Captain Steve Smith smashed his way to a brilliant century to guide Australia to a thrilling three-wicket victory over England with just one delivery to spare in the One-Day International tri-series match in Hobart on Friday.
Sangakkara, Dhoni, McCullum, de Villiers... Cricket has never had so many amazing wicketkeeper-batsmen in the same era...
Relishing the challenge of squaring off against new Indian captain Virat Kohli in the fourth and final cricket Test in Sydney, Australian skipper Steve Smith described his rival number as an "emotional character".
'If a few words from the opposition trouble you,' S Sreesanth tells Harish Kotian/Rediff.com, 'then you shouldn't be playing international cricket.'
Unfazed by an aggressive Virat Kohli, Australian opener David Warner said the Indian is free to play the way he wishes and the ICC is there to manage if anybody crosses the line.
The speculation around the mood inside India's dressing room became a subject of ridicule for Australian skipper Steve Smith, who said the home team does not need to sedge the tourists as they are busy "whingeing among themselves".
A resurgent England attack tore through Australia's batting lineup with six wickets in the final session to leave the hosts reeling at 164 for nine at the close of the second day of the fourth Ashes Test on Friday.
Former Australian skipper Mark Taylor has come out and praised Virat Kohli for the way he marshalled the Indian team in the first Test here, saying the young batsman knows how to play cricket Down Under.
Despite the weeks of debate about the make-up of the Australia team for next week's first Ashes Test, captain Michael Clarke is of the opinion that 11 of the 12 players are "no-brainer" selections.
Aggressive off-spin bowling from Graeme Swann and indifferent Australian batting allowed England to seize control of the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Friday.
England were scenting victory after claiming three late wickets to reduce Australia to 174 for six on a fluctuating fourth day of the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
Former India batsman V V S Laxman, who always reserved his best for the mighty Australia, feels that Suresh Raina 'needs a lot of clarity' as to how he would find a solution against short-pitched bowling.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised Rohit Sharma, who has been in good form in the ODI cricket for the past two years, terming him as someone, who now knows the art of "building on good starts".
Australia were 221 for 4 at close of play, in response to India's 408, on Day 2 of the second Test at the Gabba, on Thursday. Check out some images from the day's play.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed seven wickets (7-152) to help the Aussies win the first Test at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Opener David Warner extended his purple patch with the bat, scoring his second century of the match, as the first Test against India headed for an exciting finish, with Australia gaining an overall lead of 363 runs in Adelaide on Friday. At stumps on Day 4, at the Adelaide Oval, Australia were 290 for five, with Steven Smith and Brad Haddin batting on 52 and 14 respectively.
Former skippers Ian Chappell and Mark Taylor feel next week's first Test between India and Australia in Brisbane should go ahead as it would help the cricketers and the fans to come out and share the mourning of the loss of Phillip Hughes.
Emotions were still too raw in the wake of the death of Phillip Hughes to make a decision on whether to go ahead with next week's first Test against India, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said on Friday.
Steve Smith scored a brilliant century to help Australia knock out defending champions India and set up a mouth-watering final against neighbours New Zealand, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, on Thursday.
Moeen Ali, the England all-rounder, with a batting strike-rate of 82.1 and an economy rate of 4.2, was tops.
Check out the images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between Australia and India played at Sydney Cricket Ground
Statistical highlights from the day's play
Statistical highlights of the fifth and final day of the first Test between India and Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
Images from Day One of the first Test between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. Australia ended the day on 354-6.
Images from the World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand, at the MCG.
Nathan Lyon grabbed four wickets and Jackson Bird claimed his first victim of the series as Australia restricted England to 238 for nine at stumps on Day 1 of the fourth Ashes Test on Friday.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann on Wednesday said the home side is liking the charged up atmosphere created by the newly-appointed Indian captain.
Australia rode on a dominating all-round display to thrash a lacklustre India by 72 runs in the first cricket One-dayer in Pune.
Day 4 in the first Test was dominated by Australian performances. First, spinner Nathan Lyon bagged his sixth five-wicket haul as India were dismissed for 444 in the first innings. Then, opener David Warner continued in his sublime form and struck his second century of the match as the home side put up 290 for five in their second innings, an overall lead of 363 runs. Here are images from Friday's play at the Adelaide Oval.
India's batsmen came good on a flat track to put up 369 for 5 on Day 3 of the first Test against Australia in Adelaide on Thursday. Wriddhimaan Saha (1) and Rohit Sharma (33) were at the crease at the draw of stumps. Images from the day's play.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
Who were the most valuable players in the just-concluded India-Australia ODI series? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji 's formula provides overwhelming evidence that the bat complete overwhelmed the bat.
- 'Always strong at the psychological game, the Aussies put the pressure on the opponents, knew how to handle the pressure themselves and exploited virtually every situation to their advantage' - 'They are firmly and categorically told never to allow success to go to their heads. You don't find Australian cricketers getting even a little complacent'
Penpix of the Australia squad for the 2015 World Cup, which they are co-hosting with New Zealand.
Penpix of the Australia squad that will play the cricket World Cup final against New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Mitchell Starc was the Player of the Tournament, but he ranks only 5th on Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings list, revealing how this World Cup was so much in the batsmen's favour.
'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'
A B de Villiers still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
A B de Villiers may have made some big mistakes in the semi-final: Choosing to bat first in spite of the rain threat, batting too low at No 5, not hogging the strike after David Miller departed, fielding badly, asking Dale Steyn to bowl the last over ... but he is still best placed to be adjudged the most valuable player of the 2015 World Cup.
It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
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