South Africa's Quinton de Kock was probably already feeling the most pressure of his fledgling international career before captain AB de Villiers dumped even more of it on his shoulders.
Both teams will hope to banish some unwanted baggage that has dogged them for years.
West Indies cricket team's young captain Jason Holder said that he has picked up subtle nuances of leadership from Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
'It's definitely a sense of sadness, a sense of disappointment. Sad in a way that I'm leaving my teammates, leaving my home country for a number of years'
Ms Usha may soon discover that winning four gold medals at the Asian Games and qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics is a walk in the park compared with the challenges of stabilising governance at the IOA, observes Kanika Datta.
David Miller and J P Duminy scored centuries as South Africa overcame a real challenge from Zimbabwe to record a 62-run victory in their opening World Cup Pool B game in Hamilton on Sunday.
Cricket fans are questioning whether a Gayle will strike Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday.
Rediff.com presents India's top impact players in 2017.
Refusing to rate his match-winning ton against Bangladesh in the quarter-final, Indian top-order batsman Rohit Sharma has said the ongoing World Cup campaign is a very prestigious stage and he wants to make the most of it.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who set off a national debate when he walked the Bharat Jodo Yatra in a T-shirt in north India's cold winter, donned a pheran to ward off Kashmir's bone-freezing chill on Monday.
Her style choices are proof enough that black is the ultimate show-stealing colour.
'He is like a pillar and the whole team bats around him.' 'In today's world, everyone likes to play their strokes while Pujara is someone who will tire out the bowlers.' 'If you have one batsman who can play out the new ball or play out a spell from a good bowler, then it helps the whole team, it helps the other batsmen.'
There has always been a risk-taking edge to Imran Khan. Like him or hate him, it had to be someone like him to finally threaten to demolish the Pakistani establishment, explains Shekhar Gupta.
A long and bitter funding winter in the start-up world is beginning to take its toll on start-up advertising across properties. Earlier this week, Mastercard replaced Paytm as the title sponsor for all international and domestic cricket matches organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). But this is just one part of the story. The other side is that organisers of high-impact shows and events on Hindi general entertainment channels, too, are feeling the winter chill.
Rohit Sharma took his time joining the World Cup party but arrived in style on Thursday, rocking the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a match-winning century to sink Bangladesh and send reigning champions India charging into the semi-finals.
'We've played some excellent cricket for 80 percent of the time we've been here but that 20 percent is why we're not going to progress'
Now we do not know if the Board bugs the dressing room or employs Pegasus in players' phones. But nothing stopped them from speaking with Kohli, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the England team for its embarrassingly early exit from the World Cup, calling it an overrated side in not just cricket but football also.
During Sandeep Patil's four-year tenure as chief selector, India continued to be dominant at home in Tests but struggled to win an away series outside Asia, except for the West Indies, as it suffered series losses in England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Man Of The Match Shaheen Afridi stole the show on Sunday with his brilliant bowling against India. The Pakistani pacer sent back the in-form opening pair of K L Rahul and Rohit Sharma with unplayable balls to set the tone for Pakistan's imposing victory by 10 wickets.
The dry and flat surface could increase the chances of the defending World champions in the second semi-final against India.
She has something to say about women achievers. Do you agree?
'If you look at the past, between India and Australia, whether we played them over there or in Australia, you've seen a lot of runs and I think that will happen come game day' 'Both teams are exposed and I think if you don't have nerves, you have issues'
We give ourselves a 50-50 chance in the final, says McCullum.
'I only played it to repay the sacrifices and hard work that both my parents had put in to make me play the sport.' 'I feel proud of them that they fought against orthodox notions of society to help me take up a sport.'
'I have seen Bishan paaji get worked up when he felt the game was losing its character because of some individual.'
According to Sourav Ganguly, not facing Australian bowlers regularly has helped Dhawan and Team India.
Shikhar Dhawan's childhood coach Tarak Sinha tells Rediff.com's Manu Shankar, his ward's good form and consistent performances at the domestic level helped him score a ton on debut in Mohali on Saturday.
'You have got to allow yourself the opportunity to stop and smell the roses. Today is about enjoying that. Tomorrow we will turn our attention to the final' 'You have got a group of guys that did everything for each other'
'I feel more like an athlete.' 'So now, I'd like to experience the actor in me more.'
Memorable moments from Shane Warne's glittering career.
'I know how to play and how to score runs; it is just that I am waiting for the opportunity. Whenever it comes, I will grab it with both hands.'
Afridi has said that previous defeats in the cricket World Cup against India will not matter.
'I am particularly happy that an Indian has done such a superb job as the coach because people always talk about foreign coaches, but Shastri has dashed all those views.'
James Faulkner talks to Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about his time with Rajasthan Royals, his match-wining performance in the World Cup final against New Zealand and the Australia Test spot he's eyeing.
Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton enjoyed a game of cricket with Sachin Tendulkar.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum acclaimed opener Martin Guptill's World Cup record 237 not out against West Indies on Saturday as one of the best ever.
During the ICC Cricket World Cup that was played Down Under, last year, Mohammed Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers.
Quinton de Kock's return to form in South Africa's World Cup quarter-final rout of Sri Lanka was one of the most pleasing aspects of a convincing victory for the Proteas.
A hostile trio of Pakistan left-arm fast bowlers took full advantage of a pitch freshened by rain to hand pre-tournament favourites South Africa their second defeat in the ICC World Cup.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances