Paceman Dushmantha Chameera took career-best figures with aggressive short-pitched bowling to give Sri Lanka a slight advantage at the close of play on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Saturday.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be gunning for the No.1 spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers as an interesting contest promises to develop with Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who wrested the top spot following a 10-wicket haul in the Lord's Test that ended on Sunday.
Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha's battling half-century helped India reach 316 before the hosts were dismissed in their first innings against New Zealand on the second morning of the second test at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
A formidable Indian cricket team is likely to revel in home conditions, as they prepare to host and dominate New Zealand in the first Test in Kanpur, from Thursday, heralding the beginning of a long 13-match home season.
History is going to be made on Sunday, regardless of the result in the ICC Men's Cricket Word Cup final at Lord's. Neither England nor New Zealand have ever tasted victory on the big stage before so there will be a new name on the trophy tonight.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane struck fluent centuries as India fought back bravely before a flurry of late wickets allowed a sloppy Australia to take a slight edge on stumps on Day 3 of the third Test, in Melbourne
Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
James Pattinson has been recalled to Australia' starting side for the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday, replacing his injured Victorian team mate Peter Siddle.
Dale Steyn produced a ferocious spell of fast bowling to inspire South Africa to a crushing 231-run victory over Australia in fading light on day four of the second Test on Sunday.
With the year sprinting to a close, we bring you, in pictures, some of the best action from the sports world.
Brendon McCullum blasted the fastest Test century to rescue New Zealand before Australia were reduced to 57 for one by the close of day one of the second Test on Saturday.
In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from Cricket World Cup held between 1975 to 2015.
Australia should focus on the form of Steve Smith and Brad Haddin rather than blame Shane Watson for their first Ashes Test defeat, according to former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum broke the world record for the fastest Test century held jointly by his idol Viv Richards on Saturday without ever being aware he was about to make cricket history.
The 8th Champions Trophy begins in England this week. Rajneesh Gupta captures the tournament in all its statistical glory like only he can.
Hashim Amla's blistering stroke-play and Morne Morkel's fearsome bowling put South Africa in control of the second Test against Australia as they closed the third day on 192 for four on Saturday.
As the global cricket community prays for Australia cricketer Phillip Hughes' recovery from a severe head injury, fast bowlers rushed to the defence of Sean Abbott, whose short-pitched ball struck the batsman and left him fighting for his life.
Red Star, who won the European Cup in 1991 and reached the latter stages the following season, finished second in Group H behind Arsenal who crushed BATE Borisov 6-0.
James Pattinson grabbed three wickets to brighten Australia's prospects of a comprehensive victory in the second Test against New Zealand with the hosts reeling at 121 for four by the end of the third day on Monday.
Team India has two members - MS Dhoni and Ishant Sharma - of that victorious 2009 side returning to New Zealand for the One-Day International series, which commences on Sunday. The hosts, however, are almost a completely overhauled unit. The teams may not appear equal on paper but the home advantage is something than should benefit New Zealand. Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical lowdown of the teams ahead of tour opener in Napier.
With an eye on the final spot, two-time champions Chennai Super Kings face high-flying Mumbai Indians in their first qualifier in the Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Jonny Bairstow bludgeoned a brilliant 83 not out in Durham to lead England to a three-wicket win over New Zealand on the Duckworth-Lewis method on Saturday, earning a 3-2 victory in the five-match series of one-dayers.
Young batsman Shreyas Iyer pounded the Australian bowlers with his career-best unbeaten 202 before the three-day warm-up game between India A and the visitors ended in a draw, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
'We are pretty comfortable as a side and any combination that we go in with.'
Half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik combined with excellent performances from their bowlers helped India 'A' outclass Australia 'A' by 50 runs to win the 'A' teams tri-series in Pretoria, on Wednesday.
Even as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decide if a film backed by a streaming service qualifies for a 'regular' feature nomination, both critics and audiences hope Mudbound makes it to the Oscars, says Nikita Puri.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada and wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock have achieved career-high positions in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings after firing South Africa to an emphatic 177-run victory over Australia in the opening Test of the three-match series in Perth on Monday.
To say Joe Root has been galvanised since being dropped for the fifth Ashes Test that completed England's dismal 5-0 rout in Australia in the early days of last year would be an understatement.
Kumar Sangakkara scored an unbeaten 113 and then returned to break the world record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in One-day internationals as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 34 runs in the seventh and final match in Wellington on Thursday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket has left the Indian think-tank fretting over the ideal playing combination that will take on Australia in the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground starting next Tuesday.
England captain Wayne Rooney scored twice after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain headed the opener in a 3-1 win over Scotland as the visitors dominated a typically passionate Auld Enemy friendly at Celtic Park on Tuesday.
An inconsistent Delhi Daredevils will look to break the home jinx when they take on Mumbai Indians in their sixth match of the IPL cricket tournament at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Thursday.
Trent Boult took two wickets in one over and broke a partnership that had threatened to take the game out of New Zealand's reach as Sri Lanka reached 264 for seven by the end of a rain-shortened first day of the second Test on Friday.
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players have even figured in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
Glenn Maxwell took the India A bowlers to the cleaners yet again, smashing a quickfire half-century, to help Australia A win by 25 runs and storm into the final of the A teams tri-series in Pretoria, on Sunday.
As Cheteshwar Pujara plays a landmark Test against Sri Lanka, Rajneesh Gupta salutes the batsman's career thus far in numbers...
Following his impressive batting show in India's 5-0 series win over Sri Lanka, where he was named the man of the series, Virat Kohli has moved to second place in the ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen.
Tailender Jason Holder was left stranded on 82 not out as West Indies were dismissed for 220 in their first innings against Australia in Jamaica on Saturday, a deficit of 179, on the third day of the second Test in Kingston, Jamaica.
India frittered away a solid start as a middle-order collapse saw them reduced to 291 for 9 on the opening day of the first cricket Test against New Zealand despite half-centuries from Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara in Kanpur on Thursday.
As the countdown to 2018 starts, it's time to rewind those moments in sport that stood out this year.
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