A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Injury-hit RCB and Delhi look to outshine each other.
With an aim to stay relevant till the business end, a desperate Kings XI Punjab will be aiming a comprehensive victory against a down and out Royal Challengers Bangalore in an Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Friday.
Nick Blackwell has announced his retirement from boxing after sustaining serious injuries against Chris Eubank Jr. in the British middleweight title fight last month that left him in an induced coma with bleeding in his brain.
Australia have dropped Test skipper Tim Paine from their one-day squad for next month's series against South Africa and named opening batsman Aaron Finch as captain in his place.
The South Africa-born 33-year-old has not played for the senior England team since the first Test in Brisbane 18 months ago, after which he returned home with stress-related problems.
Getting the combination right would be topmost on Sunrisers Hyderabad's to-do list when they take on a qualitatively superior Mumbai Indians in an IPL encounter in Chennai on Saturday, trying to arrest an early slide after back-to-back defeats.
Workload management of pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be the focus when Mumbai Indians take on a renamed Delhi Capitals in their first match of the 12th Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Sunday.
The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, which comprise three back-to-back matches in a span of five days.
IMAGES from EPL matches played on Saturday.
Kings XI retains Chris Gayle. Steve Smith returns to the IPL. Delhi Daredevils sacks 10 players!
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Wednesday defended the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) system after some athletes' confidential medical data was leaked by a group of Russian hackers, shedding light on potential abuse.
Four new players were awarded contracts and test opener Chris Rogers has been dropped from Cricket Australia's list of contracted players for next season. David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Doug Bollinger and Beau Casson were included on the 25-man list for the first time, while Simon Katich and Ashley Noffke were offered new contracts after failing to make the cut last season.
Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe was recalled to the England squad at the age of 34 on Thursday ahead of next week's friendly in Germany and a World Cup qualifier at home to Lithuania.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Images from Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
However, one goal proved enough for City who picked up their sixth successive league win to move four points clear of Liverpool, who host Aston Villa later on Saturday, at the top of the standings.
Australia avoided a series whitewash as they survived a mid-innings wobble to beat England by five wickets in the third T20 international and regain their top-ranking in the sport's shortest format on Tuesday.
Adam Zampa picked up two wickets in a miserly spell of leg spin bowling as Australia edged India by four runs in an enthralling rain-shortened Twenty20 International in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Smith's (28) ODI haul of 568 runs at 63.11 from 10 innings were enough to pip Finch (23) who scored 673 runs at 56.08 from 13 innings.
While multiple-time world champions and Champions Trophy winners Australia are always a tough nut to crack, New Zealand will enter the game at Edgbaston with renewed confidence after their six-wicket warm-up win over Sri Lanka at the same venue.
Royal Challengers BangalorStruggling RCB face inconsistent Supergiant in must-win game will be striving to keep their IPL hopes alive when they meet an equally inconsistent Rising Pune Supergiant in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Pune on Saturday.
A determined Delhi Daredevils will make another push to stay in the hunt to make the playoffs when they take on bottom-placed Rising Pune Supergiants in the Indian Premier League in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
Veteran Western Australian batsman Adam Voges in 17-man tour squad but give the cold shoulder to Glenn Maxwell.
Australia bundled out England for a paltry 103 in their second innings to win the second Test match at Lord's on Sunday by a massive margin of 405 runs on the fourth day.
Pushed to the bottom of the heap after three successive losses, it will take an extraordinary effort from Royal Challengers Bangalore to overpower table-toppers Rajasthan Royals when the two sides clash in an Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Hollywood dresses up for the biggest night of the year!
Jack Wilshere and Harry Kane have been recalled to the England squad for Friday's World Cup qualifier against Scotland and a friendly against Spain, the FA announced on Sunday.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will be aiming to sort their 'opening woes' in both departments of the game when they take on a rejuvenated Kings XI Punjab in a must-win Indian Premier League encounter, in Indore, on, Friday.
England skittled out shell-shocked Australia for 60 and piled up 274 for four in reply to take control of the fourth Ashes Test on a dramatic first day at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Dhoni has to ponder over both the batting and bowling departments of his team.
India have won six ODI series on the trot. New Zealand have never won an ODI series in India.
Images from Saturday's IPL match between Mumbai Indians vs SunRisers Hyderabad, in Chennai.
Even as the dust settles down on IPL 9, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com presents his Dream XI.
Tottenham Hotspur missed the chance to move up to provisional fourth place in the Premier League after relegation-threatened Newcastle United held them to a 2-2 draw with a late equaliser from substitute Joe Willock at St James' Park on Sunday. Images from EPL matches played on Sunday.
KXIP are riding a roller-coaster ride, having to endure a controversy involving their captain Ravichandran Ashwin who 'Mankaded' Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler in their first match, an act which was legal but criticised by some as against the 'Spirit of Cricket'.
The result moves Chelsea up to eighth in the Premier League table with 30 points, while Wolves are 13th with 23 points.
Desperate to break their title jinx, Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
Briton Chris Froome cemented his status as one of the greatest Tour de France riders when he secured his third title on Sunday after a three-week rocky ride.
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