Hosts New Zealand gave the World Cup a cracking start with a scintillating batting show as they crushed last edition losing finalists Sri Lanka by 98 runs in the opening match of the showpiece event in Christchurch on Saturday.
Kohli promoting Pandya ahead of Dhoni is an indication that the skipper is looking to use his former captain more as an accumulator -- in Javed Miandad mould who would rotate strike, frustrate bowlers and launch a furious counter-attack after getting his eye in.
Which Indian batsman has the highest run tally against Sri Lanka (Clue: He has an aggregate of 1,995 runs)? Which Sri Lankan skipper led the islanders against India in 13 Tests and did not win a single one? As the Test series gets underway, Rajneesh Gupta surveys India-Sri Lanka Tests played over the years.
Kumar Sangakkara created history by notching up a record fourth consecutive ODI century that powered Sri Lanka to a crushing 148-run win over Scotland in their final group league match of the ongoing cricket World Cup in Hobart.
The duo, who added a Test and first-class record 624 for the third wicket in Sri Lanka's innings victory over South Africa moved into the top 10 of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
With strong hosts expected to challenge, a highly-fancied South Africa face their demons.
Phillip Hughes's tragic death cast a shadow over an eventful year that saw Ashes rivals Australia and England brawl on the field and bond off it, joining India to pull off a bloodless coup and take charge of the game.
"They (Sri Lanka) had a guy that finished 94 not out and that was the difference -- we did not have someone who batted all the way through," added Dravid.
With three consecutive half-centuries already in the Champions Trophy, Shikhar Dhawan continues his love affair with ICC tournaments.
Hailing India's series levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second Test as a start of a bright future, former captain Sunil Gavaskar said that the Virat Kohli-led side not only looks "determined" but has also found the right balance in all departments.
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Mumbai Indians and much more.
Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur believes that international cricket teams can learn from India on how to nurture young players and empower them with responsibilities at critical junctures. Be it in the bowling or batting department, cricketing powerhouse India has built a solid bench strength for all formats under Virat Kohli's leadership, which has left Arthur impressed.
Penpix of the Sri Lanka squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Despite losing four years of playing days due to World War II, Don Bradman still is head and shoulders above the rest. Haresh Pandya pays tribute to the incomparable Don Bradman.
The Trent Bridge Triumph was India's second biggest win against England in England. Rajneesh Gupta serves up the interesting numbers from the third Test.
As Ashish Nehra gets set to quit international cricket after the first T20I game against New Zealand in New Delhi this evening, Rajneesh Gupta presents the mighty fast bowler's top five performances.
Ravi Shastri says the learning curve for the Indian side is over and it's time that the players start winning Test matches abroad.
Sri Lanka are never anybody's pre-tournament favourites but when the dust settles there they are.
The ICC hailed the 11th cricket World Cup the 'most popular ever.'
While winning four major finals, India have finished on the losing side in the finals on four occasions.
Despite scoring a world record 264 in India's 153-run victory over Sri Lanka in the fourth One-Day International at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, Rohit Sharma feels he still has a lot more to achieve in the game. An odd failure, he insists, will not check his progress.
Young players, including Hardik Pandya, need to work harder
India may be weakened by the absence of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but the World champions cannot be taken lightly, especially with a strong batting line-up at their disposal, says Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews.
With momentum on their side, Dhoni and Co need to justify the favorites' tag and go the distance.
Rajneesh Gupta gives us a list of noteworthy statistics from first-class and Ranji Trophy
The Indian cricket team flew to Sydney and preferred to spent the day indoors even as there was intense speculation over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to quit the Test format with immediate effect, which surprised the cricket fraternity.
IPL Action VIII: These players went unsold
From Rohit Sharma's record breaking double century in One-Day Internationals, the team's never-ending woes in overseas Tests, to the controversy surrounding Board of Control for Cricket in India's president-in-exile Narayanswami Srinivasan over the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal, Indian cricket had the good, bad and ugly in equal measure in 2014.
Rajneesh Gupta one of the greatest cricketers ever to have played One-Day Internationals.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wants its Indian counterpart (BCCI) to pay approximately $ 70 million as compensation for not playing two 'home' bilateral series.
Their World Cup build-up halted by West Indies team's sudden mid-series pullout, India would resume the preparations for the mega-event when they square off against under-cooked sub-continental rivals Sri Lanka in a hastily-arranged ODI series starting in Cuttack on Sunday.
Impressed with India's aggressive brand of cricket in the two Tests so far, former Sri Lanka pacer Chaminda Vaas on Tuesday said that the five-bowler theory is reaping rich results for the young visiting side.
Lasith Malinga's brilliant five-wicket haul under pressure and opener Lahiru Thirimanne's second ODI century helped Sri Lanka script a thrilling 12-run win over Pakistan in a nail-biting opening match of the Asia Cup at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah, on Tuesday.
Ambati Rayudu slammed his maiden hundred as India produced yet another comprehensive batting performance to ease past Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second One-Day International, in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
Sri Lanka won the just-concluded Asia Cup, but none of their players figure in Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji's most valuable player index. Check it out.
In a three part series, Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers from cricket World Cups held between 1975 to 2015.
India registered just three victories in 11 Tests, worse than even Zimbabwe and the West Indies...
As India and Sri Lanka get set to duel in the make-shift ODI series, starting Sunday, Rajneesh Gupta gives us a look at how both teams stand in One-dayers.
This was the 36th tie in one-day international history and the 8th involving India.
From Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards, Imran Khan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, these cricketers, among others, etched their names in the annuls of cricketing history with heroic efforts that helped their teams clinch the big prize of One-day cricket. With the 2015 edition of the cricket World Cup starting on February 14, we bring you a brief history of finals from 1975-2011...
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