Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 400th goal for Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane's side closed in on a first La Liga title since 2012, easing to a 4-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday while Neymar hit a hat-trick for Barcelona, who thrashed Las Palmas 4-1.
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The halcyon days of those thrilling 1980s and early 1990s teams, when Curtly Ambrose and his fellow pace demons inspired fear and batting blasters like Viv Richards looked so imperious on English tours, have never felt more like pre-history.
New Zealand opener Martin Guptill sent the ball soaring and the records tumbling by striking a World Cup record of 237.
Having recovered from a hamstring strain, Usman Khawaja celebrated his recall with a glittering 144, with Queensland team mate Joe Burns making 128 in front of a festive Melbourne Cricket Ground crowd to drive Australia to 345-3 at stumps.
Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com looks at the lighter side of how Chris Gayle remains lone star West Indies player Team India has to contend with in their Pool B encounter at the WACA.
Gayle hits first double century in World Cup match.
If it wasn't for Netflix, we'd never have seen The Meyerowitz Stories in India. J Jagannath is startled by this film about three disconnected siblings and their even more disconnected father.
Minnows Scotland came up just four runs short of a famous upset in a World warm-up match.
'He spoke to the fact that his West Indies -- a team that brings joy wherever it goes, the one team that plays with a carefree spirit in these days of carefully calibrated professionalism -- played this tournament enveloped in a world of hurt,' says Prem Panicker, the legendary cricket writer, reviewing the World T20 final.
Marlon Samuels was 50 not out, while Narsingh Deonarine was on 11, chasing New Zealand's 441, at stumps after rain delayed the start of play by 75 minutes and then washed out the entire middle session.
South Africa removed the West Indian openers in Sunday's last session at Newlands to build on AB de Villiers' superb century and take the initiative in the final Test.
Herath added three wickets to his previous day's removal of opener Kraigg Brathwaite (34) after taking six wickets in the first innings. He finished with match figures of 10-147.
As if the humiliating Test series loss to India was not enough, West Indies off-spinners Marlon Samuels and Shane Shillingford have been reported for suspected illegal bowling actions during the second Test.
- 'We have great players, but great players don't win the World Cup, great teams do' - 'You need to have everybody contributing'
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
At the close, after 75 overs were squeezed in around two lengthy rain interruptions, the West Indies were 207 for six with Denesh Ramdin on 23 and Carlos Brathwaite not out 35 after winning the toss.
Australia captain Steve Smith will seek an explanation from match referee Chris Broad over a Decision Review System malfunction during his team's march to victory over West Indies in the second Test on Tuesday.
'I don't give a f****. I am old enough now.' 'You just have to white-knuckle it and ride through it.' 'But really, who cares?' 'At the end of the day, just get on, feel the pain, embrace the suck.'
A confident India, with a new coach at the helm, will seek to record a third consecutive Test series triumph on the Caribbean soil when the Virat Kohli-led side clashes with an inexperienced West Indies in the first cricket match, in Antigua, on Thursday.
Australia qualified for the final of the triangular one-day international series (ODI) with a six-wicket win over West Indies in Barbados on Tuesday.
Rangana Herath picked up four wickets while spin partner Milinda Siriwardana took three as Sri Lanka defeated West Indies by 72 runs on the fifth day of the second and final Test on Monday to win the series 2-0.
Dale Steyn became South Africa's second highest wicket taker as West Indies reached 276 for six on the first day of the third Test on Friday.
Opener Dean Elgar struck his third Test century as South Africa rode their luck to finish the first day of the second Test against West Indies on 270 for two on Friday.
James Anderson became England's highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he claimed his 384th victim in the drawn first Test against the West Indies in Antigua on Friday.
Flighting the ball has always been considered a hallmark of a good spinner but India's modern-day left-arm tweaker Akshar Patel says he doesn't even think of tossing the ball and banks on bowling flatter through the air.
Jason Holder is hoping to lead a very different West Indies side into Friday's World Cup clash against South Africa to that which was crushed 4-1 in a One-Day International series last month.
Chris Gayle rediscovered his mojo in spectacular fashion on Tuesday with the first ever World Cup double century to drive West Indies to a 73-run victory over Zimbabwe in their Pool B clash at Manuka Oval.
Ireland shocked former champions West Indies by four wickets in a Pool B match in the ICC World Cup at Saxton Field in Nelson.
The weather stands in the way of India going 2-0 up in the series after rain forced an early end to play on day four with the West Indies in deep trouble at 48/4 in their second innings and 256 runs behind the visitors, in Kingston, on Tuesday.
India spinner R Ashwin said he was surprised with West Indies' decision to bat first on a sticky wicket, even as he returned with a five-wicket haul on the opening day to dismiss the hosts for a paltry 196 in the second cricket Test in Kingston, Jamaica.
England captain Alastair Cook scored his first Test century in almost two years but lost his wicket in the final over of the day as the tourists ended the first day of the third Test against the West Indies on 240 for seven.
Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh combined for 449 runs and the sixth highest partnership in Test cricket history to put Australia firmly in control after the second day of the first Test against West Indies on Friday.
Captain Cook also hits form, strikes 125-run opening partnership with Trott -- England's first century opening stand since March 2013.
Chris Gayle blasted a quickfire century to power West Indies to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Friday.
West Indies displayed all the familiar faults which have plagued them during the cricket World Cup in a quarter-final capitulation to New Zealand at the Wellington Regional Stadium.
New Zealand's Brendon McCullum expects favouritism, underdog status and the possibility of choking under the weight of expectation to have little influence on Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against West Indies.
The struggling West Indies cricket team has been dealt a couple of injury blows in its ongoing tour of India with pacer Kemar Roach ruled out of the remainder of the trip and all-rounder Kieron Pollard rendered unavailable for the ODI series.
Chris Gayle bludgeoned his way into the record books by becoming the first player to score a double century in the World Cup.
Skip Fifty Shades of Grey. Watch these well-made films recommended by Aseem Chhabra.
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