T20 world cup 2016 schedule

Following is the complete schedule of the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in India next year.

Men’s:

First round (group winners to progress to second round).

Group A — Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland and Oman

Group B — Zimbabwe, Scotland, Hong Kong and Afghanistan

Second round groups:

Super 10 Group 1: Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, England and winner of Group B (Q1B).

Super 10 Group 2: India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and winner of Group A (Q1A).

Women's:

Group A Australia (A1), South Africa (A2), New Zealand (A3), Sri Lanka (A4) and Ireland (A5).

Group B England (B1), West Indies (B2), India (B3), Pakistan (B4) and Bangladesh (B5).

Schedule:

Tuesday, Mar 8: Zimbabwe vs Hong Kong (PM), Nagpur; Scotland vs Afghanistan (Eve.), Nagpur.

Wednesday, Mar 9: Bangladesh vs Netherlands (PM), Dharamsala; Ireland vs Oman (Eve.), Dharamsala.

Thursday, Mar 10: Scotland vs Zimbabwe (PM), Nagpur; Hong Kong vs Afghanistan (Eve.), Nagpur.

Friday, Mar 11: Netherlands vs Oman (PM), Dharamsala; Bangladesh vs Ireland (Eve.), Dharamsala.

Saturday, Mar 12: Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan (PM), Nagpur; Scotland vs Hong Kong (Eve.), Nagpur.

Sunday, Mar 13: Netherlands vs Ireland (PM), Dharamsala; Bangladesh vs Oman (Eve.), Dharamsala.

Tuesday, Mar 15: India vs Bangladesh (W) (PM), Bengaluru; New Zealand vs Sri Lanka (W) (Eve.), New Delhi; New Zealand vs India (M) (Eve), Nagpur.

Wednesday, Mar 16: West Indies vs England (M) (PM), Mumbai; Pakistan vs Q1A (M) (Eve.), Kolkata; West Indies vs Pakistan (W) (Eve.), Chennai.

Thursday: Mar 17: England vs Bangladesh (W) (PM), Bengaluru; Sri Lanka vs Q1B (M) (Eve.), Kolkata.

Friday, Mar 18: New Zealand vs Ireland (W) (PM), Mohali; Australia vs New Zealand (M) (PM), Dharamsala; South Africa vs England (M) (Eve.), Mumbai; Australia vs South Africa (W) (Eve.), Nagpur.

Saturday, Mar 19: India vs Pakistan (W) (PM), New Delhi; India vs Pakistan (M) (Eve.), Dharamsala.

Sunday, Mar 20: South Africa vs Q1B (M) (PM), Mumbai; West Indies vs Bangladesh (W) (PM), Chennai; Sri Lanka vs Ireland (W) (Eve.), Mohali; Sri Lanka vs West Indies (M) (Eve.), Bengaluru.

Monday, Mar 21: Australia vs New Zealand (W) (PM), Nagpur; Australia vs Q1A (M) (Eve.), Bengaluru.

Tuesday, Mar 22: England vs India (W) (PM), Dharamsala; New Zealand vs Pakistan (M) (Eve.), Mohali.

Wednesday, Mar 23: England vs Q1B (M) (PM), New Delhi; India vs Q1A (M), (Eve.), Bengaluru; South Africa v Ireland (W) (Eve.), Chennai.

Thursday, Mar 24: England vs West Indies (W) (Eve.), Dharamsala; Australia vs Sri Lanka (W) (PM), New Delhi; Pakistan vs Bangladesh (W) (Eve.), New Delhi.

Friday, Mar 25: Pakistan vs Australia (M) (PM), Mohali; South Africa vs West Indies (M), (Eve.), Nagpur.

Saturday, Mar 26: Australia vs Ireland (W) (PM), New Delhi; Q1A vs New Zealand (M) (PM), Kolkata; England vs Sri Lanka (M) (Eve.), New Delhi; South Africa vs New Zealand (W) (Eve.), Bengaluru.

Sunday, Mar 27: West Indies vs India (W) (PM), Mohali; India vs Australia (M) (Eve.), Mohali; England vs Pakistan (W) (Eve.), Chennai; Q1B vs West Indies (M) (PM), Nagpur.

Monday, Mar 28: South Africa vs Sri Lanka (W) (PM), Bengaluru; South Africa vs Sri Lanka (M) (Eve.), New Delhi.

Tuesday, Mar 29: Rest/Travel day.

Wed, Mar 30: Women's semi-final (2nd group A vs 1st group B) (PM), New Delhi; Men's semi-final (Super 10 Group 1 2nd vs Super 10 Group 2 1st) (Eve.), New Delhi.

Thursday, Mar 31: Women's semi-final (1st group A vs 2nd group B) (PM), Mumbai; Men's semi-final (Super 10 Group 1 2nd v Super 10 Group 2 1st) (Eve.), Mumbai.

Fri, Apr 1: Rest/Travel day

Sat, Apr 2: Rest/Travel day

Sun, Apr 3: Women's final (PM), Kolkata; Men's final (Eve.), Kolkata.

Note: ('M' denotes men's match; 'W' denotes women's match; PM means afternoon match and Eve. Means night match. Match timings to be confirmed in due course).

Virat Kohli has highest followers in twitter

Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli tops the list with 8.76 million followers, ahead of batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. Surprisingly, Suresh Raina and Virender Sehwag had beaten limited overs skipper MS Dhoni in the third and fourth place.

Cash rich T20 league, Indian Premier League is at 6th, ahead of Yuvraj Singh and sport's world governing body, ICC.

Incredibly, cricket pundit Hrasha Bhogle finds himself in the top-ten. Pakistan's World Cup winning captain and politician Imran Khan completes the top-ten, beating super stars like AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle when comes to cricket personalities or organisations with highest numbers of followers.

Here is the top-10 list, as of December 12, 2015:

1. Virat Kohli (8,762,852), 2. Sachin Tendulkar (8,758,004), 3. Suresh Raina (5,150,946), 4. Virender Sehwag (4,852,389), 5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (4,750,104), 6. Indian Premier League (3,930,853), 7. Yuvraj Singh (3,566,266), 8. International Cricket Council (3,372,243), 9. Harsha Bhogle (3,203,395), 10. Imran Khan (3,145,004)

Ab de Villiers (3,054,876) at 11th is ahead of Rohit Sharma (2,897,513) at 13th, Chris Gayle (2,710,729) at 15th.

Sourav Ganguly praised the India's limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised the India's limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, stating that he still has a lot of cricket left in him.


"Dhoni is a great cricketer and set standards at international arena. He still has cricket left in him to represent India for some more years," Ganguly, who was in the steel city, to take part in a function of a leading jewellery brand, told media.



Asked who will be the captain of ODI in the next World Cup, Ganguly said: "We have still time to decide the ODI captain, which is to be held in 2019."



"One will have to work hard and perform to reach the level of Dhoni, who has set standard in the cricket arena in the world," the former southpaw said.



To a query as to who possessed the same aggression on the field in Indian team like him, Ganguly said Virat Kohli has it in him to lead the country for a long time.



"He has been performing well and is efficient enough to lead the country forward," he said.

NZ in command over Sri Lanka

Rain hit Dunedin hard just after the start of Sri Lanka's chase for 405 in the first test against New Zealand today.

Players ran off the field 14 minutes before the lunch break, as ground staff struggled to get covers on in blustery winds and heavy rain.

Sri Lanka for four for none of 1.1 overs when they left the field.

Earlier, New Zealand had declared their second innings at 267 for three, with opener Tom Latham having completed his third test ton, on 109, and captain Brendon McCullum on 17 off six balls.

McCullum struck his first ball from spinner Rangana Herath for six down the ground and when he clobbered a second over mid wicket it was his record-equalling 100th in tests. He shares the mark with former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. Having done that, he promptly declared.

New Zealand had started the day at 171 for one and lost Kane Williamson, bowled off his pad by seamer Dushmantha Chameera for 71, having shared a 141-run stand with Latham.

Ross Taylor went down the pitch and was bowled by Herath for 15.

Astralia inching towards win against West Indies in Hobart

 hopeless and helpless, West Indies capitulated to 5 for 35 at lunch on the third day in Hobart after Steven Smith enforced the follow-on. James Pattinson marked his return to Test cricket with 4 for 19 as he demolished the top order in the second innings after Josh Hazlewood had earlier completed a four-wicket haul as West Indies were skittled for 223 in their first innings, Darren Bravo's century their only highlight.

At lunch they still trailed by 325 runs and Australia needed only four more wickets to complete victory, with Shannon Gabriel's foot injury set to prevent him from batting. At lunch Kraigg Brathwaite was still at the crease on 21 and Jason Holder was on 1 but they had plenty of work ahead of them to avoid handing Australia their biggest win ever against West Indies; the current record is a win by an innings and 217 runs in Brisbane in 1931.

The second-innings procession began with Rajendra Chandrika edging to slip off Pattinson without scoring, the third duck of Chandrika's four-innings Test career. Then came the big blow as Bravo played on to Pattinson for 4, and Marlon Samuels followed soon afterwards for 3 when he saw a catch fly off the shoulder of his bat to David Warner in the cordon.

Pattinson's fourth came next ball when Jermaine Blackwood was bowled by a delivery that stayed a touch low, completing a pair for him after he fell for a duck to Nathan Lyon in the first innings. Pattinson missed out on the hat-trick but there was further damage to come for West Indies as Mitchell Marsh struck with his first delivery when Denesh Ramdin edged a drive to gully for 4.

The Australians bowled well and found some movement but West Indies showed little application, seemingly having accepted that their chances in this contest were already over. It seemed an age ago that Bravo and Kemar Roach had put together a fighting 99-run partnership; in fact that stand had ended less than two hours earlier.

At least Bravo had managed to complete a well-deserved century before the first innings came to an end, his innings far and away that stand-out in an otherwise listless West Indies batting display. Bravo began the morning on 94 and brought up his hundred - the seventh of his Test career - in the first over of play, with a pair of boundaries driven through the off side off Peter Siddle.

But the celebration was short-lived. He lost his partner Roach for 31 in the next over when he edged behind off Hazlewood, and next ball Jerome Taylor chopped on for a golden duck to have Hazlewood on a hat-trick. It was the last ball of the over so Hazlewood had to wait for his hat-trick delivery and when it arrived, Jomel Warrican survived a ball that lobbed off his leg out of reach of bat-pad.

The next over brought the end of the innings when Bravo tried to force some late runs and was caught at point off a top edge, giving Siddle his second wicket. Bravo finished with 108 from 177 deliveries and West Indies still trailed Australia by 360 runs. It took Michael Clarke until the last Test of his career to enforce the follow on; Smith had no hesitation in doing it in his fourth as Australia's full-time captain.

Virat Kohli co-owns Bengaluru team in Pro Wrestling League

A day after Rohit Sharma was announced as the co-owner of PWL team Uttar Pradesh Warriors, Kohli was unveiled as a stakeholder of another franchise Bengaluru Yodhas. The two cricket superstars are the new big names in a league, which also has actor Dharmendra as the co-owner of Punjab Royals. 

Bengaluru Yodhas will start their campaign against the UP Warriors in their opening fixture on Friday.

The six-city based PWL will commence at New Delhi's K.D. Jadhav Stadium on Thursday. The semi-finals will be held on December 25 and 26, with the final on December 27.

“I was thrilled on hearing about the Pro Wrestling League and Bengaluru Yodhas. I am no stranger to the city of Bangalore and it is wonderful that I can extend my association by way of the Yodhas,” Kohli said in a statement.

“I am confident that the Yodhas will be a vital cog in the scheme of things. I am excited and cannot wait to follow all the action on the mat.”

Bengaluru are a strong team comprising the likes of Narsingh Pancham Yadav (74kg), Bajrang Punia (65kg), Sandeep Tomar (57kg), Ukraine’s Pavlo Oliiynik (97kg), 2012 London Olympics silver medallist Davit Modzmanashvili (125kg) of Georgia in men’s section.

In the women’s category, five-time World Championship medallist Yuliya Ratkevich of Azerbaijan, USA’s Alyssa Lampe, India’s Lalita Sehrawat and Navjot Kaur are in the ranks.

The BCCI has strongly defended the Nagpur pitch in a letter written to the ICC.

 The BCCI has strongly defended the Nagpur pitch in a letter written to the ICC.

The BCCI has to reply the ICC within 14 days, and according to a report in The Indian Express, the board has found "inconsistencies" in Crowe's report.So BCCI has sent a strong reply. "The assessment of Nagpur pitch as "poor" was totally incorrect. The Board has strongly contested Jeff Crowe's report," said a board official.

BCCI has asked to revisit all the 40 wickets that fell in the game for further evidence.
"Excessive turn is a matter of perception. The batsmen found it difficult not due to the wicket but due to poor technique and temperament. Not a single ball displayed excessive unevenness of bounce. Then, how can it be termed a poor pitch," the official observed.

BCCI's reply will now go to Geoff Allardice, ICC's general manager of cricket, and Ranjan Madugalle, chief match referee from Sri Lanka. They will consider all evidence, including video footage of the match, before deciding if the pitch was indeed "poor" or not?

In case the two gentlemen still agree with the match referee, then the penalties range from a warning and/or a fine of $15,000 with a directive to institute corrective measures.

Virat gives credit to the team

"Test cricket has been one format where we all have wanted to do well. I'd like to give credit to the team to show character and bounce back in last two series like the way we have. I feel that it all began in Australia for us, the way we played there. Showed character even in defeats. Not one-sided defeats. We were always on opposition's heels that we could cash in on any stage. That gave us a lot of belief as a Test team that we can play well around the world. We carried that from Australia, took it to Sri Lanka, had a few plans and rules - things that we needed to do in order to do well. We gave everyone the responsibility that you have to give your 110 percent effort every single day. You are being honest to work ethics team requires going out there to play the best cricket that one can play. Not focusing on opposition too much, not on what people were saying. We focused on our skills. Strong bond that team requires."said Kohli in post match conference.

Virat Kohli will play under Gambhir!

It is a common knowledge that India’s Test captain Virat Kohli don’t share warm relations with Gautam Gambhir since the infamous heated argument during an IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore but if everything goes right, Kohli might be seen playing under the captaincy of Gambhir.

Kohli, along with Test opener Shikhar Dhawan and speedster Ishant Sharma have been named in the Delhi one-day side which will be led by Gautam Gambhir for the North Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy between December 10 and 18.

Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli smiles after the series win against South Africa

Test series, 3-0. Meanwhile, Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli could not stop smiling after the win, said, “All the wins were special, but this one because we had to work harder, the South African batsmen put their head down and played for the draw, always hard work. I just asked the bowlers to put their hands up and that’s what happened after tea.”

“I would like to dedicate this victory to the victims affected by the Chennai floods. I think that’s been a very unfortunate few weeks and my thoughts go out to all the people who have lost their family members,”said the skipper while concluding his post-match media interaction.

End of day 2 Of 2nd test-ind vs sa

RSA - 184
IND - 201, 125/2 (40.0 Ovs)
CRR:  3.12
Batting R(B) 4s 6s SR
Pujara* 63(100) 6 1 63
Kohli 11(27) 1 0 40.74
Bowling O M R W
Rabada 8 5 9 0
Partnership: 30(41)
Last wkt: Murali Vijay c (sub)Bavuma b Tahir 47(105)
Recent balls: . 4 . . 4 . | 4 . . . . . | 1 . . 3 6 1
Summary Scorecard Refresh
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Commentary
How many times we see prelude not indicating how the song will turn out to be? This is a match of similar kind. India, after messing up for the first two sessions of the match, have now gained control over the proceedings. The Indian captain might be in for a belated birthday gift and he would be gleefully accepting it. For this gift did not look a possibility after he and his fellow batters had failed yesterday.
When South Africa came on to bowl, Dale Steyn did not turn up owing to a groin strain but Philander made up for it by once again getting rid of Dhawan cheaply. A pair on the venue where he started his Test career with a century on debut must have hurt the southpaw. Amla once again preferred Elgar over Tahir and the leggie could only come as a third spinner. Also, not giving Rabada the new ball was surprising. As far as the Indian batting in the second innings is concerned, it has looked solid so far. But we must not miss the fact that Vijay and Pujara were compact in the first innings as well. It is the batting to follow which will be a concern for Kohli. Vijay missed out on a well-deserved fifty, departing just before the end of day's play. So now the onus is on Kohli and Pujara to carry forward the innings with patience. For any score above 250 in the fourth innings will be too tough to chase for the visitors.
Stumps, Day 2: What a day it turned out to be for India. After Amla and Elgar saw off the first hour, a desperate Kohli got his best bowlers - Ashwin and Jadeja - from both the ends. The move paid off and South Africa lost three wickets before lunch. AB de Villiers' final score might not tell the story of his stay in the middle. He was fidgety in the beginning and Jadeja all but managed to send him back. Had Jadeja not overstepped when de Villiers was caught by Kohli, India would have been leading by at least 50 more runs. Nonetheless, the hosts are still in a commanding position, courtesy another outstanding showing from Ashwin who has now 150 Test wickets to his name.
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39.6 Tahir to Pujara, 1 run, fired down the leg-side, Pujara glances it to fine leg, looks for two but Kohli sends him back
39.5 Tahir to Pujara, SIX, in the air and that's the first six of the match. In fact, this is just his 4th six in his Test career. Captain Kohli loved it, he punches the gloves with his partner with a big smile on his face. The googly goes way too short, Pujara rocks back and pulls it high over the mid-wicket boundary
39.4 Tahir to Kohli, 3 runs, too short this time, Kohli goes on the back foot and flicks it through mid-wicket, they scamper back for three. Elgar gave chase and hunted it back just inside the rope
39.3 Tahir to Kohli, no run, very full, driven hard and back to the left of the bowler, who half-stops the ball in his followthrough
39.2 Tahir to Kohli, no run, flighted delivery on the stumps, Kohli defends off the front foot
39.1 Tahir to Pujara, 1 run, oh! Friendly full toss, Pujara mistimes the drive to mid-on, who is slightly deep
Imran Tahir [7.0-0-22-1] is back into the attack
Last over of the day coming up

see also

Spinners win India another three-day home Test

Day 1: Stumps - Ind vs Sa

Day 1: Stumps - South Africa trail by 173 runs
IND - 201
RSA - 28/2 (20.0 Ovs)
CRR:  1.40
Batting R(B) 4s 6s SR
Elgar* 13(59) 0 0 22.03
Amla 9(34) 1 0 26.47
Bowling O M R W
Mishra 2 0 7 0
Partnership: 19(70)
Last wkt: Faf du Plessis b Ravindra Jadeja 0(4)
Recent balls: . . . . . . | . . 1 . . . | . . . . 1 .
Summary Scorecard Refresh
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Commentary
Going into the 2nd day, it's an uphill task for Kohli's men. They have started well but South Africa bat deep. There is Amla at the crease and Superman AB de Villiers - is yet to come. The beauty of Test cricket is that two bad sessions do not decide the fate of the match. The match hangs in a position where both teams have enough reasons to take a cue out of the above statement. So that's it from us then on Day 1. Tomorrow promises to be an exciting day. Looking forward to your company then. Take care, goodbye!
Talking about the Proteas bowling, it was top notch. The sign of a top class team is that even when the leader of the attack does not provide breakthroughs, someone from the ranks steps up. The pitch was not of Steyn and Philander's liking but the visitors found an unlikely hero in Dean Elgar. Amla's move to introduce Elgar before Tahir proved to be a masterstroke. It was so un-South African to see a part-time spinner bowling in the first session of the match. Philander did get some reverse swing in the last session and optimized it by prising out Jadeja before he could inflict any pain. A special mention must go to debutant Kagiso Rabada who bowled with the same heart with which he had in the ODIs and T20Is. He looked like getting wickets more often than not. The only problem was the no balls which one is sure would get ironed out as he gets into the Test groove. Often a pacer, trying to generate something extra from a depleted track oversteps.
Maybe the hosts focussed more on Steyn and Philander and did not do enough homework on others. Of all the tactics deployed by captain Kohli, sending Amit Mishra ahead of R Ashwin was the most baffling one. When most of the top batsmen were struggling against Elgar, he decided to attack him and failed miserably. Things would have been graver for India had Rabada not overstepped when he trapped Ashwin in front. Jadeja is coming back into the side after playing some domestic cricket and he looked comfortable against the spinners. The saving grace for India was Murali Vijay, who once again showed how he has matured in the past one year as an opener. After Shikhar Dhawan awfully departed without troubling the scorers, the task was left to him. He, along with Pujara, weathered the storm for a while. But the monk lost his focus due to the flurry of wickets at the other end.
India might have ended the day with some respite, but earlier in the morning, the batting let them down. The hype created around the pitch blurred the fact that South Africa possess some quality bowlers in the attack who are capable of running through the opposition, irrespective of the track they operate on. However, India would rue the fact that they gave wickets to Dean Elgar, who was introduced as a part-timer. Both Pujara and Rahane got dismissed after getting their eyes in. Something which does not make the task easy for a team which had one batsman less against a quality attack. Captain Kohli failed on his birthday and the look on his face was indicative of how gutted he felt after Elgar took the catch off Rabada.
Stumps, Day 1: After they had been put in the driving seat by their bowlers, South Africa's hopes to tighten the noose further on India were foiled by some impeccable bowling from the hosts. Sensing that the pitch had enough for the spinners, Kohli gave the new ball to Ashwin who did not disappoint as he prised out Stiaan van Zyl. The icing on the cake was provided by Jadeja, who carried his form from the domestic circuit and sent back a clueless du Plessis, who perished after he left a delivery which came in with the arm to disturb the furniture. During the dying moments of the day even Amit Mishra bowled with greater guile and variations and on a couple of occasions was only a coat of paint away from clipping the off stump of Amla.

Ind vs sa test-day1

Day 1: Tea Break
IND - 168/7 (55.0 Ovs)
CRR:  3.05
Batting R(B) 4s 6s SR
Ashwin* 4(11) 0 0 36.36
Ravindra Jadeja 26(55) 3 0 47.27
Bowling O M R W
Rabada 10 0 30 1
Partnership: 14(26)
Last wkt: Amit Mishra c Steyn b Elgar 6(8)
Recent balls: 1 . . 1 1 . | . 1 . . . N 2 | 1 1 . . . .
Summary Scorecard Refresh
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Commentary
Leggie Tahir was held back till late into the session by Amla and justified the decision by posing little-or-no threat to the batsmen. Ravindra Jadeja, back in the Test team on the back of a stunning FC season, batted with intent in an attempt to push India's score to safe shores. Mishra was sent ahead of Ashwin but fell trying to force the pace. Rabada's wicket off a no-ball was the only moment of despair for South Africa and Ashwin is still very much there.
Tea, Day 1: Mohali hasn't taken kindly to the fact that the pitch was left uncharacteristically dry for the series-opener. The ball turned sharply in the second second session to bite back the hosts and the visiting spinners, Elgar in particular, made merry as they pushed India into a corner. Rahane and Saha fell prey to sharp offbreaks from Elgar whose two wickets in two balls propelled him to his best ever Test figures. Vijay, arguably India's man for all seasons, unfurled an array of shorts to snatch back the initiative but Harmer rapped his pads to put the brakes on that.
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54.6 Elgar to Ravindra Jadeja, no run, nice and full, driven back to the bowler
54.5 Elgar to Ravindra Jadeja, no run, slider just outside off stump, Jadeja defends off the front foot
54.4 Elgar to Ravindra Jadeja, no run, flighted delivery on the off stump, wristed to the right of short mid-wicket, where Faf makes a diving save
Round the wicket now
54.3 Elgar to Ravindra Jadeja, no run, very full and outside off stump, dug out, Faf runs to his right from short mid-wicket and half-stops the ball
54.2 Elgar to Ashwin, 1 run, flatter delivery outside off stump, keeps very low, Ashwin cuts it square of the wicket on the off-side
54.1 Elgar to Ravindra Jadeja, 1 run, short and outside off stump, Jadeja rocks back and cuts it through point
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53.6 Rabada to Ashwin, 2 runs, short of length delivery outside off stump, Ashwin guides it to deep backward point

Ind vs sa

IND - 164/7 (53.5 Ovs)
CRR:  3.05
Batting R(B) 4s 6s SR
Ashwin* 1(9) 0 0 11.11
Ravindra Jadeja 25(50) 3 0 50
Bowling O M R W
Rabada 9.5 0 28 1
Partnership: 10(19)
Last wkt: Amit Mishra c Steyn b Elgar 6(8)
Recent balls: . . 1 . W . | 4 . . . . 1 | 1 . . 1 1 . | . 1 . . . N

Virat Kohli's India face stiffest test against South Africa

NEW DELHI: Tigers at home and lambs abroad. This used to be the term that aptly described the performances of the Indian cricket team not too long ago. So pathetic used to be their display in overseas Test matches that even a draw used to be considered 'honourable'.



But then things started to change under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid reached their prime and India had in their ranks bowlers like Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan who could win matches on their own. Not to forget the magician with the bat VVS Laxman and a force of nature by the name of Virender Sehwag.



But with the retirement of all these greats in recent times and Mahendra Singh Dhoni not playing Tests anymore, India under Virat Kohli now face a tough task against South Africa in a four-match Test series starting in Mohali on Thursday. Kohli led his team brilliantly for his first Test series victory in Sri Lanka in August coming back from one Test down, but in South Africa they have formidable opponents who have not lost a series away from home since 2006.



South Africa may be looking for their first Test series victory on Indian soil in 15 years, but that they drew both of the last two Test series 1-1 tells a lot about their prowess. Though the Mohali pitch has the reputation of being a bouncy one, the Indian management is expected to roll out a turner to gain home advantage specially after the Wankhade pitch fiasco in the last ODI.
South Africa have in their ranks the batsmen to counter the Indian spin threat. The captain Hashim Amla may be out of form but has enjoyed playing in India where in six previous Tests he has scored 823 runs at an average of 102.87 with four centuries. And then there is AB de Villiers, who smashed three centuries in the one-day series and rescued his team with a 112 in a practice match in Mumbai ahead of the first Test.



The lack of experience of Kohli's men can be gauged from the fact that de Villiers and Amla have 44 Test centuries between them - more than the entire Indian squad has managed. South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn needs just 10 scalps to become the first overseas pacer to take 100 Test wickets in Asia, highlighting that he doesn't need helpful tracks to run through batting line-ups.



India are playing Test cricket at home after two years and have lost just one of their last 17 series but at the moment look more vulnerable than ever.



In Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul, India have three contenders for the opening slot. Then there will be the dilemma of choosing between Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma, the former having the defence and temperament to counter the South African pacers but the latter being preferred by the captain.



And like always, India have more questions than answers in their pace bowling department. Ishant Sharma will miss the first Test due to the ban, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron have the pace but are constantly in hunt for the right line and length and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has lost his swing in search for pace.



Can Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja flummox the Proteas in the spin web? Watch out from Thursday.

1st Test, India vs South Africa: What should be Virat Kohli's playing XI?

New http://viratkohliindia.blogspot.com/2015/11/when-virat-kohli-touched-curators-feet.html:

After leading India to a record Test series win in Sri Lanka earlier this year, Virat Kohli would be excited to make his debut as the captain in whites on Indian soil in the upcoming four-match series against South Africa.

It would also be an opportunity for Kohli to show his leadership skills after the Men in Blue suffered back-to-back losses in the T20 series as well as ODIs under MS Dhoni's captaincy.

However, the selectors and the skipper himself have a tough task at hand, which is to select the perfect XI against the Saffers.

While Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan are all set to open the innings, it remains to be see who will be their first choice between Lokesh Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara. While the latter has won the praise of experts time and again, he wasn't the think tank's first choice when India toured Lanka earlier this year. But even though Lokesh Rahul has scored two tons in his short career, selectors should opt for Pujara, who has been a run-machine in the longest format of the game.

The selectors have some headaches in the bowling department as well. While Jadeja was recalled into the Test squad after a terrific Ranji season, it is yet not sure whether he would appear in the playing XI and it depends on whether selectors will be willing to go with three or two spinners.


But considering Jadeja's prolific show on Indian pitches in the past, he should play the first Test against South Africa.

Here is a possible XI we suggest for the 1st Test:

Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav

Kohli, Vijay, Ashwin sweat it out in nets ahead of 1st Test against South Africa

Mohali: Looking to avenge their humiliating loss in limited over cricket against South Africa, Indian team today sweated it out in the nets at the PCA stadium ahead of the opening Test starting here on Thursday.
After losing the T20 and ODI series against South Africa, India will go into the four-Test series hoping to turn the table and salvage the lost pride.
The Indian team led by Test skipper Virat Kohli didn't waste any time as they had a two-hour practice session after reaching here in the afternoon.
As against clear weather in the morning when the Proteas practiced here, it was smog and hazy weather in the afternoon even as Kohli, Murali Vijay and R Ashwin hit the nets.
Kohli had a good session playing watchfully to the medium pacers here that included Harmeet Bansal. Vijay, too, got the taste of batting conditions here.

Odi series Loss 3-2

Schedule : India v South Africa

Schedule : India v South Africa : 4 test match series 2015.

5-9 November 2015 India v South Africa, 1st test match Mohali

14-18 November 2015   India v South Africa, 2nd test match Bangalore

25-29 November 2015  India v South Africa, 3rd test match    Nagpur

3-7 December 2015 India v South Africa, 4th test match Delhi

India lost by 2-3 to South Africa

South Africa beat India by a massive 214 runs in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to win the series 3-2, their first bilateral one-day series victory in India.

Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and skipper AB de Villiers all scored hundreds as South Africa crushed India’s bowling attack to post 438-4. With the five-match series tied at 2-2, de Villiers won the toss and opted to bat in hot and humid conditions and could not have been a happier man at the close of their innings as his team matched their second highest score in the 50-over format.

A 58-ball 87 from local boy Ajinkya Rahane and a 60 from out-of-form opener Shikhar Dhawan brought some cheer for the crowd but it was never going to be enough for the hosts, who folded for 224 inside 36 overs.

(For scores, statistics and commentary, click here)

Kagiso Rabada took four wickets while pace colleague Dale Steyn took three for the touring side to complete a 3-2 series win, their first ODI series win in India.

It was only the second time that a team had scored three centuries in an ODI innings after South Africa did it against West Indies in January this year on their way to their highest total of 439 for two. De Kock (109) continued to make merry against the Indian bowlers, scoring his fifth century in nine innings against the opponents after South Africa had lost Hashim Amla (23) early.

The left-hander hit 17 fours and a six on his way to his eighth ODI hundred and laid the perfect platform for de Villiers’s onslaught with a 154-run stand with du Plessis (133 retired hurt).

India compounded their misery by dropping catches and du Plessis made the most of his good fortune to score his first century against India and his fifth overall after being put down twice, on 45 and 85. The right-handed batsman suffered severe cramps during the later part of his innings and had to retire but had added 164 runs with de Villiers for the third wicket before that.

De Villiers, the owner of the record for the fastest hundred in the format, needed no invitation to launch into the Indian bowlers with the stage set perfectly for his pyrotechnics. The 31-year-old reached his century, his 23rd in the format, in just 57 balls and cleared the boundary ropes with ease. The right-hander hit 11 sixes and three fours in his knock.

India medium paceman Bhuvnehwar Kumar ended with figures of 1-106 in his 10 overs, the second most expensive in ODIs behind Australian Mick Lewis’s 0-113 against South Africa in 2006.

The two sides will next play a four-Test series with the first match starting at the Northern Indian city of Mohali on November 5.