'This was not the cleanest game of cricket you've ever seen -- there were too many flubs and fumbles for that. But it was certainly the semi-final this mostly blah tournament has needed -- two tough, well-rounded teams, toe to toe, slugging it out, bleeding and drawing blood until there was only one left standing.'
Skipper David Warner produced a majestic 93 as he single-handedly led Sunrisers Hyderabad into the IPL final after securing a four-wicket win over Gujarat Lions in the Qualifier 2 at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi. Chasing a tricky 163, Sunrisers overhauled the target with four balls to spare as Warner anchored the chase with his responsible 58-ball knock, embellished with 11 four and three sixes.
Chennai Super Kings would look to plug the bowling loopholes when they take on a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore
Opener Martin Guptill smashed a brisk century before New Zealand huffed and puffed to a thrilling three-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara guided India to 87 for one to leave the first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland delicately poised at the end of a tumultuous third day.
Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell struck belligerent fifties after veteran Brad Hogg's four-wicket haul to help Kolkata Knight Riders return to winning ways with a seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling Indian Premier League match in Kolkata, on Thursday.
His side's passage to the final was in large due to the work put in both in the field and at the crease, with few players reading conditions quite like the Kiwi skipper.
New Zealand will enter the World Cup feeling optimistic of finally winning it after four and half decades of trying.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn made short work of a challenging target as two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Gujarat Lions by 10 wickets to make a confident start to their campaign in the 10th edition of the Indian Premier league, in Rajkot on Friday.
Tom Latham struck his maiden Test century but New Zealand crumbled to 262 all out, conceding a 304-run first-innings lead as well as control of the first Test to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Opener Jason Roy hit a quickfire half-century while leg-spinner Adil Rashid claimed three wickets to lift England to a convincing six-wicket victory against England in the ICC World T20 warm-up match at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
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.
A look at the Kolkata Knight Riders's IPL record over the years.
Rising Pune Supergiant defeated Gujarat Lions by five wickets in an IPL match in Pune, on Monday.
The trophy for their two Twenty20 matches in the Dubai, starting Thursday, is being dedicated in memory of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, who died last week after being hit on the head by a bouncer during a domestic match.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar praised New Zealand for playing "outstanding" cricket throughout the World Cup, saying the Kiwis thoroughly deserved to be in the final after edging past South Africa in a battle of nerves at Auckland. It was ironic that the Johannesburg-born Elliott, 36, played a stellar knock to push his country of birth out of the World Cup race.
Images from the World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand, at the MCG.
Crediting Brendon McCullum and B J Watling for their spirited batting in the ongoing third Test against India, New Zealand's assistant coach Bob Carter said that they still have a challenge ahead.
Jonny Bairstow bludgeoned a brilliant 83 not out in Durham to lead England to a three-wicket win over New Zealand on the Duckworth-Lewis method on Saturday, earning a 3-2 victory in the five-match series of one-dayers.
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.
Check out the head to head record between the World Cup finalists.
Mushfiqur Rahim, the diminutive Bangladesh glovesman has proved he is no less crucial to his team's progress.
High on confidence after one of their splendid run-chases across 10 editions, Mumbai Indians will like to continue their winning momentum against a resurgent Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
'He is one of the premier off-spinners in the world, but at the end of the day he is another bowler.'
A century from Hashim Amla laid the foundation for home success on Wednesday as South Africa beat New Zealand by 20 runs to win their opening one-day international at Centurion.
India lost the No 1 ODI ranking after a 15-run defeat in a rain-truncated second One-Day International against New Zealand, in Hamilton, on Wednesday. The victory gave the Kiwis a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Rediff.com brings a lighter veined pictorial representation of the various captains' state of mind on V-Day!
A fine all-round show by Ryan ten Doeschate powered the Kiwi side to a convincing six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka's Kandurata Maroons.
Relishing every bit of the IPL experience in his debut season, Sun Risers Hyderabad's New Zealand import Kane Williamson is mighty impressed by the local talent available in the Sun TV-owned side.
Gujarat Lions will have to fight off the fiery pacers of the Sunrisers Hyderabad when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League Qualifier 2, in New Delhi, on Friday.
Hosts England lock horns with New Zealand at the Riverside with both sides knowing that victory would secure their passage.
Michael Clarke blames poor shot selection for narrow New Zealand loss.
Dwayne Smith cracked a blistering 79 as a dominant Chennai Super Kings steamrolled Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets for their sixth straight win in the Indian Premier League.
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.
New Zealand named a virtually unchanged squad for the upcoming ODI series against India, with the selectors keeping faith in players who drew the recent five-match home assignment against the West Indies.
Opener Neil Broom produced a hurricane 117-run knock off just 56 balls as Otago Volts recorded a comprehensive 62-run win over Perth Scorchers in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in Jaipur on Wednesday.
Featuring India, the West Indies, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan.
Gavin Larsen says if he could rein in the batsmen of 1990s era even with his military medium pace it was because of his skipper Martin Crowe's tremendous leadership style and his faith in the bowlers.
India have the resources to become the best team in test cricket and the bumper home season would be a perfect opportunity to sow the seed of their ascendancy, captain Virat Kohli said on Wednesday. Kohli's men embark on an important 13-test season on Thursday when they take on New Zealand in the first match of the three-test series at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium.
Delhi Daredevils beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Tuesday.
