Sachin Tendulkar may want muted celebrations of his 40th birthday on Wednesday but Kolkata is all set to throw a huge party for the veteran Indian batsman.
Michael Clarke never considered batting on beyond his mammoth unbeaten 329 to chase more records rather than declaring Australia's first innings in the second Test against India on Thursday.
Just-retired veteran Australian batsman Mike Hussey ended his career at 11th spot in the International Cricket Council's Test Rankings.
Rediff.com looks the batting ace's top five of his 41 Test centuries, which has had a big impact on his career.
Another Michael Clarke masterclass helped Australia avoid total collapse on Day One of the opening Test against India at the MA Chidambaram stadium on Friday.
'The T20 game is doing very well and there's no need to tinker with it.'
Statistical highlights from Day 2 in the fourth Test between India and Australia at the Adelaide Oval, on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Kohli, who had emulated Rahul Dravid with his previous double century in Nagpur, on Sunday equalled Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for most double hundreds for India in Tests.
Comparing Sachin Tendulkar's 100 international centuries to Sir Donald Bradman's Test average of 99.94, former England captain Michael Vaughan said only "true greats in sport set an unreachable benchmark".
To become youngest Test debutant on Australian soil
It was this day, March 6, in 1971 that Sunil Manohar Gavaskar made his debut in Test cricket.
Double centurion Agarwal, meanwhile, climbed to the 11th spot after his player-of-the-match effort of 243 in India's only innings. The 28-year-old has reached 691 rating points after scoring 858 runs in his first eight Tests.
'It shows his confidence in his own ability,' Geoff Boycott tells Haresh Pandya.
'To stick to your guns when all the cricketing greats, coaches and textbooks say you are wrong -- that takes real courage. And now everyone is watching him bat in amazement, and trying to learn from him. The textbooks on batting technique may need to be rewritten'
Former England captain Alastair Cook revealed in his autobiography that Australia opening batsman David Warner once told him about using the strapping on the hand to accelerate deterioration of the ball during a first-class match.
Tendulkar, unarguably the greatest batsman in modern cricket, was coached by Achrekar at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai's Dadar as a child.
All is fair in IPL for the owners and players, and commercialisation has taken the shine out of a game which was once regarded as the most gentlemanly, rues Syed Hassan Kazim
Statistical highlights on Day 1 of the first Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Monday.
Handling the spotlight and the probing questions from the fourth estate can be difficult for first-time international players and Cricket Australia prefers not to leave anything to chance.
Ricky Ponting, Australia's most successful one-day cricketer, accepted that his limited overs international career was over on Tuesday but said he wanted to continue in Test cricket and hoped to play in the 2013 Ashes.
Boult was ruled out of the rest of the first Test against England after experiencing pain in his ribs, New Zealand Cricket said on Monday.
Rajneesh Gupta gives us all the numbers and tells us how Virat Kohli creates new record after record.
The Sachin Tendulkar fan club keeps getting bigger with West Indies batting legend Brian Lara describing him as the best batsman in the world right now and former England captain Alec Stewart calling him 'the modern day Don Bradman'.
In February next year, Australia are scheduled to travel to India for a four-Test series and former captain Adam Gilchrist said going by their recent outing the Aussies need to work hard on identifying big moments where they lack consistency. The once formidable Australian team, has recently lost fourth Test on the trot after being overwhelmed by South Africa at home. And Gilchrist feels more often than not the Aussies are letting their opponents bounce back into a game.
Stating that Sachin Tendulkar's mental strength makes him a legendary batsman, former Australia pacer Stuart Clark has said the 'modern-day Don Bradman' would get to his elusive 100th international century in the second Test against Australia in Sydney.
Rahul Dravid urged the ICC to cut down on the number of 'meaningless' ODIs and focus on major tournaments like the World Cup, besides exploring the possibility of day-night Test cricket. The middle-order maestro was speaking in Canberra, at the annual Bradman Oration.
Former England captain Alec Stewart has ridiculed the ICC's 'Greatest Test team of all time' -- chosen through online polling -- as a "joke" for leaving out greats such as Gary Sobers and Malcolm Marshall.
They are friends but Michael Schumacher does not quite remember when was the last time he and Sachin Tendulkar met each other and the German Formula One legend wants to catch up with the cricketing icon while being, in New Delhi, for the Indian Grand Prix.
Sachin Tendulkar compiled a mountain of runs for almost a quarter of a century and reached cricket's dizzying heights by defying a burden of expectation that would have crushed lesser mortals. Whenever Tendulkar came to the crease, India's billion-plus population made secret deals with gods, froze where they were, clutched lucky charms and indulged in all sorts of superstitions. And the sport's most prolific run-accumulator created plenty of those heart-in-mouth moments in his 24 years in international cricket.
When top political leaders of India and Australia meet can cricket be far behind?
Sachin Tendulkar was the only current cricketer named in ESPNcricinfo's all-time Test World XI which did not include Australian captain Ricky Ponting and the likes of Brian Lara, Glenn McGrath, Sunil Gavaskar.
Sachin Tendulkar, possessor of every one-day batting record worth holding, carries an unparalleled weight of expectation over the course of the next two months.
One-day cricket was the brainchild of Sir Donald Bradman and it was only money and nothing else which encouraged its introduction into the international arena, believes former Australian captain Bill Lawry.
The India captain placed his helmet on the ground, pointed to his bat and made a yapping gesture with his gloved hand after scoring a sublime century on day three of the Perth Test.
Batting legend Viv Richards has not seen Sir Donald Bradman but of all those he has seen, including compatriot Brian Lara, none has been better than iconic Indian Sachin Tendulkar.
England captain Andrew Strauss paid tribute to batsman Jonathan Trott whose patient double century set up a dramatic victory over Sri Lanka in the first test on Monday.
Chasing an improbable 415 for victory, Bangladesh was precariously placed at 67 for two at stumps on day four of the first Test against India, at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium, in Chittagong, on Wednesday. The hosts need 348 runs more to win the Test, with eight of their second innings wickets intact.
Opener Chris Gayle tormented Sri Lanka with a career best 333 as West Indies took control of the first Test in Galle before declaring on 580-9 on Tuesday.
Sachin Tendulkar said comparisons between players of different eras are unfair and it would be better if every individual's achievements are celebrated rather than comparing with everyone else.
David Warner hit a record century inside one session and his fellow opener Matt Renshaw a maiden hundred over three as Australia reached 365 for three at close of play on the opening day of the third Test against Pakistan on Tuesday.
