Senior India batter Shikhar Dhawan on Wednesday moved up a place to joint 13th spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings on the back of his match-winning knock against the West Indies in the first ODI.
On the ropes at 43-4 early in their innings, Pakistan rallied behind spectacular half centuries from Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan to post 185 for nine and delight the lively crowd of 30,000 roaring them on at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Down and out, the two bottom-placed teams know that this will be their best chance to post their first win in the ongoing 50-over showpiece.
South Africa's hopes of a semi-final place at the Cricket World Cup appear to have been washed out along with their fixture against the West Indies at the Rose Bowl on Monday.
Glenn Maxwell's brilliant all-round performance and Harshal Patel's hat-trick powered Royal Challengers Bangalore to a thumping 54-run victory against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League match, in Dubai, on Sunday.
Needing 16 off the final over, Pollard hit Ngidi for two fours, a six off the fifth and two off the last delivery to seal victory. 16 runs came from the over as Pollard was unbeaten on a memorable 87 off 34 balls.
Opener Quinton de Kock smashed 84 as a weakened South Africa crushed Zimbabwe by seven wickets to complete a whitewash in their three-match ODI series at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Thursday.
Fast bowler Duanne Olivier has been recalled for South Africa's home Test series against India, a reward for excellent domestic form from a player who shot to prominence four years ago before taking up a Kolpak contract.
AB de Villiers will avoid putting extra stress on a hamstring injury by playing as a batsman only in the first Sri Lanka Test with Quinton de Kock taking over wicketkeeping duties, South Africa captain Hashim Amla said on Tuesday.
Chennai Super Kings' pacer Tushar Deshpande said bowling during the death overs is not an easy skill and he is still learning the tricks of the trade.
David Warner has been cleared to play in the second Test against South Africa after accepting an ICC charge of bringing the game into disrepute.
Virender Sehwag's string of poor scores in domestic cricket is likely to affect his chances of a lucrative deal in IPL 7. In fact, it is highly unlikely that he will be retained by his current franchise, Delhi Daredevils.
Steyn has confidence in his team of match-winners
LSG do not have to fret so much about the mathematical scenarios as a win would be enough for them to seal their back-to-back playoff berth.
MI are coming into the match after suffering back-to-back losses
Drafted into the team for the first time in the ongoing cricket World Cup, Pakistan wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed made an instant impact with a record-equalling six catches and 49 runs in the team's upset win over South Africa in Auckland.
The couple of wickets he took proved crucial in Rajasthan Royals' thumping win over Delhi Daredevils and leg-spinner Pravin Tambe said it feels good to come out trumps.
CSK have been on a roll with three wins on the trot that have boosted them to the top of the table.
'RCB will make decision regarding captaincy after mega auction'
India's craftiest pacer Mohammed Shami is in the 'right zone' after his impressive performance in the IPL, allowing him to prepare for the big Test series against Australia 'without any pressure'.
Though Mankad walked away with the man of the match award, there was no denying that Pandya and Pooran's roles were decisive in the final outcome.
Jofra Archer showed why England could not leave him out of their final ICC Men's Cricket World Cup squad as he bowled them to opening win against South Africa.
Delhi Darevils opener Quinton de Kock, who scored the first century of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League, said that 192 against RCB was always a gettable target on a good batting track like the one at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Fresh from their clinical display against Sunrisers Hyderabad, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to set the record straight against nemesis Mumbai Indians in their second IPL match in Chennai on Tuesday.
Delhi Capitals off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin says contributing towards the team's victory is more important than winning the Purple and Orange Cap.
Images from Saturday's IPL match between Mumbai Indians vs SunRisers Hyderabad, in Chennai.
The sides will next head to Bengaluru for the deciding fifth T20 on Sunday.
After the gruelling league phase of the ongoing IPL, the stage is set for the play-offs with CSK and MI clashing against each other for a place in May 12 final.
A batting line-up dotted with big power-hitters along with the best death bowlers make record five-time winners MI a formidable unit.
India's head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that his team didn't play "smart cricket at crucial times", but backed the beleaguered K L Rahul to get better as a leader in the coming days.
South Africa's young wicketkeeper-batsman besides becoming only the fifth player to score three straight one-day hundreds, also became the batsman with the highest aggregate in a three-match series.
Indian Premier League side Delhi Daredevils signed West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels to replace injured South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock for the remainder of the tournament.
Mumbai Indians have been in ominous form and the varied bowling attack could prove a challenge for the CSK batters, who are low on confidence.
De Kock, 23, became the youngest player to record 10 ODI hundreds
Bavuma will captain the team to the 2021 and 2022 Twenty20 World Cups, as well as the 50-over World Cup in 2023. Elgar has been handed the reins for the next cycle of the ICC Test Championship that will run up until mid-2023.
Images from Thursday's IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, in Delhi.
'Bumrah has taken over the mantle from Malinga'
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on Saturday.
South Africa's Imran Tahir became the first spinner to bowl the first over in a World Cup match on Thursday.
Arshdeep Singh credits his success in the T20 World Cup to senior pace bowling partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who he said has been creating relentless pressure in the Powerplay overs which has made it easier for him to get wickets.
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