Pakistan's experienced batsman Younis Khan dug deep for his 24th Test century and his seventh against Sri Lanka to rescue his struggling side who closed on 261-4 on the opening day of the first Test on Wednesday.
Mitchell Starc shone with bat and ball as Australia dismissed Pakistan for 163 to secure an innings and 18 run victory in the second Test on Friday, the win giving the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Joe Root's unbeaten half-century helped stuttering England reach 182 for three at the close on the second day of the second Test on Friday after Pakistan's seam and spin attack ran through the tourists' top order.
Pakistan fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Bilawal Bhatti scythed through Sri Lanka's batting during an exciting afternoon session to restrict their opponents to 204 on the first day of the opening Test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
In order to seal the place in the squad, the duo will have to cancel their league tours in South Africa and Bangladesh.
Faisalabad Wolves rode on skipper Misbah-ul-Haq's unbeaten 93 to beat Kandurata Maroons by 10 runs and post a consolation win in an inconsequential qualifying match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Mohali, on Friday.
Sri Lanka took the upper hand after the third day of the opening Test at Galle on Friday, reducing Pakistan to 118-5 after Kaushal Silva's second Test century took the hosts to 300 in their first innings.
Statistical highlights of a Group B ODI match of the ICC Champions Trophy between Pakistan and South Africa in Birmingham on Monday night.
Former Pakistan players are throwing their weight behind senior batsman Younis Khan in the World Cup quarter-final against Australia in Adelaide on Friday.
It was Pakistan's last roll of the dice that saw them throw Sarfraz Ahmed into the role of opener at the World Cup and the gamble looks to be paying off.
Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed feels that Mohammed Shami is the best Indian paceman on view and his performance has been key to India's good show in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup.
Images from the World cup match between India and Pakistan at Adelaide.
Having played a stellar role many a time in India-Pakistan clashes, all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that the defending champions have a far superior unit and will do well against the arch-rivals in the high-voltage opening World Cup encounter on February 15 in Adelaide.
Former Pakistan leg-spin legend Abdul Qadir says he would have also liked to see leg-spinners like Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla in the team since India does not have intimidating pace bowlers.
Virender Sehwag exuded confidence about India making it to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
'I thank Sachinpaaji for taking me to Coach Gary Kirsten and telling him that 'Sreesanth should play' (in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka) and thanks to Dhonibhai for giving me that opportunity.'
'I look to make a comeback in the Indian team,' Shanthakumaran Sreesanth tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian.
There was large demand for India vs Pakistan, England vs Australia and the final, all of which were oversubscribed at every price band.
Talented wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal notched up a breezy century under pressure before the bowlers came to the party and guided Pakistan to a bonus-point 72-run victory over Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.
The 63-run win at the Wanderers ensured that South Africa cannot move ahead of India in the ICC Test Team Rankings at the 3 April cut-off date, even if they go on to win all four Tests against Australia in March.
According to Sourav Ganguly, not facing Australian bowlers regularly has helped Dhawan and Team India.
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are India's highest-ranked batsman and bowler in third and 13th positions respectively.
'This WC will heavily rely on openers as they have to set the tone'
Pakistan's Rahat Ali removed England's top three batsmen as the first Test at Lord's hurtled towards an exciting climax on Sunday's fourth day. At lunch, England were 90 for three in their second innings, needing a further 193 runs to reach their victory target of 283. James Vince was a Test-best 41 not out and the recalled Gary Ballance 15 not out after Rahat had taken three wickets for 36 runs in eight overs. England captain Alastair Cook launched the chase with a four off the very first ball of the innings when he cut a loose Mohammad Amir delivery to the boundary.
Ahmed Shehzad smashed 95 off 90 balls as Pakistan thrashed below-par Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the fourth one-day match in Colombo on Wednesday to clinch the five-match series.
Bangladesh outplayed Pakistan by 79 runs in the first one-day international in Dhaka on Friday, in only their second win over their rivals in 48 games across all three formats.
So it was surprising when a young Team India, led by Dhoni, made it to the final of the inaugural 2007 T20 Championships in South Africa. They met arch-rivals Pakistan in that thrilling, summit clash.
An unbeaten 136 from Mohammad Hafeez laid the platform for Pakistan as they beat Zimbabwe by 90 runs in the second one-day international in Harare on Thursday.
India have won all their six games against Pakistan in the World Cup.
The International Cricket Council might have confirmed that the tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir can return to cricket after the expire of their bans, but a divided house seems to have emerged in Pakistani cricket.
Following the hard-earned four-wicket victory against West Indies on Friday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni became India's most successful captain in One-Day Internationals played away from home.
Legendary cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Ian Chappell tipped India as favourites in their much anticipated World Cup clash against Pakistan.
Shikhar Dhawan continued his blazing form as he lead Sunrisers Hyderabad to the main round of the Champions League T20 after a crushing seven-wicket victory over Pakistan's Faisalabad Wolves by seven wickets in their second qualifying round match.
India will launch their World Cup title defence against traditional rivals Pakistan in Adelaide on February 15 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side is capable of adapting and performing in any condition.
The ICC hailed the 11th cricket World Cup the 'most popular ever.'
Off the field the Board of Control for Cricket in India looks set for a complete overhaul with Supreme Court's stinging observations tightening the noose around the mandarins of the richest sports body.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara eye top 10 places while Ravindra Jadeja jumps to career-best third position among Test all-rounders.
India-Pak face-off saw brands pay up to Rs 20 lakh in last-minute spot buying.
Australia has built an artificial pitch at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane to help its batsmen deal with spin-bowling on the slow tracks of the subcontinent, where they have so often struggled in the past.
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