Mumbai Mar 26 PTI Kolkata Knight Riders new captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl in the IPL opener against Chennai Super Kings here on Saturday Ajinkya Rahane Sam Billings and Iyer himself received their maiden KKR caps Ravindra Jadeja is leading the CSK side for the first time after iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni relinquished the captaincy after 12 seasons at the helm of the Chennai-based side The Teams Kolkata Knight Riders Shreyas Iyer c Venkatesh Iyer Ajinkya Rahane Nitish Rana Sam Billings wk Andre Russell Sunil Narine Sheldon Jackson Umesh Yadav Shivam Mavi Varun Chakaravarthy Chennai Super Kings Ravindra Jadeja c Shivam Dube MS Dhoni wk Dwayne Bravo Ruturaj Gaikwad Devon Conway Robin Uthappa Ambati Rayudu Mitchell Santner Adam Milne Tushar Deshpande PTI PDS PDS ATK ATK ATK

Ahmedabad Feb 27 PTI Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani singlehandedly carried Mumbai to the top of the points table as the 44-time champions thrashed Goa by 119 runs after having conceded a 164-run first-innings lead in their group D match Mulani had match figures of 11 for 167 6107 and 560 along with a crucial half-century and a 116-run ninth-wicket stand with fellow spinner Tanush Kotian 98 and 4 wickets that took Mumbai to 395 for nine and leaving Goa with a tricky 232-run chase on the final day However Goa managed only 112 runs in 48 overs giving full six points to the heavyweights Mumbai are on top of group D with nine points from two games while Saurashtra by virtue of an innings victory got seven against Odisha and are second with eight points While Saurashtra play Goa in the final game and would be gunning for at least seven points as Mumbai if they get six against Odisha will both be on 15 points Mulani and Kotian snared eight wickets between them on a surface where there were no demons There was turn that is expected on a fourth day surface but no uneven bounce that mainly causes trouble Its the famous Mumbai willpower of fighting with their backs to the wall that saw them first gather momentum with a good second innings score and then come out all guns blazing as Prithvi Shaw gave the new ball to Mulani Saurashtra win by innings and 131 runs Left-arm spinner Dharmendra Singh Jadeja got seven 7 for 88 to end with 11 wickets as Saurashtra blanked Odisha by an innings and 131 runs in their match Saurshtra scored 501 in their first innings and bowled out Odisha for 165 and 205 in their two essays to log home seven points Brief Scores Mumbai 163 and 3959 Tanush Kotian 98 Shams Mulani 50 Ajinkya Rahane 56 Goa 327 and 112 Shams Mulani 560 Mumbai 6 Goa 0 Saurashtra 501 Odisha 165 and 205 Dharmendra Jadeja 788 Saurashtra 7 Odisha 0 PTI KHS KHS AH AH

Ahmedabad Feb 26 PTI Bowlers Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani produced a rearguard act with a splendid 114-run eighth-wicket stand after Ajinkya Rahanes sedate half-century as Mumbai went into the final day of their Ranji Trophy Group D game against Goa with an overall lead of 158 runs The 44-time champions known for their comebacks will like to challenge Goa with a gettable target on the final day and go all out for full six points after finishing the day on 322 for seven Mulani 49 batting off 129 balls and Kotian 57 batting off 89 balls came together at 208 for seven and frustrated the Goa attack with a responsible stand after having conceded a 164-run first innings lead Earlier Mumbai were reduced to 93 for four in the first session itself before Rahane 56 off 148 balls and the in-form Sarfaraz Khan 48 off 72 balls added 82 runs for the fifth wicket before the burly right-hander was trapped leg before by left-arm spinner and the oppositions most successful bowler Darshan Misal 396 While Rahane crawled to his second half-century of the tournament he was caught by former state-mate Shubham Ranjane off the bowling of off-spinner Amit Yadav before the Kotian-Mulani duo joined forces Saurashtra close in on bonus points Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara wont get a chance to make amends for his first innings failure but Saurashtra are well on course to notch up an innings victory with bonus points after dismissing Odisha for 165 in the first innings and then reducing them to 115 for five in the second essay Saurashtra have scored 501 in their first innings and Odisha have to score 222 runs to avoid an innings defeat with only five wickets in hand On the day Odisha lost 12 wickets after starting their first innings at 52 for three Veteran seamer Jaydev Undakat and left-arm spinner Dharmendra Jadeja got four wickets apiece as Saurashtra were all out for 165 Odisha were no better in their second innings Brief Scores Mumbai 163 and 322 for 7 Tanush Kotian 57 batting Ajinkya Rahane 56 Shams Mulani 49 batting Prithvi Shaw 44 Darshan Misal 396 Goa 1st Innings 327 Mumbai lead by 158 runs Saurashtra 501 Odisha 165 Jaydev Unadkat 450 Dharmendra Jadeja 448 Odisha 1155 Shantanu Mishra 65 Dharmendra Jadeja 348 Odisha trail by 221 runs PTI KHS KHS AH AH

New Delhi [India], January 15 (ANI): Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday said that the Virat Kohli-led Test side should look to have a wrist-spinner in the playing XI while playing Tests overseas.

Cape Town [South Africa], January 14 (ANI): India Test skipper Virat Kohli admitted that batting let the visitors down in the Test series against South Africa but did not directly comment on Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's spot in the team.

Johannesburg [South Africa], January 5 (ANI): Cheteshwar Pujara might have scored fifty on Wednesday but the Indian batter feels he didn't do any extra effort for his knock on Day Three of the second Test against South Africa.

Kanpur Nov 29 PTI Ajinkya Rahane is more than anyone else keen on getting big runs under his belt and its a matter of just one game before the India vice-captain regains his form head coach Rahul Dravid said on Monday Rahane scored 35 and 4 in the drawn opening Test against New Zealand and his average throughout the 12 games this year is less than 20 Asked if Rahanes poor form is a cause for concern for him Dravid said I mean you dont get worried Of course you would like more runs from Ajinkya he would like to score more runs He is a quality player and he has done well for India in the past He is one of those guys who has quality and experience and its matter of a game when he would like to turn it around and he knows that and we know that the legendary batter backed one of his senior players However with Virat Kohli coming back in the next game the million dollar question is whom to drop and just like his colleague Vikram Rathour Dravid was also non-committal but did say that the decision will be taken once the skipper joins the team Will Shreas Iyer after his Man-of-the Match performance be dropped in order to accommodate Rahane Look we havent decided what will be our playing XI and its too early At least today our focus was on this game and when we go to Mumbai we will assess the conditions and check peoples fitness Virat Kohli will join us so we have to discuss with him also and then take a decision he side-stepped the question Iyers good show is a reflection of the system For someone who has built up the national teams pathways structure with a robust U-19 and India A system in place the new head coach is pleased as punch to see Shreyas Iyer come up trumps on his Test debut Iyer scored 105 and 65 to become first Indian Test debutant to hit a hundred and fifty in the same game Its great to see the young guys come through perform straightaway on debut and we saw that with one or two of the players in T20 as well and they made a good account of themselves the coach said A young kid doing well in 1st Test for India and its not only a good reflection of that person player but also a good reflection of the system Fact that we have been able to develop not just India A but also he has played for Mumbai in club cricket he looked at the broader picture Dravid had no hesitation in admitting that had everyone been fit and available Iyer might not have got a chance but when he got it he had grabbed the opportunity with both hands Shreyas had to work very had and had to earn it It wasnt easy for him Of course he averages over 50 in first-class cricket but he hadnt played first-class cricket played for 3 years He wouldnt have made the level if we havent had injuries and he has taken it opportunity with both hands and shown his qualities the pleased coach stated PTI KHS KHS AH AH

Kanpur Nov 25 PTI Debutant Shreyas Iyer was guts aggression and flair rolled into one during an unbeaten knock of 75 which was nothing short of a baptism by fire as India ended on 258 for four on the first day of the opening Test against New Zealand here on Thursday On a pitch that had variable bounce and didnt offer enough pace off it Iyer put his best foot forward while facing 136 balls hitting seven boundaries and two sixes on his very first day in office in the longest format Coming in at 106 for 3 at the fall of Cheteshwar Pujaras 26 off 88 balls wicket the debutant in another half an hour found his skipper Ajinkya Rahanes 33 off 65 balls promising knock come to a halt as Kyle Jamieson 152-6-47-3 and Tim Southee 164-3-43-1 rocked the middle-order in inspiring post-lunch spells But at 144 for 4 Iyer took charge with senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja 50 batting 100 balls for company as they resurrected the innings at the same time batting with a lot of intent to keep the scoreboard ticking Jadeja scored his 17th Test fifty and did his trademark sword celebrations much to the delight of the crowd One doesnt know if Sunil Gavaskar while presenting the India Cap to Iyer mentioned about a very special player to him Someone who had announced his arrival at this very ground 52 years back in 1969 against Bill Lawrys Australia There are very few in Indian cricket who have received unadulterated love like Gavaskars illustrious brother-in-law Gundappa Viswanath His hundred on debut at this very ground is a part of Indian crickets most warmly recounted folklores They say every blade of grass at Green Park had felt punch in Viswanaths shots and remembers him forever He might not be of Viswanaths class but from Thursday onwards Green Park will also remember Iyer for once again proving the old concrete jungle saying A good player is a good player is a good player Doesnt matter whether one hails from a T20 generation what ultimately matters is sound temperament to succeed at highest level Iyer proved that all those hard yards put in during Ranji Trophy and the 1000 plus runs season that he once had havent gone in vain It did help that he wasnt just looking to survive but score as there were pull shots lap scoops drives down the ground and some imperious cut shots There was Mumbais khadoos schooling in the manner he played Jamieson and Southee with caution The six over long on off left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel while giving him the charge was that of a vintage 50-over batter and the shuffle towards off-stump to play the lap scoop off left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra was straight from the IPL play-book Iyer had it all and it was on display It did help that Patel 21-6-78-0 and off-break bowler William Somerville 24-2-60-0 didnt find any ways to assist the pressure that was time and again created by the two pacers Patel who literally bowls with a half-step-full-jump run-up either pitched too short or gave the ball enough air to give batters the option to either cut him or come down the track to drive him off length Shubman Gill 52 off 93 balls did that with elan before perishing on a day when a hundred was there for the taking and he looked good to reach the landmark before Jamieson exposed the gap between his bat and pad But there was no stopping Iyer who save a strong leg before appeal by Sommerville that turned out to be an Umpires Call was ready to wait for the loose deliveries The 113-run unbroken partnership between Jadeja and Iyer might prove to be the winning one in the final analysis Thats because if Indias batters found it hard to score freely on a two-paced track the Black Caps willow wielders with very little experience of dealing with Ravichandran Ashwin Axar Patel and Jadeja in these conditions will find it doubly difficult If Iyers debut innings was the brightest spot comeback man Gills taking the attack back to the opposition camp in the first session couldnt be seen in isolation either It was a stage that was set by Gill and had Jamieson not bowled a beauty with the old ball he should have completed what was expected to be his maiden Test hundred But more importantly what Gill and Iyer did on the day was to send another warning signal for Pujara and Rahane who are now on borrowed time Rahane was done in by low bounce when he was expecting the ball from a near 7 feet tall Jamieson to rear up With 12 Tests without a big score India might not bat twice Rahanes record is not reading too well for a stand-in skipper Similarly Pujara being stopped from scoring by spinners whom younger players like Gill and Iyer played freely is an indicator that he either has to reinvent himself or there is trouble in waiting PTI KHS PM PM PM

Kanpur Nov 25 PTI India lost three wickets in the afternoon session to reach 154 for four at tea on day one of the first Test against New Zealand here on ThursdayIn the session India lost Shubman Gill 52 Cheteshwar Pujara 26 and skipper Ajinkya Rahane 35 -- all three failing to make a big score after spending substantial time in the middleShreyas Iyer 17 batting off 55 and Ravindra Jadeja 6 batting off 13 were holding fort for the home side at the break Lanky New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson once again troubled the Indian batters taking his innings tally to three wickets After opting to bat India lost opener Mayank Agarwal 13 off 28 before the hosts reached 82 for one at lunch courtesy a 61-run stand between Pujara and Gill Brief scores India first innings 1544 in 56 overs Shubman Gill 52 Ajinkya Rahane 35 Kyle Jamieson 338 PTI BS PM PM

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], November 25 (ANI): New Zealand made slow yet steady progress in the second session of the first Test as India lost the crucial wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill at the Green Park Stadium on Thursday.