England wilted under pressure as Australia edged home by five runs in a low-scoring thriller in Adelaide on Sunday to win the five-match series 4-1.
It will be a battle of tactics as a formidable Chennai Super Kings, led by the wily Mahendra Singh Dhoni, square off against a confident Royal Challengers Bangalore under an aggressive Virat Kohli in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League, in Ranchi on Friday.
While Australia's top cricketers were in attendance, the real eye-catchers of evening were their stunning wives and girlfriends. Take a look.
Virat Kohli was engaged in yet another fierce verbal battle with the Australian team.
Scenes from the legend's IPL 2019 campaign...
Mark Butcher has backed the hosts to come good against Australia in the upcoming Ashes series but said that Michael Clarke is ahead of Alastair Cook in terms of "forward thinking" as a leader.
Photos of the World Cup Pool A game between West Indies and Scotland being played in Hobart.
A clinical Rajasthan Royals shot out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a paltry 70, the third lowest total in the Indian Premier League history, and then romped to a six-wicket victory in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke, who stepped down after the Ashes series in England, took a shot at his erstwhile team mate Andrew Symonds for questioning his leadership credentials.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the 'Firsts' in IPLs so far...
Mumbai Indians gave a fitting farewell to Sachin Tendulkar's T20 career by notching up a comprehensive 33-run victory over Rajasthan Royals to clinch the Champions League Twenty20 title.
CSK have been on a roll with three wins on the trot that have boosted them to the top of the table.
CSK, with their experience of winning important moments, will certainly make Capitals wary.
Former Australia pacer Geoff Lawson has heaped praise on in-form India's Test captain Virat Kohli, saying the star batsman is "arguably the number one batsman in the world". "Kohli at the moment, is arguably the number one batsman in the world. He is in the form of his life. I was impressed with him when I saw him on the first tour to Australia (in 2011-12)," Lawson told reporters in Mumbai on Saturday. "He was (among) the few Indian batsmen who took on the challenge of playing on the bouncy Australian wickets," said the former Australia fast bowler, who is on a short coaching sting at the Payyade Sports Club in suburban Kandivili.
Australian great Glenn McGrath says the handling of the 'homework gate' saga during the team's tour of India earlier this year was "pretty poor" and felt it "all blew up" in the middle of the 0-4 Test series drubbing.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni nearly pulled off a heist but Parthiv Patel's last ball run out helped Royal Challengers Bangalore edge past Chennai Super Kings by one run off the last ball in a thrilling finish.
Young Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Sarfaraz Khan on Tuesday revealed he has been advised to play as per the match situation by captain Virat Kohli in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
"There are players who are in form and there is @imVkohli who wins you games again and again! Hats off you beauty."
Backing Shaun Tait's surprise return to the Australian T20 squad for the three-match series against India, former pacer Jason Gillespie said the tearaway speedster will cause a lot of damage on Indian tracks if he makes the squad for the World T20 starting March 8.
With no Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian line-up, the 'Men In Blue' are missing a trick. And despite Mohammed Shami's brilliance in the warm-up game against Australia on the other day in Brisbane, the bowling unit doesn't inspire much confidence.
With the threat of in-form off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin looming large, Australia captain Michael Clarke summoned Shane Warne to the team's nets on Wednesday, ahead of their ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final against India, at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia thumped England by 64 runs to go 2-0 ahead in the five-match series of one-day internationals although victory came with a large slice of controversy at Lord's on Saturday.
Australia all-rounder James Faulkner is in line to make his Test debut after replacing Usman Khawaja for the fifth and final Ashes Test, starting at The Oval on Wednesday.
Former England captain David Gower has joined the list of critics who believe that controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen had allowed his ego to come before the needs of the team in England's 5-0 Ashes hammering by Australia.
Misfiring Mumbai Indians, struggling to get their team combination right, will take on the formidable batting might of Royal Challengers Bangalore in a potentially explosive Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai. On Wednesday.
So 52 games have already been played in the Indian Premier League this season. Here are the Most Valuable players and some random observations by Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's late cameo and his brilliant glovework helped Chennai Super Kings crush Delhi Daredevils by 90 runs.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you the drama and the magic behind all the 12 IPL finals so far.
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's absence from Friday's Indian Premier League match came as a "massive boost" for Mumbai Indians, said Rohit Sharma, after the visitors scored an easy 46-run victory in Chennai.
'The performance was a bit stop-start. We started well with the bat, till about 10 overs and after that we got a bit strangled. We kept losing quick wickets and fell short. Hyderabad bowled very well and we didn't bat well'
Steve Smith believes India is one of the toughest places to play Test cricket and winning a five-day format series in the country is a major career goal for him. Smith also heaped praise on India's spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, describing him as a difficult bowler to face in the subcontinent.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders' home match against Rajasthan Royals was abandoned at Eden Gardens without a ball being bowled because of heavy rain and thunderstorm in Kolkata.
Besides the 90,000 plus fans lending their noisy support, most of the 22 players involved in the final of the World Cup 2015 will have support in the shape of their families and spouses.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances