Rohit Sharma's second successive century was once again overshadowed by Australia's collective batting might as the hosts continued their dominance over Indian bowlers to notch up a seven-wicket victory in the second One-Day International in Brisbane.
Rohit Sharma blasted a record-breaking 209, including a world record 16 sixes, which propelled India to a 57-run victory over Australia in the seventh and final One-Day International.
The overnight batsmen each survived a review to power India to 435 for six at lunch in response to Australia's 451 after a wicketless session played out under an overcast sky.
Australia survived a middle-order meltdown to beat Bangladesh by three wickets in a World Twenty20 Super 10 match on Monday to get their campaign up and running.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers of IPL 2020.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni made no excuses for India's 95-run loss to Australia in the World Cup semi-finals but said the fast bowlers could have done "slightly better" and Shikhar Dhawan should not have attempted a big shot when they were going smoothly.
Both Australia and South Africa, says former Australia captain Mark Taylor, have a lot of firepower in their bowling department. Besides, the two sides also have a lot of depth in their batting.
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.
'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'
Rishabh Pant of the Delhi Daredevils, with a most valuable player index of 897, is the most valuable player of IPL 11.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present the best performing players in IPL-11 in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.
Boult took 6-33 as Australia, who only needed to square the series to retain the trophy, were dismissed for 257 on the final ball of the 47th over as they chased New Zealand's 281 for nine.
Who were the most valuable players in the just-concluded India-Australia ODI series? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji 's formula provides overwhelming evidence that the bat complete overwhelmed the bat.
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players have even figured in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Ferozshah Kotla.
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.
Moeen Ali, the England all-rounder, with a batting strike-rate of 82.1 and an economy rate of 4.2, was tops.
Kings XI Punjab put up yet another dominating performance as they outclassed Northern Knights from New Zealand by a whopping 120 runs in Mohali to enter the semi-finals in their maiden appearance in the Oppo Champions League T20.
Pace spearhead Trent Boult led the way with three wickets after David Warner's brisk half-century laid the foundation as Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded a 20-run win over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Monday.
'The man who never knows when he is beaten deserved, on the day he played what will be his last World Cup game, mates who were not beaten in the mind before they were beaten on the field.' Prem Panicker salutes 'India's best one day captain by a long margin who led superbly throughout the tournament.'
Virender Sehwag was at his vintage best as he smashed a power-packed 122 to guide Kings XI Punjab to a convincing 24-run victory over Chennai Super Kings and a place in the final of the Indian Premier League on Friday night.
Robin Uthappa and Sunil Narine played lead roles as Kolkata Knight Riders booked a berth in the play-offs of the Indian Premier League after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Lendl Simmons smashed a scintillating 61-ball 100 to guide Mumbai Indians to a morale-boosting seven-wicket win over table toppers Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali.
David Warner's blazing century sent him on top of Rediff.com's MVP table, with KKR's wicketkeeper-batsman Robin Uthappa not that far behind.
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.
The ICC hailed the 11th cricket World Cup the 'most popular ever.'
Delhi Daredevils all-rounder Chris Morris has 12 wickets, at a better-than-par economy rate of 6.6 (the par economy rate is 8 runs conceded per over), and scored 74 runs at a staggering strike rate of almost 240 (the par strike rate is 133 runs in 100 balls).
Manish Pandey played a blinder as Kolkata Knight Riders held their nerves to beat a spirited Kings XI Punjab by three wickets in an exhilarating summit clash to win the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore on Sunday.
The series already in their pocket, India would aim for a clean sweep against the hosts and end the tour of Australia on a high when the two teams clash in the third and final Twenty20.
IPL 9 was not just about unfancied Sunrisers Hyderabad's triumph, Virat Kohli's run spree or Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman's economy rate.
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.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player standings after the 30th game in IPL 10.
As Cheteshwar Pujara plays a landmark Test against Sri Lanka, Rajneesh Gupta salutes the batsman's career thus far in numbers...
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.
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 analyse IPL performances in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings.