After the first 43 matches of IPL's second season, Matthew Hayden already looks poised to become this year's most valuable player, especially because Chennai Super Kings seem quite certain of entering the semi-finals. Only an injury can halt Hayden's successful march.
AB de Villiers became the first Delhi batsman and seventh overall to register a hundred in the IPL. He joined Adam Gilchrist, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shaun Marsh, Brendon McCullum, Andrew Symonds and Michael Hussey. His outstanding innings -- unbeaten 105 off 54 balls -- is also his first hundred in Twenty20.
A few youngsters have played vital roles in their team's victories in the ongoing T20 league. Harish Kotian picks the most impressive.
Pune Warriors pacer Ashish Nehra has blamed the fielding lapses and not playing the full quota of 20 overs for his team's seven-wicket loss to Kings XI Punjab in their IPL match at the PCA stadium, in Mohali, on Thursday night.
Dinesh Karthik smashed a quickfire 69 as Kings XI Punjab overcame initial and middle over stutter to thump Kochi Tuskers Kerala by six wickets and keep themselves in contention for a play-off berth in the Indian Premier League in Indore on Friday.
Glenn Maxwell took the India A bowlers to the cleaners yet again, smashing a quickfire half-century, to help Australia A win by 25 runs and storm into the final of the A teams tri-series in Pretoria, on Sunday.
Images from the second and final Twenty20 International between India and Australia in Melbourne, on Friday.
Images from Day 4 of the 5th and final Ashes Test between Australia and England at the SCG in Sydney on Sunday
Australia bundled India out for 191 on the opening day of the second Test Tuesday, before coming through a top order crisis of their own to finish a frenetic day on 116 for three, 75 runs behind.
The legendary Indian cricketer was the Man of the ODI series, but the Most Valuable Player title went to an unlikely Aussie, point out Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
Explosive opening batsman David Warner is set to earn his first Test cap after he was named in the Australia squad, on Saturday, to face New Zealand in the first Test starting at the Gabba in Brisbane, on Thursday.
Ricky Ponting scored a classy half-century as Australia humbled South Africa by 93 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method in the first One-day International on Wednesday.
Batting first, West Indies scored 229 in 49.2 overs after being reduced to 104 for 6 at one stage.
Xavier Doherty and Brett Lee shared eight wickets as Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the fourth One-day International to secure an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Four new players were awarded contracts and test opener Chris Rogers has been dropped from Cricket Australia's list of contracted players for next season. David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Doug Bollinger and Beau Casson were included on the 25-man list for the first time, while Simon Katich and Ashley Noffke were offered new contracts after failing to make the cut last season.
Kane Richardson will take his place in the 15-man squad for the tour, which starts with two Twenty20 matches later this month and is being used a warm-up for their World Cup title defence in England.
Australia have omitted Cameron White from their one-day squad for next month's tour of Sri Lanka but retained the 27-year-old batsman as captain of their Twenty20 side.
With more than half the tournament over, rediff.com analyses the performances of some of the top 'lefties' in the IPL who happen to be very much on the right track.
With 23 wickets at 19.43 runs apiece, Shane Warne has surpassed Sohail Tanvir's tally of 22 at an average of 12.09. Warne is now the leading wicket-taker in the IPL.
# Gayle and Badrinath are the only two batsmen to have recorded five innings of fifty-plus in the present competition.
One of the front-runners to win the Orange Cap this IPL season, Kings XI Punjab's opener Paul Valthaty said getting a compliment from his idol Sachin Tendulkar was the biggest achievement for him.
Kings XI Punjab produced a clinical all-round performance to score a comprehensive 29-run win over bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils to keep their play-off hopes alive in the Indian Premier League in Dharamsala.
Statistical highlights of the Indian Premier League match between Kings XI Punjab and Pune Warriors.
Images from the fourth day's play of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Monday.
Adam Gilchrist is the first batsman from Deccan Chargers to reach 500-run mark in the IPL -- 520 at an average of 34.66 in 16 games, including one century and four fifties.
Michael Clarke retained the captaincy of Australia's Twenty20 squad, while fit-again batsman Shaun Marsh returned to their one-day fold for a tour of The British Isles starting June 17.
Tennis legend Serena Williams spent her first Christmas with her 3-month-old daughter, Alexis Olympia.
Images from the fourth One-Day International between India and Australia at Mohali on Monday.
Melbourne will host the traditional Boxing Day Test before the final match is played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3.
Australia coach Justin Langer compared Virat Kohli with Sachin Tendulkar and said the Indian captain's balance while playing 360 degree shots in all formats of the game is 'unbelievable'.
Watson guides Australia to crushing win over Windies Shane Watson notched his maiden international century as Australia crushed the West Indies by seven wickets in the third one-day international at Grenada's National Stadium. The win provided Australia with an unassailable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five limited overs series.
'It was really challenging to score off both the quicks and the spinners. It was just a grind'
'I'm doing my best to make the number six spot my own, that's all I can do.'
A new look Australian bowling attack stifled South Africa's in-form batsmen as the hosts eked out a thrilling five-run win in the second ODI to level the five-match cricket series 1-1 in Hobart on Sunday.
Australia beat Bangladesh by 73 runs on Saturday to complete a 3-0 sweep of their limited-overs series in Darwin. The Australians posted a modest total of 198 for five from their 50 overs but sealed a comfortable victory by bowling out the visitors for 125 in the 30th over.
Australia beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the second ODI to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match series.
Xavier Marshall hit a sparkling 36 in 15 balls as West Indies beat Australia in a reduced Twenty20 International on Friday. West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo came in and made 28 in 15 balls including a six to win the match with 11 balls remaining.
Kings XI Punjab scored their fifth win in a row when they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.
India gave wings to their ferocious ambition of winning a maiden series Down Under, beating Australia by 31 runs in the opening Test with an irresistible fusion of self-belief, hunger and talent in Adelaide.
The Zimbabwe coach accepted an invitation to play for the Australian Cricket Board Chairman's XI in the tour opener in Perth on October 1.
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