Suresh Raina's return could not have been better-timed as Gujarat Lions, jolted by the tournament's biggest ever defeat, seek to revive their campaign when they face off with Kolkata Knight Riders.
Michael Clarke scored a defiant unbeaten 73 to save Australia the blushes as he steered his team to 267 for six on a keenly contested opening day of the third and final Test against South Africa in Sydney on Saturday.
Uncapped spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were named in South Africa's squad for next month's three-match test series in Australia on Monday as the Proteas seek to exploit a perceived weaknesses in their hosts' batting. Faf du Plessis will again captain the team in the absence of injured AB de Villiers after leading the side in the two-test series against New Zealand last month, which they won 1-0. "Basically, we are following a horses for courses policy as we feel that spinners who turn the ball away from the right-hander are going to be particularly useful under Australian conditions and against the test batsmen we are likely to face," selector Linda Zondi said in a statement.
A magnificent spell of fast bowling by Dale Steyn saw South Africa inch closer to a historic Test series victory in Australia after the fourth day of the second Test at the MCG in Melbourne on Monday. Set a mediocre 183 to win the match and the three-Test series, South Africa raced to 30 for no loss in six overs.
Underwater Photographer of the Year celebrates photography beneath the surface of the ocean, lakes and rivers. More than 5,500 underwater pictures were entered in 13 categories by underwater photographers from 70 countries around the world. Scroll down to see the winning images.
8 - Number of times Dravid has been dismissed without scoring in Test cricket. The 19 balls he faced before being dismissed makes it the longest duck of his career.
The tremors of an earthquake in Afghanistan has forced new Indian Premier League team Gujarat Lions to evacuate their hotel on the eve of their first match in the competition. The National Centre for Seismology in India has reported the epicentre of the earthquake to be in the Hindukush mountain range on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The quake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale. The aftershocks were throughout northern India, including Chandigarh were the Lions are set to face home side Kings XI Punjab at the PCA Stadium on Monday. Moments after the earthquake hit, the Gujarat players and support staff were whisked out of the building by team management and to a safe area outside. "I was sitting on the end of my bed fixing a cricket bat and it felt like the bed started to move," the Lions' Australian paceman Andrew Tye told cricket.com.au outside the hotel.
And congratulations were in store for the team.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting on Tuesday backed Brett Lee to come good against South Africa and said the speedster was still quicker than South Africa's Dale Steyn.
Former Australian spearhead Glenn McGrath has exuded confidence that Ricky Ponting's team would hand out a 3-0 whitewash to the visiting South African team in the upcoming Test series.
Gujarat Lions would be looking to get back to winning ways when they lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Fast bowler Dale Steyn led South Africa to victory by an innings and 129 runs on the fourth day of the first Test against Bangladesh in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The visitors, following on, resumed on 67 for three and South Africa needed only 27.3 overs to bowl them out for 159.
Bangladesh were bowled out for a meagre 153 and forced to follow-on on the second day of the first Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein on Thursday.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, on Sunday, became the fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 wickets, reaching the milestone in his 37th Test.
Trade Missions between India and US will rise in the next few months with more and more US companies scouting for business opportunities in India.
2700 - Runs scored by Michael Hussey before he got run-out for the first time in his Test career.
Howard Dale Bellamy (24), who robbed and killed 28-year-old Akhil Chopra almost three years ago while he was meditating in a west Houston park is bound to spend the rest of his life in prison, a Harris County jury decided on Monday.
They endured a disastrous run the last time around to finish at the bottom of the heap and Kings XI Punjab would be aiming to make amends this season when they begin their campaign against newbies Gujarat Lions in their IPL opener in Mohali on Monday. Kings XI Punjab did not make any big buys this year and have a new captain in South African David Miller in place of Australian George Bailey who was released after leading the side to the last place in the previous season. Virender Sehwag has also retired and he will serve as team mentor this season. The Preity Zinta-owned side continues to lack the team balance as it has not added any significant player, only snapping the likes of all-rounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis, seamer Mohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Last season, their batsmen lacked consistency and whenever they did well, the bowlers let the side down. On the other hand, debutants Gujarat Lions have a balanced side with top-class performers in both batting and bowling. They have explosive batsmen in Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and a plenty of top-notch all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner.
What does Tendulkar miss the most about not being an active player? "I miss the laughter, the seriousness, the celebrations."
England paceman Stuart Broad took 8-15 as Australia collapsed to 60 all out in 94 minutes on the first day of the fourth Ashes Test on a remarkable morning session at Trent Bridge.
Deepak Chahar first came into prominence as an 18-year-old when took 8/10 in his Ranji Trophy debut to send Hyderabad crashing for a lowly 21 in November 2010.
Heavy showers had been forecast for Sunday and they duly arrived early in the morning. It picked up as the scheduled start time of play approached.
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn is on course to return from injury for this month's limited-overs games against England.
The combination of India's flat pitches and cricket's most trigger-happy batsmen is certain to produce some torrid moments for fast bowlers during the World Twenty20.
Brighton and Hove Albion's Tomer Hemed grabbed the only goal as they ended Newcastle United's three-match winning streak with a 1-0 victory on Sunday in a battle between two of this season's promoted sides.
Pace bowlers Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn claimed four wickets apiece to help dismiss England for 203 on the first day of the second Test at Headingley on Friday. Morkel took four for 52 and Steyn four for 76 before the home team hit back in the final session to reduce the Proteas to 101 for three at the close.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn took three wickets for four runs to reduce Bangladesh in their second innings, to 54 for five at close of play on the third day of the second Test on Sunday. Bangladesh, replying to South Africa's record-studded score of 583 for seven declared, were dismissed for 259 and were asked to follow on just after tea.
England batsman Kevin Pietersen celebrated his first Test against his native South Africa on Thursday with an imperious 104 not out on the opening day of the first Test at Lord's.
A total of 62 players were sold at the auction for the 13th edition with the eight franchises spending a total of 1.403 billion rupees ($19.73 million). Australia's Pat Cummins became the most expensive overseas buy ever in the Indian Premier League when the Kolkata Knight Riders paid a staggering Rs 15.50 crore ($2.18 million) for the fast bowler in Thursday's auction in Kolkata on Thursday.
Looking back at the five-match ODI series, rising South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada termed his one-on-one battle with Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the of opening contest in Kanpur as his best display of the series.
When Vinoo Mankad ran out Bill Brown, he created cricketing history -- and eternal controversy.
Cricket will venture into new territory when South Africa tackle Zimbabwe in the first official four-day Test match to be played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth starting on Tuesday.
Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma and Kevin Pietersen will be among the eight marquee players up for grabs at the IPL 2016 Player Auction scheduled to take place, in Bengaluru, on February 6.
Fiery paceman Andre Nel returns to the squad as South Africa announced a battery of fast bowlers for their tour of England on Friday. The 30-year-old, who has played 34 tests, is the only addition to the squad that toured India in March and April, from which he was controversially omitted. Nel joins a six-man pace attack that includes the in-form Dale Steyn, the experienced Makhaya Ntini, the up-and-coming Morne Morkel, as well as Monde Zondeki.
Kagiso Rabada regained his top spot among bowlers crossing the coveted 900-point mark in ratings even as Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin climbed up a couple of notches to be placed fourth in the ICC Test Player Rankings, released on Tuesday.
So far police have not been able to identify the suspects.
The veteran left-hander played a vital knock of 87 as India ended day two of the third Test against South Africa on 288 for nine, taking a first innings lead of 23 runs. VVS Laxman (50) was the major contributors in the Indian innings while Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were the most successful South African bowlers with figures of three for 60 and three for 57 respectively.
South Africa's Dale Steyn climbed to third in the International Cricket Council Test bowling rankings following his match-winning performances against New Zealand. The 24-year-old fast bowler took 20 wickets in his team's 2-0 series win over New Zealand, moving up five spots to lie just behind team mate Makhaya Ntini in the rankings.
South Africa pacer Dale Steyn moved to the top of the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers after another wonderful display of fast bowling in India. The 24-year-old from Phalaborwa has enjoyed a rapid rise in the rankings since his debut against England in Port Elizabeth at the end of 2004. Since then he has taken 117 wickets in 41 innings, including another eight scalps in the second Test against India, which his team won by an innings and 90 runs.
South Africa's wrecker-in-chief Dale Steyn expressed surprise at India's decision to bat after wining the toss, saying they did not have a strategy against the fast bowlers.
