England brought an end to their miserable World Cup campaign with a nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan under the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-disrupted final Pool A match at Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Injuries have blighted Liverpool's start but Adam Lallana is back in full training after damaging his thigh pre-season and is expected to feature while another injury concern, Sadio Mane, also trained on Wednesday after tweaking a hamstring on international duty with Senegal.
Nerves will play a big role when title-hungry Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad look to outdo each other and regain the coveted IPL crown when they square off in the final in Mumbai on Sunday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Roy Hodgson has given himself the option to give England a youthful, fresh edge at the World Cup after including Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana in his provisional squad on Monday. There were no real surprises as the irresistible late-season form of Everton's attacking midfielder Barkley and Liverpool wide man Sterling made their inclusion an easy choice for Hodgson despite having only five caps between them.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Liverpool have enough quality and strength in depth in the squad to win games and pick up important points during a demanding festive schedule, striker Christian Benteke has said.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has probably not celebrated too many draws with quite the fervour that he greeted Divock Origi's stoppage time leveller to grab a point at home to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. The German would have been forgiven for lamenting another costly result and two more dropped points, but instead greeted the conclusion to a bad-tempered 2-2 Premier League draw at Anfield with trademark enthusiasm.
India gained the much-needed boost ahead of their ICC World T20 opener against Pakistan when they comfortably defeated England by 20 runs in their second and final warm-up game in Mirpur on Wednesday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
England's last appearance at this stage was in 1990 when they lost in a penalty shootout to West Germany in Turin while eight years later, in their first World Cup as an independent nation, Croatia lost to hosts and eventual winners France.
A win on Friday would seal the three-match series for Virat Kohli and Co.
Paulo Dybala came off the bench to give unbeaten Serie A leaders Juventus a 1-0 win away to a brave Bologna side who had the better of the match and hit the post in stoppage time on Sunday.
Bruised and battered by Chris Gayle's mauling on Wednesday, England are faced with a must-win situation as they look for ways to contain South Africa in their ICC World Twenty20 match in Mumbai on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Venus Williams staged a spirited comeback to down third seed Petra Kvitova 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played across England on Tuesday
Chennai Super Kings seem to hold a slight edge going into the match as they have not only got the better of their southern rivals twice in the league stages but also have the winning momentum going into the match on what promises to be a bouncy track.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A floundering England will be looking to avoid a potential banana skin when they take on minnows Scotland in a crucial Pool A cricket World Cup match at the Hagley Oval, in Christchurch on Monday.
Alex Hales hit a sensational unbeaten hundred as England pulled off a dramatic six-wicket win over Sri Lanka to throw open the Group I for semi-finals places in the ICC World Twenty20 in Chittagong on Thursday.
Australia will miss captain George Bailey in the One-dayer against England on Friday but their focus will be to seal a place in the ODI tri-series final.
In Pep Guardiola's 100th match in charge of the Manchester club, captain De Bruyne led from the front as City outclassed the Gunners, who have now suffered six home games without a win. Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday.
Arsenal are eighth, seven points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, while Norwich remain second from bottom.
Rediff.com's Manu Shankar spoke with former Essex player and fast bowling coach Ian Pont to assess England's disastrous start in the ICC's 50-over-a-side extravaganza.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played on Saturday
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
England stormed into the final of the ICC World Twenty20 with a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over New Zealand, riding on opener Jason Roy's blazing 78.
In what will be a dress rehearsal of their opening game in the World Cup, an unbeaten Australia take on England in the cricket tri-series final, in Perth on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Liverpool made it three wins out of three as Mohamed Salah scored twice in a convincing 3-1 victory over Arsenal on Saturday to take control at the top of the Premier League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
England will be determined to get their act together against defending champions Sri Lanka.
Penpix of the England squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year on Monday from his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who had walked off with the award for the previous two years.
Premier League Swansea City fell victims to the first major giant-killing of the FA Cup third round on Sunday when they lost 3-2 away to League Two (fourth tier) side Oxford United.
Seasonal cheer has been scarce for Louis van Gaal after a six-match winless sequence for his Manchester United side intensified rumours that he will be sacked and Stoke City are unlikely to be offering any solace on Saturday.
A clash of contrasting styles, the ICC World T20 final in Kolkata on Sunday gives both England and the West Indies a chance to create history.
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