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The Virat Kohli-led side had started the series at 125 points but the series loss meant it is now on 115 points. India had lost the five-match series after conceding a 1-3 lead to hosts England after the fourth Test. The visitors on Tuesday lost the fifth and final Test by 118 runs. England begun the series in fifth position and 97 points but the emphatic victory over top-ranked India has resulted in a big gain of eight points and lifted them to 105 points as they surpassed New Zealand....

AIFF president Praful Patel confirmed at the executive committee meeting on Wednesday that India are going to bid for the 2017 and 2018 Club World Cups. The hosts for those two editions would be announced in December. With India already confirmed to host the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, there is the prospect of staging three FIFA tournaments in two years. “We have to put in a bid to host it for two consecutive editions of the Championship....

FC Koln, who clinched the U-17 Bundesliga (West region) twice, started off on a brilliant note here on Wednesday as they found the net within first five minutes of the game via a penalty, an All India Football Federation (AIFF) release said. The Indian boys then slugged it out and restored parity after 20 minutes. Following the equaliser, the Indian boys took control of the proceedings and dictated the flow of the game in the first half....

Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to bowl first. KL Rahul continued from where he left off and took on the Australian bowlers while Shikhar Dhawan struggled for his timing. At the end of 6 overs, India were 53 for 0. KL Rahul was dismissed for a well-made 47 off 26 balls. KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan added 61 runs in 7.1 overs. Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant went in quick succession....

A few days ago, the selectors announced the team for the series and there weren’t many surprises. The likes of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah made their return to the fold whereas Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav were accorded some much needed rest. Historically, the Indians have enjoyed the wood over their counterparts from the southern hemisphere in the shortest format, and boast of an 11-6 advantage in the head to head....

One of the greatest left-arm spinners of all time, Vettori claimed 362 wickets in 113 Test matches. However, he agrees that Bangladesh’s slow bowlers would have their task cut out at Kolkata considering the quality of the Indian batting line-up. Knowing that the fast bowlers will play a big part under lights, Bangladesh are likely to bring back left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman, who was surprisingly left out of the Indore Test....

Head to Head Overall: New Zealand have hosted India in 99 completed ODI fixtures, and have won on 45 occasions, while the Indian’s have dominated the opponents on 53 occasions. One match has ended in a tie. Head to Head in Mount Maunganui: In their first-ever clash at Bay Oval, the Men in Blue completely dominated the Kiwis to register a comprehensive 90 run win. Batting first, India posted a strong 324/4 on the board and then bundled out the Kiwis for 234 to seal the game....

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead affirmed, “Unfortunately Martin hasn’t recovered in time for this T20 series - which is very condensed with three games over five days. It’s a shame as he’s obviously a big part of our white-ball sides, but we’ve got to look at the big picture and ensure he gets the injury right.” The 47-year-old added, “It’s great to have Jimmy coming into the side after some encouraging ODI performances....

India first innings: Shikhar Dhawan b Matt Henry 1 Murali Vijay c BJ Walting b Matt Henry 9 Cheteshwar Pujara c Martin Guptill b Neil Wagner 87 Virat Kohli c Tom Latham b Trent Boult 9 Ajinkya Rahane lbw b Patel 77 Rohit Sharma c Latham b Patel 2 Ravichandran Ashwin lbw Matt Henry 26 Wriddhiman Saha not out 54 Ravindra Jadeja c Henry b Wagner 14 Bhuvneshwar Kumar lbw b Santner 5...

In reply, India started well scoring freely and youngster Prithvi Shaw was at his absolute best once again. KL Rahul cut a sorry figure for himself. But with the healthy contributions from Skipper Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant India managed to gain a handy lead of 56. The visitors were mighty impressed with the ball, especially Holder leading from the front. He grabbed a five-wicket haul to suppress the Indian innings to a below-par total....

Post the match-fixing issue at the turn of the century, Indian cricket needed a flamboyant, inspirational leader, not just to carry the team along but to convince the fans that they were out there doing their best. Sourav Ganguly was the right man and he was wonderful in transforming India from a defensive, uncertain side, especially overseas, into one that could win anywhere. By doing this, he brought the people back into the game and supporting the national side....

India completed its return to the Olympic fold 14 months after it was banned by the International Olympic Committee, when its flag was hoisted at the ongoing Winter Olympics in Sochi on Sunday. India was banned by the International Olympic Committee(IOC) in December 2012 after a corruption-tainted official came into power at the elections held by the Indian Olympic Association(IOA). Following fresh elections last week, the IOC lifted the ban on the IOA making way for India to be represented at the Sochi Olympics....

However, the DSK Shivajians’ number one has decided to structure and defend his case to a specially appointed panel at the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) without submitting the ‘B’ sample required to run the crucial tests again. The ‘B’ sample tests are usually carried out in the presence of an indepedent observer. Pal, an Arjuna awardee, didn’t turn up at the NADA headquarters in the national capital New Delhi, for the submission of the second sample and it is believed he will instead opt to defend his case solely on a single ‘A’ sample....

According to the FFT, the Intercontinental Cup will be held in Bengaluru from July 7-17 and it will feature Tajikistan, North Korea (DPR Korea) and Syria alongside the Blue Tigers in what will be the second edition (third if you count the Tri-Nations Tournament held in 2017) of this tournament. However, the AIFF is considering Ahmedabad as a venue for the Intercontinental Cup. Hero Intercontinental Cup 2019: Teams: India, Tajikistan, Syria, North Korea...

The 28-year-old plays as a central defender, but can also double up as a right-back if needed. The 6 feet 3.5 inch tall defender has the experience of playing in his native country Trinidad and Tobago and also in the USA, Honduras, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia. Cyrus started his youth career at Stokely Vale, but switched to Santa Rosa where he played for two seasons. This was his first stint as a professional footballer but he couldn’t impress the club management, and had to spend time at Caledonia AIA and Sporting Kansas City on loan spells....

Though everyone would think that Dinesh Karthik will be the automatic replacement for Saha, it would be a bold move if the team management decides to include Pant in the playing XI. It might be a bizarre idea, but let’s go through some facts about Pant before getting into a conclusion. Rishabh Pant- A star in making A promising youngster from Delhi, Pant came into the limelight after his tremendous performance in the U-19 World Cup, 2016....

If there was one learning from Friday’s Colombia – Ghana tie in the capital, it was that the African country is in a different league altogether. Hence, if India wants to take home a point, it needs to bag that in the second match. So, how did the Colombian outfit look like in their first test? For the majority of the match, they were dominated by the Black Starlets and the score-line was too flattering for the losing side as Ghana missed a number of sitters in the opening half an hour....

A source within BCCI said, “I saw the remarks by a PCB official about our last meeting in ICC, I wouldn’t say its not far from the truth. We agreed on the fact that there is no way we can avoid playing in ICC tournaments on neutral venues. It will create unbelievable logistical issues for all parties involved. Now, what we have to figure out in the next meeting is, if there any tournament being held in India, how would we figure that out....