The second Test between Australia and New Zealand fizzled out in a draw on Tuesday but not before Mitchell Johnson gave one last reminder of his bowling prowess on the day he announced his retirement from international cricket.
Powered by his marauding knocks in the World Twenty20 so far, Indian batsman Virat Kohli on Tuesday became the top-ranked batsman in the ICC rankings, while India remained static at the No.1 spot in the team list. Kohli, who averages 92 after scoring 184 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of over 132, had entered the tournament 24 points behind Aaron Finch, but has now opened up a 68-point advantage over the Australian, the ICC said in a statement. In the bowlers' table, West Indies' Samuel Badree has displaced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to return to the number-one position. Badree has taken six wickets in four matches to date, while Ashwin has dropped to third after managing just four wickets in as many matches.
New Zealand's finest batsman was defined by one innings, one tournament and one seriously damaged knee.
Cricket's global showpiece has confirmed the Scots are a way from being able to compete with the top Test playing nations.
New Zealand named a virtually unchanged squad for the upcoming ODI series against India, with the selectors keeping faith in players who drew the recent five-match home assignment against the West Indies.
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's devastating five-wicket haul after a late batting blitzkrieg put India firmly in command as they reduced a hapless New Zealand to 128 for 7 on the rain-hit second day of the second cricket Test, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
A century from Hashim Amla laid the foundation for home success on Wednesday as South Africa beat New Zealand by 20 runs to win their opening one-day international at Centurion.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will be looking to take the confidence from their Monday night's nerve-wracking one-run victory when they clash with Mumbai Indians.
A B de Villiers still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com lists seven memorable moments from the week gone by in IPL 9.
New Zealand started their World Twenty20 campaign on a positive note, beating England by nine runs via Duckworth-Lewis method in a Group 1 league match that was called off following heavy rain and thunder storm, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, on Saturday.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers anchored his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand, whose bowling and fielding was far superior to a poor batting performance in the first game of their three match one-day series on Tuesday.
The superb build-up run has made India the clear favourites for an unprecedented second World Twenty20 title but the in-form hosts will have to guard against complacency when they take on a spirited New Zealand in their campaign-opener in Nagpur on Tuesday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents Virender Sehwag's amazing international career in numbers.
The series already in their pocket and the number one ranking cemented, a dominant India go into the third Test against New Zealand in Indore on Saturday, aiming yet another clean sweep of a Test rubber at home. The hosts had blanked Australia 4-0 in 2012-13 and the West Indies in the next season. They nearly repeated the feat against South Africa last year and this impressive history in recent past makes India favourites in the first-ever Test being hosted by this city which has a long tradition in the game.
There are some batsmen reputed, respected and feared for what they are: Destructive! They are the game-changers. It is not bats, but bludgeons that they wield.
On his first visit to India, Mitchell Santner has made a good impression with his all-round performance and that's a huge positive for the New Zealand side from the Kanpur Test, captain Kane Williamson said.
Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja hammered home the advantage their bowlers had established when they took Australia to 147-3, a deficit of just 36 runs, at the close of the opening day's play in the first Test against New Zealand on Friday.
Penpix of the New Zealand squad that will play the cricket World Cup final against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Photos of the World Cup Pool A game between Australia and New Zealand being played in Eden Park
Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are India's highest-ranked batsman and bowler in third and 13th positions respectively.
It was India's players all the way, with batting sensation Virat Kohli emerging the most valuable, ahead of senior spinner Amit Mishra. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji graphically depict the top players from the recently concluded India-New Zealand ODI series.
India pulled off a brilliant all-round performance to trounce New Zealand by 178 runs in the second Test and clinch the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead, a win that propelled the team to the top of the ICC rankings, dethroning arch-rivals Pakistan.
Statistical highlights of the World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 2 match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur on Tuesday.
351 cricketers -- 230 Indians and 131 foreigners -- will go under the hammer in Saturday's IPL players' auction.
There's been no place like home for Australia and New Zealand on their respective paths to the World Cup final but just one of the co-hosts will enjoy that particular advantage when they meet in Sunday's title decider.
At the face of it, there is apparently no danger to Dhoni's captaincy since the team is still winning matches. But if one digs deeper, Kohli has slowly and surely been the man everyone is looking forward to as the leader, across all formats for India.
Both teams will hope to banish some unwanted baggage that has dogged them for years.
The South African opener took only 108 innings to reach the milestone, beating the previous record held by India's Virat Kohli, who took 133 innings for the same.
The players auctions for this year's IPL is scheduled for this weekend. Rajneesh Gupta looks at the players retained and released by the teams for IPL 2017.
With strong hosts expected to challenge, a highly-fancied South Africa face their demons.
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.
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.
Tillikaratane Dilshan eased to his 19th One-day International century to anchor his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second game of their seven-match series at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday.
The odds are in favour of table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders as they square off against defending champions Mumbai Indians, experiencing a campaign that is oscillating between high and low, in a potentially exciting Indian Premier League contest in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming feels India's upcoming tour of Australia next month will determine how the defending champions' campaign pans out in the World Cup next year.
With momentum on their side, Dhoni and Co need to justify the favorites' tag and go the distance.
South Africa's AB de Villiers and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara will take their battle for the coveted No 1 spot in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen to Sydney when they go head-to-head in the first quarter-final of the World Cup.
'He is one of the premier off-spinners in the world, but at the end of the day he is another bowler.'
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