevils displaced Kolkata Knight Riders from the second spot with a comfortable 27-run win in their Indian Premier League match, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji analyse IPL performances in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.
The odds are in favour of table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders as they square off against defending champions Mumbai Indians, experiencing a campaign that is oscillating between high and low, in a potentially exciting Indian Premier League contest in Mumbai, on Thursday.
