It will be a battle of tactics as a formidable Chennai Super Kings, led by the wily Mahendra Singh Dhoni, square off against a confident Royal Challengers Bangalore under an aggressive Virat Kohli in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League, in Ranchi on Friday.
Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar congratulated New Zealand on sealing their maiden cricket World Cup final spot, but also consoled South Africa for again failing to cross the semi-final hurdle after losing to the Kiwis by four wickets in a nail-biting finish in Auckland, on Tuesday.
New Zealand completed their World Cup preparations with a 134-run victory over South Africa on Wednesday.
India have managed to retain their third spot among T20 teams while Virat Kohli has held on to his sixth spot in the ICC rankings for Twenty20 batsmen issued in Dubai on Sunday.
Kane Williamson finished the day 97 not out - approaching his 21st Test century - with Ross Taylor 31 not out and the home team 243-2 .
When KKR were cruising along nicely, as the two-time IPL champions needed 40 off 24 with six wickets in hand, Chahal produced an incredible over to take four wickets in it and turned the match on its head.
Consigned to their fourth straight defeat, a dejected Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma said he has tried everything to get the right combination this IPL season but hasn't succeeded.
Stokes is also among the Test Cricket of the Year nominees alongside compatriot Jonny Bairstow, Australia opener Usman Khawaja and South Africa speedster Kagiso Rabada.
Chris Morris' brilliant unbeaten knock of 82 went in vain as Gujarat Lions held their nerves to pull off a thrilling one-run win over Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League match.
Ravichandran Ashwin held on to his top spot, while Ravindra Jadeja rose a rung to be fifth in the all-rounders' chart of the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Tuesday.
Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan on Sunday said that the idea of experimenting with the pink ball and the day and night Test would be a flop from the perspective of attracting more spectators to the stadium to watch the game in real time.
'I'm not sure how happy they are about the term, but they are playing really good cricket, let's be honest about it.'
Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor doesn't rule out playing the 2023 ODI World Cup but says his form, fitness and motivation level at the end of next year will decide whether he actually manages a place in the squad. The 35-year-old will become the first cricketer in the world to complete 100 games across three international formats when he steps out for the first Test against India at Basin Reserve on February 21.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Charitable Foundation received 20,000 pounds out of the 300,000 raised during the inaugural T20 fundraiser, 'Cricket for Heroes', at the KIA Oval last week.
Gujarat Lions opening batsman Dwayne Smith says they would have faced no difficulty even chasing down a 200-plus target since the Royal Challengers Bangalore attack lacks teeth.
The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League will commence, on Saturday, April 7 and will end on 27th May
Chennai Super Kings would look to plug the bowling loopholes when they take on a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore
Kane Williamson was looming as the difference between a comfortable Australian win in the second Test against New Zealand and a match situation that could tip the scales either way, according to both sides.
Joe Burns and Steve Smith capitalised on perfect batting conditions to score centuries as Australia reduced New Zealand's lead to just seven runs at the end of day two of the second test on Sunday. Neil Wagner dismissed both batsmen in identical fashion in the final half-hour to give his side some late reward for a day of toil under a cloudless Christchurch sky. Burns, who had been dismissed early in his innings only to have the decision overturned on review, was well caught low down by Martin Guptill at square leg for 170, his highest test score and third century. Smith also fell to a short ball in Wagner's next over for 138, his 14th test century, caught by the same fielder. Adam Voges was on two with nightwatchman Nathan Lyon on four as the visitors ended the day 363 for four, having all but mowed down New Zealand's first innings 370.
New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson scored the quickest century ever in international cricket on Wednesday, taking just 36 balls against West Indies, to break the record long held by Pakistan's Shahid Afridi.
Williamson' leadership skills came under the scanner following New Zealand's crushing defeat
Karthik will be surrounded by cricketing brains all around him with the 2019 England World Cup winning skipper as his deputy, and New Zealand great Brendon McCullum as the head coach.
Ben Stokes's England were panned by former captains after their humiliating 434-run loss against India in the 3rd Test in Rajkot on Sunday.
Iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar did not find a place in Kumar Sangakkara's list of all-time XI while Rahul Dravid was the lone Indian in the team selected by the former Sri Lankan skipper.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir believes his former IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders doesn't have enough back-up options and the team management could have gone for all-rounders in the players' auction to provide the squad more depth. Gambhir said KKR don't have the bench strength to deal with any injury crisis in the top order.
Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja hammered home the advantage their bowlers had established when they took Australia to 147-3, a deficit of just 36 runs, at the close of the opening day's play in the first Test against New Zealand on Friday.
'The environment has been great and the guys are having fun in the last four weeks. There is absolute clarity when we were chasing it down and there was total belief.'
India's captain Jasprit Bumrah hit England pacer Stuart Broad for a world record 35 runs in an over as India were dismissed for 416 in the first innings on Day 2 of the rescheduled fifth Test against England, at Edgbaston cricket ground, in Birmingham, on Saturday.
Persistent rain washed out the third One-day international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday after less than 30 overs of the hosts' innings.
En route to a record sixth Asia Cup title, Team India and Captain Dhoni set an array of records.
Suresh Raina's return could not have been better-timed as Gujarat Lions, jolted by the tournament's biggest ever defeat, seek to revive their campaign when they face off with Kolkata Knight Riders.
It took a one-word message from England captain Ben Stokes for spin all-rounder Moeen Ali to come out of his Test retirement.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan praised rookie opener Venkatesh Iyer for batting fearlessly in only his second game.
