Rajneesh Gupta lists some amazing coincidences in cricket -- a feature guaranteed to amuse you in these anxious times.
Cricket has few examples of players calling it quits when very much at the top their game. It is anything but coincidence that most of them happen to be from the most successful nation in the history of the sport.
With the year sprinting to a close, we bring you, in pictures, some of the best action from the sports world.
Australia's search for a successor to Shane Warne is yet to bear fruit nearly a decade after he retired, so Adam Zampa is naturally wary about comparisons with the leg-spinning great.
'The 2014 Australia tour and the brand of cricket played by the team laid a great foundation of the brilliant run of success enjoyed across all formats and conditions.' 'It also coincided with Virat Kohli enjoying the responsibilities of leading the team and then putting his heart and soul into taking the Indian team to ascend many unconquered summits.'
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
Boozy celebrations have been a part of Australian cricket for decades but Test hopeful Fawad Ahmed will be politely declining when the victory beers are passed around on the tour of the Caribbean and England.
Ponting made the comment in reference to India captain Virat Kohli's leadership skills in the context of India's recently-concluded Test tour of England, which the visitors lost 1-4.
Virat Kohli may get close to breaking Sachin Tendulkar's 49 ODI centuries record but the batting maestro's 100 International centuries milestone would stay safe forever, feels former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
India will eye revenge for their defeat in one-day series as they meet fierce rivals Australia in three Twenty20 Internationals, starting on Tuesday, January 26 at Adelaide Oval. Games will also be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (January 29) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 31). The matches will see some of the world's explosive batsmen in action, while the series is also tipped as a much-needed preparatory ground ahead of the crucial World T20 scheduled to be held in March in India.
Consistency is a word unknown to Bangladesh.
The International Cricket Council named four World Cup winners in a 25-member match officials' team for Cricket World Cup 2015, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29. The team includes five officials from the elite panel of ICC match referees, 12 umpires from the elite panel of ICC umpires and eight umpires from the international panel of ICC umpires.
Young India pacer Khaleel Ahmed is learning everyday on his maiden tour of Australia and getting the much needed help from senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar on how to bowl on the hard and bouncy tracks Down Under.
Suresh Raina said he would have been left devastated had India failed to draw the fourth and final Test against Australia in Sydney following his failures with the bat in both innings.
Disappointed with India's performance in the ongoing tour of Australia, former New Zealand cricketer Danny Morrison feels the touring side looks "emotionally drained".
All set to defend their cricket World Cup crown in less than a month, India will get their preparations underway with the aim of finding the right combination for the marquee event.
Australia's retiring one-day captain Michael Clarke has urged his players to put 'skill over emotion'.
Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar relives Virender Sehwag's magnificent century on his Test debut in 2001 and what made him such a difficult batsman to bowl at.
For India, who are considered as title contenders, a good showing in the Asia Cup will give them the much-needed boost going into the World T20.
Check out PM Modi's personal messages to India's players at World Cup.
New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori confirmed what many expected in announcing his retirement.
'I've played a lot of matches up and down the order so I think I've become a more mature player after 2011' 'I know that if I play till the 50th over, the team can get 20-25 runs extra'
Former India stumper Kiran More wants the next ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 be held on the same format as the 1987 edition organised in the sub-continent for the first time in which he also figured as a player.
Pace bowler Kyle Mills has followed team mate Daniel Vettori into retirement.
The comparisons will be inevitable but former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said it is unfair to equate the leadership skills of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and newly-appointed Test captain Virat Kohli, who will only become better with experience.
Australia all-rounder James Faulkner says his team is not worried about the slow nature of the pitches and the Indians using it to their advantage as he feels the hosts are in equally good form.
Gearing up for the pace test that awaits India in Australia come December, batsman Rohit Sharma said the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle would be a tough challenge to deal with but the Indians are no longer intimidated by bouncy tracks Down Under.
Indian ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni stone-walled questions on his Test retirement in the build-up to India's first ODI against Australia in the ongoing tri-series on Sunday.
'From 1989 when I started playing there would be at least 25 world class bowlers. But someone I didn't enjoy batting against was Hansie Cronje. For some reason I got out and over a period of time I realised that I am better off being at the non-striker's end'
'I had a lot of luck through that phase, because I was able to stay in and win the match for my team.'
Photos of the World Cup game between India and Zimbabwe being played in Auckland
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Virat Kohli was focus personified as India geared up to take on a traditionally pace-heavy South Africa in their upcoming ICC World Cup match.
Did Mahendra Singh Dhoni desert a sinking ship or was it a courageous decision to quit in the middle of a series?
Kuldeep Yadav picked 5-99 in his maiden Test Down Under.
Images from the ICC World Cup quarter-finals played between India and Bangladesh at the MCG on Thursday.
Attributing his brilliant World Cup form to a calm mind and hard work, Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan has said he managed to come out of a lean patch by sticking to his strong work ethic.
He has been roped in to arrest the downslide in Sri Lankan cricket and Asanka Gurusinha's assessment of the fall is quite simple -- not grooming anyone to fill in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara's shoes.
He is expected to play an important role in the upcoming 13 Tests at home, but Ajinkya Rahane doesn't want to look too far ahead, as it can clutter one's mind.
The Men in Blue have never beaten the Proteas in a World Cup game.
All-rounder Glenn Maxwell has admitted to being upset by the frequent criticism directed at him but most of all by the implication that he is not a team man dedicated to helping Australia win the World Cup.
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