Staring at yet another series defeat, Australia's stand-in-skipper David Warner on Monday said they are not demoralised and insisted on playing the 'Aussie brand of cricket' to bounce back in the three-match T20 International series against India.
It will be a battle for survival for struggling Rising Pune Supergiants when they lock horns with formidable title-contenders Sunrisers Hyderabad in Tuesday's Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam.
Aggression. Flamboyance. Individual and team records characterise T20 games. Sometimes even the best ain't just good enough.
David Warner pulverized a listless Chennai Super Kings attack into submission with some breathtaking strokeplay as Sunrisers Hyderabad won by six wickets to keep slim chances of qualifying for the IPL play-offs alive.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
Former Australian fast bowling great Brett Lee is worried at the alarming trend of young quicks putting an effort on beefing up upper body which in turn is adversely affecting the quality of speed merchants. Lee was forthright when asked about the absence of genuinely quick bowlers at the moment. "I just think that we have to keep promoting wickets where bowlers can bowl quick. I don't think bowlers are training correctly, there is a lot of emphasis and too much importance only on guys lifting heavy weights. Gym work is good only if it's done correctly, it has to be high on intensity and low on weights," Lee told PTI in New Delhi during an interaction.
England will head into this year's Ashes series against Australia heartened by their performances against New Zealand but with nagging doubts about key areas in the team.
With the year sprinting to a close, we bring you, in pictures, some of the best action from the sports world.
Kolkata Knight Riders took a giant stride towards ensuring a play-off berth as they walloped Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets to take their winning streak to five matches in the seventh edition of IPL.
Stuart Broad has been backed by captain Alastair Cook to lead the attack in the absence of James Anderson as England try to show they can win a major Test match without their all-time leading wicket-taker.
Images from the World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand, at the MCG.
- 'The aggressive approach was the right one. The approach will remain the same' - 'I feel what he (Kohli) did throughout the Adelaide Test was really great'
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com lists five matches you can't afford to miss out at the ICC's marquee event.
It is a rare first Down Under for India since Lala Amarnath's side visited the country back in 1947-48 months after independence to face Sir Don Bradman's 'Invincibles'.
MS Dhoni knows how to win World Cups and that goes quite a long way.
Prem Panicker, on the Rediff chat, delves on what went wrong for Team India and what to expect from Sunday's trans-Tasman World Cup final.
Some teams have completely overhauled their squads. Others retained their core at the IPL Players Auction.
Shreyas Iyer stroked his way to an unbeaten half-century in an otherwise unimpressive batting display by India 'A' in reply to Australia's first-innings total of 469 for seven declared on the second day of the three-day practice game in Mumbai.
Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
- 'Always strong at the psychological game, the Aussies put the pressure on the opponents, knew how to handle the pressure themselves and exploited virtually every situation to their advantage' - 'They are firmly and categorically told never to allow success to go to their heads. You don't find Australian cricketers getting even a little complacent'
India's preparations for the cricket World Cup suffered a jolt as Australia thrashed the defending champions by 106 runs with Glenn Maxwell and David Warner striking blistering centuries in their first warm-up game in Adelaide.
Chasing a revised target of 235 from 33 overs following two rain interruptions, Australia were struggling at 53 for three in nine overs when the heavens opened up for the third time in the day, forcing the onfield umpires to abandon the game as both the sides split points.
With an impeccable tally of 2,633 runs across formats this year, Kane Williamson, says Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com, is right up there among the pantheon of modern great greats.
Virat Kohli became only the third Indian to score a hundred on his captaincy debut as the visitors responded resolutely to Australia's mammoth first innings total by reaching 369 for five on the third day to leave the first cricket Test evenly poised at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Chris Gayle started with flair while Darren Sammy finished with a flourish as West Indies got the better of Australia by six wickets in an exciting Group 2 League encounter of the ICC World T20 in Mirpur.
Not too impressed with Virat Kohli's outbursts on and off the field, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar said the aggression could backfire badly in the ongoing third cricket Test against Australia as the tourists already have their back against the wall.
Rajneesgh Gupta salutes Captain Cool.
Rohit Sharma's second successive century was once again overshadowed by Australia's collective batting might as the hosts continued their dominance over Indian bowlers to notch up a seven-wicket victory in the second One-Day International in Brisbane.
From Captain Cool losing his, well, cool to Rabada's super over, and Malinga's unbelievable bowling for the cup, IPL 2019 was not short of magical moments. Here are a few.
'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'
And having watched the last 13 home Tests, I hope Virat and his team really has the potential to win anywhere - in or outside India, writes former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
Jimmy Anderson is the first Englishman to take 500 Test wickets.
10 all-rounders who may leave a mark on the World T20.
'I don't want it to be a batting affair otherwise you could just walk in with the umpire, with the bowling machine, put your hat on the bowling machine, walk away.' Brett Lee tells Harish Kotian on how Twenty20 cricket has changed the dynamics of cricket and why a bit of controlled aggression is needed in the sport.
Prem Panicker, a keen follower of the game and one of cricket's finest writers, analysed, debated and dissected the four semi-finalists on the Rediff World Cup Chat on Monday.
The Indian cricket team flew to Sydney and preferred to spent the day indoors even as there was intense speculation over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to quit the Test format with immediate effect, which surprised the cricket fraternity.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won applauds for his innovative captaincy during the recently held World T20 in India. The Kiwi star will now be donning a new role, that of a solid middle-order batsman for his Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad. Williamson along with India's Virat Kohli, Aussie captain Steven Smith and Joe Root of England are considered to be most technically correct batsmen in the present era. Catch him in a chat with IPLT20.com.
India registered just three victories in 11 Tests, worse than even Zimbabwe and the West Indies...
As India gets set to play its 500th Test, Rajneesh Gupta presents India's memorable Test victories at home.
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