The best in international photojournalism was recently announced by World Press Photo's Annual Photo Contest. Despite fierce competition, the jury was forced to select just a handful of images from more than 73,044 photos by 4,548 photographers across 125 different countries. This year's grand prize was awarded to Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt, earning him the title of Press Photographer of the Year. Here are some of the winners.
Ashok Menaria and Kedar Jadhav hit half centuries as India 'A' scored a nail-biting two-wicket victory over New Zealand 'A' in the third and final one-dayer in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. The victory, which was achieved with four balls to spare, gave the hosts a 3-0 series triumph.
South Africa set New Zealand a daunting target of 298 runs in 43 overs.
New Zealand will face England with an unchanged side in their second World Cup match.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan believes the Lahore Lions' successful participation in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 will open the Indian Premier League doors for the country's players.
All-rounder Jimmy Neesham and batsman Tom Latham have been named in New Zealand's team for the second Test against India after Jesse Ryder and Doug Bracewell were dropped for a late night drinking session in Auckland last week.
Nothing but a win will keep their play-off hopes alive as defending champions Mumbai Indians take on Gujarat Lions in a do-or-die battle, which will be their final IPL league match in Kanpur on Saturday. With seven wins in 13 matches, Mumbai are currently placed fifth, tied on 14 points with Royal Challengers Bangalore (3rd) and Kolkata Knight Riders (4th) -- both having better net run-rate with one match to go. A loss on Saturday will knock them out of the race for play-offs and Mumbai will hope to pull the rug from under the feet of the Lions this time after suffering a defeat during their home leg on April 16.
Mumbai Indians seek to maintain momentum against Kings XI Punjab.
Having turned the tables in the one-dayers after a shoddy show in the Test series, New Zealand speedster Tim Southee is confident that the Black Caps can script history by winning their first ever bilateral ODI series in India.
Mumbai Indians will look to continue their rampaging run when they take on the formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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.
Teams play safe, retain star players, total purse at Rs 148 crore versus Rs 198 crore last year
There was also the exciting Rugby Union match that added that much more excitement to the past week. Rediff.com has that and more snapped right here. We bring you a glance of all the action from the week gone by
India, along with the mighty Australia, will start as title contenders in the ICC Champions Trophy.
New Zealand secured their third straight win to book a spot in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 after beating Pakistan by 22 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali in their Super 10 stage match on Tuesday.
Tom Latham struck his maiden Test century but New Zealand crumbled to 262 all out, conceding a 304-run first-innings lead as well as control of the first Test to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Kane Williamson's gamble to compromise on speed and pick three specialist spinners paid off as New Zealand humbled hosts India by 47 runs in a spin-dominated Super 10 contest of the World Twenty20 in Nagpur, on Tuesday.
The calm, assured manner in which New Zealand chased down South Africa's imposing total on Tuesday to advance to their first cricket World Cup final is a hallmark of a team that has developed into a cohesive unit over the last two years.
New Zealand are paying little attention to their World Cup rivals' form in the group stage of the tournament as every team that reaches the knockout rounds have potential match winners in the side, spinner Daniel Vettori said on Sunday.
Chennai Super Kings' skipper MS Dhoni powered his team to a final over victory. CSK beat the hosts Mumbai Indians by four wickets at the Wankhede, Mumbai on Saturday night.
Here are the images of some of the shots that De Villiers played enroute his record-breaking fastest One-Day century.
Trent Boult produced an economical spell of bowling to take three wickets and help New Zealand to a tense three-run win over Sri Lanka in their first Twenty20 international on Thursday.
Rediff.com takes a look at a few players who made a significant impact to their team's fortunes.
Ishant Sharma exploited the seaming conditions brilliantly to return a career-best 6 for 51 as India took early control of the second and final Test by bowling out New Zealand for a paltry 192 in the first innings in Wellington on Friday. Opener Shikhar Dhawan then hit an unbeaten half-century as India reached 100 for 2 at close, still trailing by 92 runs at the Basin Reserve.
Mumbai Indians had a break of five days after their 20-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a low-scoring Indian Premier League in Mumbai and captain Rohit Sharma said on Thursday that the short respite was very helpful in recharging their batteries.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
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.
Back in the top half of the league table after a convincing win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils will look to build on the winning momentum when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
India go into the quarter-final against their neighbours as favourites, but will certainly not take them too lightly, not wanting to suffer the same fate as they did in the 2007 edition.
Even as they struggle to find the winning formula, laggards Kings XI Punjab will still fancy their chances when they host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Mohali on Monday.
Erratic Sunrisers Hyderabad look to bounce back against inconsistent Mumbai Indians.
A tenth-wicket stand of 127 between BJ Watling (103) and Trent Boult (52 not out) helped New Zealand to a first innings total of 469 on the second day of the opening match in a two-Test series against Bangladesh on Thursday.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians finally snapped their losing streak on the back of a collective batting effort as they defeated Kings XI Punjab by five wickets in the Indian Premier League.
Young Gujarat batsman Manprit Juneja showed perfect temperament for the longer format of the game, scoring a patient, unbeaten 178 in India A's first innings total of 408 for 7 against New Zealand 'A' at stumps, on the third day of the second unofficial 'Test', in Visakhapatnam, on Wednesday.
Brendon McCullum's dismissal in the final over of the day put Australia firmly in control of the first Test in Wellington on Sunday, as New Zealand were reduced to 178-4, still 201 runs behind the tourists' mammoth first innings of 562.
The furore over Laxman Sivaramakrishnan's appointment as a players' representative in the ICC refuses to settle. The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations is now referring the matter to the ICC Ethics Officer for independent investigation.
Pacer Mohammad Amir claimed a wicket on his return to international cricket following a five-year ban as Pakistan registered a 16-run victory over New Zealand in the first Twenty20 International in Auckland on Friday.
The trouble-prone Pakistan cricket team dressing room was once again witness to some drama and it took PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan's intervention to diffuse the controversy generated by Misbah-ul-Haq's decision to rest from the third ODI against Australia.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes became the most expensive overseas purchase -- bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping Rs 14.50 crore even as some unheralded Indian domestic players trumped seasoned names to land lucrative deals at the Indian Premier League players' auction.
India have won six ODI series on the trot. New Zealand have never won an ODI series in India.