India produced a splendid performance to clinically decimate West Indies by 237 runs in the third Test thereby taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his 18th five-wicket haul as India dominated the first day of the second test against West Indies in Jamaica on Saturday.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be gunning for the No.1 spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers as an interesting contest promises to develop with Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who wrested the top spot following a 10-wicket haul in the Lord's Test that ended on Sunday.
Rajneesh Gupta and Ian Bishop glance at Universal Boss's ODI record and highlight 5 Gayleforce knocks.
Virat Kohli produced yet another masterclass as he smashed an unbeaten 47-ball 89 to guide India to a challenging 192 for two. against West Indies in the second semifinal of the ICC World Twenty20 in Mumbai on Thursday.
Stung by a remarkable fightback from West Indies on the final day of the rain-hit second Test, India will have to look at their bowling combinations and get back to winning ways when the third cricket Test begins in St. Lucia, on Tuesday.
They dampened the local spirits by knocking out India but a resurrected West Indies cricket team will bring its own brand of joie-de-vivre to the ICC World Twenty20 summit clash when they take on a transformed England in what promises to be a battle of power-hitting at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
A clash of contrasting styles, the ICC World T20 final in Kolkata on Sunday gives both England and the West Indies a chance to create history.
Mohammed Shami was the wrecker-in-chief as India scored a resounding innings and 51-run victory over the West Indies in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. Victory, sealed with well over six sessions left, gave India its fifth Test win in a row, after the 4-0 whitewash of Australia earlier in the year.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored an unbeaten 45 as India staved off a fightback from the West Indies to win the Group B World Cup match by four wickets at the WACA in Perth on Friday. The victory saw the defending champions maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament and extend their stay at the top of the group.
Images from the World cup Group B match between India and the West Indies, in Perth.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy believes that starting as underdogs against favourites India in the Thursday's ICC World T20 semi-final, in Mumbai, could prove to be beneficial for his team, as the hosts will be under a lot of pressure to win at all costs in front of home fans.
'When Dhoni walked in, India needed 105 to win with 32 overs to play. The situation called for calm, nerveless, ice-cold execution without necessitating any adrenalin-fueled impestuosities -- the sort of situation that is the Indian captain's spiritual home.'
As we write this we still await the crucial India-Australia knock-out in Mohali. But India's individual performances in the T20 World Cup so far haven't been truly impressive. A look at the most valuable player index (MVPI) table reveals that there's no Indian player in the top 20. MVPI merges a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'. The formula to compute the MVP is devised to reward batsmen who score runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take wickets at low economy rate and fielders who field the best (take a lot of catches and participate in run-outs). Since this is a relatively low scoring tournament we have assumed a team's par score to be 150, and each wicket to be worth 15 'runs'. It isn't a surprise that players from New Zealand dominate the rankings so far, although Joe Root tops the table after his 83 in 44 balls against South Africa.
South Africa won the fifth One-Day International against India by 214 runs on Sunday, to win the five-match series 3-1, their first ODI series win on Indian soil. Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from the match played in Mumbai.
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
Featuring India, the West Indies, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan.
With a strike rate of 115, Shikhar Dhawan is the MVP from the India-West Indies series according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma hit hundreds, but it was batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar who stole the limelight with a majestic 74 in his farewell match as India took a firm grip of the second Test against the West Indies, at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Friday. When stumps were drawn on Day 2, the home side had the West Indies tottering at 43 for 3 in the second innings.
It was a day that saw brilliant centuries by South Africa's captain AB de Villiers and India's Rohit Sharma in the first One-Day International on Sunday. But some brilliant death bowling by the visitors saw them edge Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men by five wickets. Here are the statistical highlights from the match played at the GreenPark stadium in Kanpur.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni failed to finish off the match and was dismissed off the final delivery with just two runs needed for victory as India went down by one run in a thrilling finish in the first T20 International against West Indies in Florida, on Saturday.
India's batting sensation Virat Kohli, named player of the tournament, is also the most valuable player of World T20 2016. With a fifty and two wickets, England's Joe Root is just behind him.
'This little incident might seem trivial to most people. But when such things happen in the BCCI's own backyard...'
How wonderful that this grand revival began in Kolkata, and under Clive Lloyd, the Windies' greatest captain, as the team manager, says V Gangadhar, a long-time fan of the West Indies team.
It seems to be a Tom Hanks and Cate Blanchett show all the way!
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
Virat Kohli was unquestionably the top player, but the most valuable player index (MVPI) suggests that Shakib Al Hasan had an equally good World T20 even though his team Bangladesh fared poorly.
Yuvraj Singh has emerged as the costliest cricketer in the IPL 8 players' auction, bought for a record Rs 16 crore (USD 2.57 million approx) by Delhi Daredevils.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the finest bowling heroics in the 20th over in recent T20Is.
As the top 10 teams prepare to battle for the World T20 crown, Rajneesh Gupta breaks down each squad's T20 performance and their showing in previous editions of the event.
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 still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
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.
The West Indian has blasted his way to the top of Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup with the South African skipper close on his heels.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji are back with Rediff.com's World Cup Most Valuable Players ratings.
'We were in it to win it when we left the Caribbean' 'With all that happened before the tournament, the disrespect from journalists, and from our own cricket board. that was out of order. The only way we could make a statement is by winning this tournament'