The big news: India look to set the record straight

India’s Test captain Virat Kohli will look to finally see his bowlers come to the fore in the second Test against England in Vizag starting from Thursday. Disappointed with the way the Rajkot pitch played out, Kohli will hope that Vizag will be a different story altogether. With KL Rahul back in the squad, chances of Gautam Gambhir playing are bleak given the fact that he had a forgetful first Test. Rahul, who missed India’s last three Tests through injury, was included in the squad on Tuesday after his stellar performance for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy.

The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will also want to get even with the English batsmen, who had read the line and length with ease in the first Test, which ended in a draw. From England’s point of view, the momentum is clearly with them given the fact that they managed to give India a scare last week by nearly bowling them out in the second innings for a win.

Other top stories

  1. The Indian women’s team completed a 3-0 whitewash as they beat the West Indies by 15 runs in the final match on Wednesday in Vijaywada. Defending a total of 199, West Indies were bowled out for 184, with Rajeshari Gayakwad claiming four wickets.
  2. Sri Lanka lost to West Indies in the second match of the tri-series tournament being played in Harare on Wednesday by 62 runs. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 165 runs chasing a target of 227. Jason Holder and Ashley Nurse were the pick of the bowlers in the easy win.  
  3. South Africa captain Faf du Plessis might face disciplinary action after being caught on video chewing mint and then using his saliva to shine the ball during Australia’s second innings in the second Test at Hobart. The footage shows du Plessis chewing a white, round mint in his mouth as he polished the ball and might be pulled up the International Cricket Council in this regard.      
  4. A special court in Mumbai has cleared the Enforcement Directorate to seek a Letter of Request to be sent to the United Kingdom to extradite former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi to India.The ED had stated that it had not been able to execute the non-bailable warrant against Lalit Modi as he is said to be residing in the United Kingdom. 
  5. India will play host as the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup for the Blind is set to begin at nine different venues from January 31 to February 12 next year. Pakistan will also participate in the tournament, which is organised by the Cricket Association for the Blind in India. 
  6. Defending champions Mumbai beat Uttar Pradesh by 121 runs to win their Ranji Trophy encounter. In another game, Vinay Kumar once against sizzled with the ball as Karnataka beat Rajasthan by 393 runs to win the match.