Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders take on Rajasthan Royals at the Brabourne stadium, in Mumbai, on Saturday, in a perform-or-perish contest, as the race for play-off berths in IPL 8 hots up.
India captain KL Rahul admitted that his team was made to really work hard by Bangladesh to register a comprehensive 188-run win in the first Test of the two-match series in Chattogram on Sunday.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, in Sharjah, on Thursday.
Soumya Sarkar's maiden century helped Bangladesh secure a 3-0 one-day series sweep against Pakistan after an eight-wicket win in the third and final match on Wednesday.
A 3-0 result against hosts Bangladesh in the three match ODI series will not be enough for second-placed India to claim the number one spot in the ICC rankings.
India may have slipped to fourth in the Test rankings following the drawn Test in Fatullah, but its openers, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, achieved career-best rankings for batsmen.
Formed in 2013, Sunrisers Hyderabad have been one of the most consistent performers, having won the tournament in 2016 and finishing as runners up last year.
Mominul Haque struck a patient 80 before falling to the final delivery of the day as Bangladesh capitalised on poor Pakistan fielding to reach 236 for four on the opening day of the first Test in Khulna on Tuesday.
Pakistan will join India, England and New Zealand in the semi-finals
South Africa will be hoping to ease new coach Ottis Gibson into his job in a two-Test series against Bangladesh where the home side defend a one-sided record against their opponents but are light on fast bowlers and still tinkering with their top order.
In the batsmen's rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara is the top-ranked Indian at the fourth position while opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed 21 places to be ranked 39th.
There is no change in the top three of the all-rounders' table which is headed by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.
Opener Kaushal Silva lived a charmed life on his way to a maiden Test century as Sri Lanka put Bangladesh to the sword with a big first-innings total in the opening Test in Dhaka on Tuesday. At the close of play on the second day, Sri Lanka were 375 for five, a lead of 143 runs.
He is new to captaincy but Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque is confident that the added responsibility will not affect his batting, which will be crucial to his team's chances of upstaging an accomplished India in the Test series, starting in Indore on Thursday.
No other spinner headed into the World Cup with a burden of expectation heavier than the one on Rashid Khan's shoulders. But seven matches into the tournament and the poster boy of Afghan cricket is buckling under the weight.
- Bangladesh's muted celebrations after humbling India in Sunday's Twenty20 series opener did not quite reflect the sense of relief they were feeling but Mushfiqur Rahim says the side are smiling again after enduring a tumultuous few weeks.
New Zealand held their nerve under the floodlights to beat Bangladesh by two wickets in a dramatic low-scoring Cricket World Cup match at The Oval on Wednesday.
Opener Tamim Iqbal led Bangladesh's fightback with a dogged 78 after the hosts had got off to a wobbly start in reply to England's first innings 293 on the second day of the opening Test on Friday.
Pakistan pulled off a thrilling three-wicket victory over hosts Bangladesh to storm into the finals of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, knocking India out of the title race.
Kohli and Sharma were sitting pretty with 857 and 825 points respectively in the batting list
Gujarat Lions would look to better their debut season's success and aim for a winning start against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match, in Rajkot on Friday.
Virat Kohli's men lock horns with a fairly inexperienced Bangladesh at the Holkar Stadium and it could be a stroll in the park for the hosts.
Sunil Joshi has applied for the national team bowling coach's job
Robin Uthappa was elegance personified during his 52-ball 80 as he powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in Cuttack on Wednesday.
India captain KL Rahul said he trusted his batting unit to do the job for the side despite losing seven wickets while chasing a modest 145 on day four of the second and final Test against Bangladesh.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after 33 World Cup 2023 games.
Ajinkya Rahane paced his innings to perfection in the company of comeback man Robin Uthappa, as India cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a rain-truncated first One-Day International in Mirpur, on Sunday. Chasing a target of 273 in 50 overs, India were cruising at 100 for one in 16.4 overs when the heavens opened up, leading to play being stopped for nearly two hours.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between Bangladesh and India, at Chattogram, on Thursday
Skipper Kane Williamson hailed the fighting spirit of Sunrisers Hyderabad while praising star Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan's all-round brilliance which earned them a 14-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League and a place in Sunday's final.
Smith's player of the match effort of 211 and 82 runs in the two innings has lifted him to 937 rating points, only 10 less than his all-time best aggregate achieved in December 2017.
Labuschagne has regained the No. 1 position after Root overtook him in mid-June with successive centuries against New Zealand.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai on Tuesday
Irfan Pathan has heaped praise on the bowling attack of Sunrisers Hyderabad saying they have performed well even without their pace spearhead Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.
Defending champions Gujarat Titans will be eyeing a hat-trick of victories, while Kolkata Knight Riders, fresh from their decimation of Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be keen to show that win was not a flash in the pan when the two sides clash in the IPL in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Former wicketkeeper Brad Haddin says Australia missed the experience and skills of senior spinner Nathan Lyon during their unsuccessful World T20 campaign in India. Lyon was kept out in favour of young spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, while allrounder Glenn Maxwell also chipped in with his part-timers. Rookie leg-spinner Zampa was a revelation for the Aussies, claiming five wickets in four matches in the tournament. But Australia's other spin options were used sparingly throughout the tournament; Agar bowled just one over in his only match against New Zealand, which went for 18, while Maxwell sent down eight overs in four matches, taking two wickets and conceding 7.6 runs an over. Australia suffered defeats to New Zealand and hosts India to be knocked out in the group stage and on wickets the supported spin bowling, Haddin says Lyon was sorely missed.
India's Ravichandran Ashwin has jumped to the number one position in the ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders by virtue of his stellar show in the recently-concluded first Test against the West Indies at Kolkata.
Ajinkya Rahane cracked a superb half-century to power Rising Pune Supergiants to a competitive 160-5 against Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday.
The board has formulated new sports guidelines for schools mandating them to have a daily sports period for class 9 to 12 so as to prevent students from having a sedentary lifestyle and turning into couch potatoes.
Even though West Indies stars such as Chris Gayle and Andre Russell were not part of that series, Jason Holder's team still must be smarting from those three consecutive losses last month.
Sunrisers Hyderabad held their nerves to edge past Mumbai Indians by one wicket off the last ball of the match in a thrilling Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Thursday.
