A cricketing rivalry that transcends beyond the realms of 22-yards will be reignited when India and Pakistan square off in a World Cup encounter that could have fascinating sub-plots with rain gods threatening an anti-climactic twist.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
The World Cup bound Pakistani cricketers will have two counselling sessions with a well-known sports psychologist before leaving for the World Cup.
This provided only the sixth such instance in Test cricket of the first six batsmen getting the past the half-century in an innings and four of them have have come against India.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made up its mind to appoint former Australia batsman Dean Jones as chief coach of the Pakistan cricket team.
'If the conditions change and we can have the Asia Cup, it must be held as earnings from it are distributed as development funds to member countries for next two years'
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and veteran pacer Ashish Nehra on Friday did not come for Indian team's pre-match day training after being advised rest ahead of the crucial Asia Cup T20 game against Pakistan, in Fatullah on Saturday. While Dhoni is suffering from back spasms, the injury-prone Nehra has his own specific training programme, which is different from the general team routine. Dhoni had played through pain against Bangladesh but back spasms need adequate recovery time, which is specifically the reason he has been given 48 hours to recuperate before the Pakistan match. His cover Parthiv Patel had his first training session but had precious little do as he did not get to bat in the main nets. Unless Dhoni's physical condition deteriorates further, Parthiv's chances of playing are minimal. There was one interesting sight during the training session on the match-eve. Both India and Pakistan trained adjacent to each other inside the main stadium at the Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium and trained at the same time between 4-6:30 pm local time. However, during the entire two and half-hour training session, no pleasantries were exchanged between the members of the two sides.
The cricket career of Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has come a full circle. Misbah is no longer 'Mr Tuck Tuck'.
'Dhoni was a very shrewd captain in terms of his out of the box thinking and getting the work done.'
'There is a vast difference in pedigree of Virat and Akmal.'
Rohit Sharma-led India's main aim would be to settle their middle-order combination and also find a perfect batting position for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
India have won all their six games against Pakistan in the World Cup.
Legendary cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Ian Chappell tipped India as favourites in their much anticipated World Cup clash against Pakistan.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmdullah finished as the MVP in the recently-concluded Asia Cup T20 tournament ahead of compatriot Sabbir Rahman, who was named as the man of the series. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present the latest edition of the MVP rankings.
The win at Edgbaston was not the first time an Indian team had vanquished Pakistan in an ICC competition. Rajneesh Gupta surveys the landscape of India-Pakistan encounters in ICC contests.
At least 56 seminaries and facilities being run by JuD and its wing FIF in Pakistan's southern Sindh province have been taken over by authorities.
Former Pakistan players reacted strongly to the national team's 'great escape' in the first Test against England in Abu Dhabi with many saying that the batsmen's surrender in the second innings was appalling.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
India have won the Asia Cup six times, Sri Lanka five, and Pakistan have won it just twice. As the 14th edition of Asia's own trophy gets underway on Saturday, Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers on the 13 editions so far.
Virat Kohli remained the highest-placed Indian batsman at fourth even as Shikhar Dhawan rose a rung to sixth in the latest ICC ODI rankings.
A B de Villiers still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji are back with Rediff.com's World Cup Most Valuable Players ratings.
With MS Dhoni opting out of the tournament, Virat Kohli will lead Team India as they attempt to regain the title they last won in 2010. Here're the statistical highlights pertaining to the tournament.
Mitchell Starc was the Player of the Tournament, but he ranks only 5th on Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings list, revealing how this World Cup was so much in the batsmen's favour.
A B de Villiers may have made some big mistakes in the semi-final: Choosing to bat first in spite of the rain threat, batting too low at No 5, not hogging the strike after David Miller departed, fielding badly, asking Dale Steyn to bowl the last over ... but he is still best placed to be adjudged the most valuable player of the 2015 World Cup.
It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
After four centuries on the trot with a strike rate of nearly 120, Sri Lanka's run machine Kumar Sangakkara (MVPI: 686) has raced to the top of the most valuable player standing at the ICC World Cup.
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players have even figured in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
Although A B de Villiers is still the front-runner for the MVP crown of the 2015 World Cup, a new and serious challenger has suddenly appeared out of the blue -- New Zealand opener Martin Guptill.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
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