"test-cricket"

The 35-year-old has been a stalwart of the Test side since debuting in 2009 as an opener, going on to establish himself as a world-class keeper-batsman.

Ahead of the day/night Test here starting Wednesday, Stokes wondered how the newly-refurbished Motera strip would behave

"It has been a year of refinement in the fire for us all. Uncertain were the times but they brought clarity for me in many aspects. My heart is clear and time is right to walk into a new chapter," du Plessis posted.

It was a dream start for England as India lost five wickets in the first session on the back of some fine glove work by birthday boy Ben Foakes

“It didn’t do anywhere near as much for 2 sessions ... Spun but not like what it’s doing now ... India would have drawn the first Test if they had batted anything like in the 1st innings ... This isn’t a good Test match pitch …,” he wrote

Comfortable series-clinching victory pushed the Kiwis to top of the heap as they became the sixth country in the past 10 years to be ranked number one in Test cricket

The Indian pace attack is likely to present a stiff challenge to the Aussies as only two of the nine batsmen in the current Test Australian squad Tim Paine and Travis Head have had the experience of playing both

The left-handed batsman scored nearly 1700 runs (1696) across formats with 934 runs (6 half centuries) coming in the longest format.

Bangar believes that India should tweak their winning opening combination and should give a chance to Mayank Agarwal alongside Shikhar Dhawan.

However, Delhi Capitals’ assistant coach Mohammed Kaif has been an advocate of Ashwin’s inclusion in the Indian team for the T20s.