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.
Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front with an impressive 120 as he single-handedly took South Africa to 269 for 8 in the first One-Day International against India, in Durban, on Thursday.
A phenomenal knock from Yusuf Pathan, who blasted his way to a 22-ball 72, catapulted Kolkata Knight Riders to the second-place in the point table as the hosts hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets in their final IPL match in Kolkata on Saturday.
Images from the World Cup 'Pool B' match between India and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Putting up an all-round show, Kolkata Knight Riders consolidated their fourth position in the points table with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Robin Uthappa was elegance personified during his 52-ball 80 as he powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in Cuttack on Wednesday.
JP Duminy hit a timely unbeaten 52 after skipper Dinesh Karthik set the foundation with a fighting 56-run knock as Delhi Daredevils edged out Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in a thrilling IPL Twenty20 cricket match on Saturday.
Jacques Kallis hit a 46-ball 72 and Sunil Narine claimed four wickets as Kolkata Knight Riders scored a 41-run victory over Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the seventh season of the IPL, in Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday.
Shakya Mitra ponders why top batsmen like Michael Clarke bowing out early.
India's batting ace Yuvraj Singh commanded the highest price, Royal Challengers Bangalore paying a massive 14 crore for him, while Dinesh Karthik was a surprise pick at 12.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils.
An unbroken second-wicket century stand between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara put India in command on a curtailed opening day in the second Test against South Africa in Durban, on Thursday. Bad light forced play to be called off early, with India sitting pretty on 181 for 1 in 61 overs after electing to bat first.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith said his team will step on the field for the Boxing Day Test match against India with an aim to set right its poor record in Durban, having lost their last four games at the venue.
Openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen weathered a difficult 45 minutes to take South Africa to tea at 38 without loss chasing an unlikely victory target of 458 on the fourth day of the first Test against India at the Wanderers on Saturday.
India's bowlers, led by Ravichandran Ashwin, displayed outstanding perseverance to end South Africa's dogged resistance and register a comprehensive 337-run victory in the final Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Monday.
India failed to make the best of first use of the wicket, their batsmen capitulating against both pace and spin as they were dismissed for 215 in the first innings in the third Test against South Africa at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium, in Nagpur, on Wednesday. However, the hosts hit back immediately, claiming two early scalps, leaving the Proteas reeling on 11 for 2 after nine overs at the end of Day 1.
A superb all-round show by J P Duminy earned South Africa a 12-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international in Colombo on Friday. The tourists, after putting up a modest 115-6 after electing to bat, restricted Sri Lanka at 103-9 at the Premadasa stadium.
Manish Pandey played a blinder as Kolkata Knight Riders held their nerves to beat a spirited Kings XI Punjab by three wickets in an exhilarating summit clash to win the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore on Sunday.
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.
'This was not the cleanest game of cricket you've ever seen -- there were too many flubs and fumbles for that. But it was certainly the semi-final this mostly blah tournament has needed -- two tough, well-rounded teams, toe to toe, slugging it out, bleeding and drawing blood until there was only one left standing.'
Royal Challengers Bangalore will stand in the way of two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders' bid to make it to the play-offs in a mouthwatering Indian Premier League encounter.
'We have just got to play very good cricket. The T20 series is in the past. It is a whole new story now. India will try to bounce back and hopefully we will stop them' 'We have got a very balanced bowling attack. But we don't lean too much on the spinners or the seam bowlers. We have got firepower in all the departments of our bowling'
Chris Gayle hammered the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers into submission with a breathtaking 96 that guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a three-wicket victory in an Indian Premier League encounter at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders rode on a brilliant all-round showing from Australia's Chris Lynn to score a dramatic victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match, in Sharjah, on Thursday night. After propping the Kolkata innings with a 31-ball 45, the 24-year-old Australian pulled off an acrobatic catch at the deep mid-wicket boundary line to dismiss A B de Villiers in the last over of the match, and RCB, chasing 151 for victory, fell short by two runs.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin surged to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after a superb outing in the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua which the visiting side won by an innings and 92 runs.
World champions India have consolidated their top rank on the ICC ODI Team Rankings after sweeping the series against Sri Lanka, which concluded in Ranchi on Sunday.
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq is baffled by his team's batting failure, which has left the side struggling to stay alive in the Champions Trophy after two successive defeats.
South Africans take the top 3 slots in Most Valuable Player Index.
Dale Steyn claimed six for 100 to bowl out India for 334 in their first innings. In reply, South Africa got off to a positive start, scoring 82 for no loss, at stumps on the rain-hit second day in Durban, on Friday.
Youngster Hardik Pandya blasted an unbeaten half-century to help Mumbai Indians edge past Kolkata Knight Riders and boost their hopes of making it to the play-offs in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Thursday.
South Africa has been perennial favourites but it hasn't helped them.
If India toyed with the South Africans, it was mainly because of awesome performances from spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Reigning champion India will be bidding to gain further momentum and become only the third side in World Cup history to successfully defend its title after West Indies in 1975 and 1979 and Australia, who won the coveted prize three times in succession between 1999 and 2007.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com picks his best eleven on performances from the first half of the tournament.
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
India put up yet another dismal batting display, on seam-friendly conditions, to suffer a humiliating 134-run defeat in the second one-dayer against South Africa in Durban on Sunday.
Young opener Quinton de Kock blasted his second ODI century as South Africa crushed India by 141 runs in the first One-Day International, in Johannesburg.
How many Tests has India won in South Africa? Who first captained India in South Africa in 1992-1993? Rajneesh Gupta answers all your questions.
With it's scandalous past, still fresh in the minds of fans and critics alike, the Indian Premier League (IPL) organisers will look to ensure that the focus remains firmly on cricket when the cash-rich event gets underway with a glamorous opening ceremony on Tuesday.
Ajinkya Rahane said the key to his success was keeping a blank mind and playing one ball at a time.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you the drama and the magic behind all the 12 IPL finals so far.
