Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja's maiden 10-wicket match haul against England in Chennai has propelled him to second position behind teammate and India's star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the ICC Test bowler rankings released on Wednesday.
Australia knocked Pakistan out of the ICC World Twenty20 with a convincing 21-run victory, setting up a virtual quarter-final against hosts India to be played in Mohali on Sunday.
In the end, one of the most eagerly awaited matches of the tournament proved a damp squib as India utterly dominated every aspect of a stop-start, rain-interrupted 124-run victory.
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur says his team is calm ahead of the big match against arch-rivals India and says he will field a wicket-taking attack on Sunday
Check out their glamorous outings.
'On paper he's not the captain. On the ground he's the captain for Virat I think'
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players at World Cup 2019.
Pakistan's Yasir Shah claimed seven second innings wickets in a spectacular display of leg-spin bowling to destroy Sri Lanka.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney, on Friday.
Captain Steve Smith raised a composed century to push Australia to a 22-run first innings lead in the second Test against Pakistan but the home side's hopes of pushing their advantage were washed away by rain on day four on Thursday.
It has traditionally been a battle between India's batting and Pakistan's bowling whenever the arch-rivals have met on a cricket field and Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi reckons the trend will continue in their World Twenty20 contest on Saturday. The Pakistan captain is looking to bank on his team's winning record against India the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Pakistan have defeated India in all four matches that have played at the Eden Gardens. "We have good memories of the ground," Afridi said. "We have played well at this ground, we know the conditions and the pitch suits us as well." Pakistan were the last team to land in India, putting aside safety concerns that led to the switching of their match against India from Dharamsala to Kolkata's Eden Gardens.
Jolted by the shock loss to New Zealand in the opening game, India will be fighting a survival battle quite early in the tournament when they take on arch foes Pakistan in what is being seen as the marquee clash of the ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday. The hosts, who started clear title-favourites, were in for a blow in the first match itself when New Zealand's spinners bamboozled their famed batting line-up on a turning Nagpur track. As a result, the world No.1 side is staring at an early elimination should it lose to Pakistan in the high-voltage game at the Eden Gardens. As is the case with most India-Pakistan contests, this game too has been preceded by its share of drama. The match was originally scheduled to be held in Dharamsala but was shifted here after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed inability to provide security to the Pakistan team owing to protests by ex-servicemen and their families.
Pakistan's Yasir Shah claimed five wickets to put the breaks on England's scoring on Day 2 of the 1st Test at Lord's in London on Friday.
Pakistan's Mohammad Amir got a muted reception at Lord's on the second day of the first Test on Friday as he bowled for the first time in a test since being banned for spot-fixing.
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
Paceman Dale Steyn returned from a brief vacation to inspire South Africa and spinner Imran Tahir took four wickets as they throttled Pakistan's batsmen to win the third one-day international in Abu Dhabi by 68 runs on Wednesday.
England Test skipper Alastair Cook believes his batsmen are well-prepared to deal with Pakistan's fiery attack next month after getting plenty of practice in the middle against a weakened Sri Lanka side.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Languishing at the bottom of ICC ODI team ranking, Pakistan have set sight on direct qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup when they take on the in-form reigning world champions and number-one ranked Australia in a five-ODI series starting in Brisbane on Friday.
Australia broke Pakistan's dangerous third-wicket partnership to reduce the tourists to 177 for three, still 361 runs in arrears, at tea on a rain-disrupted third day of the third and final Test on Thursday. - Scorecard: Opener Azhar Ali was the batsman to fall for 71, leaving elder statesmen Younus Khan, who is inching towards his 34th Test century on 84 not out, and Misbah-ul-Haq, who has made 18, to resume for the extended final session.
Skipper Angelo Mathews and opener Kaushal Silva hit half-centuries to help Sri Lanka take a 166-run first innings lead against Pakistan and push for a series-levelling victory on day two of the second Test on Friday.
Kaushal Silva stayed on course for his second Test hundred after featuring in a century-plus stand with Kumar Sangakkara to help Sri Lanka to 178 for 3 on Day 2 of the first Test against Pakistan at Galle on Thursday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between Australia and Pakistan, in Brisbane, on Thursday.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Pakistan marked international cricket's return to the trouble-torn country with a five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first Twenty20 International at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.
He idolises Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a cricketer and Pakistani wicketkeeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed on Sunday said he would love to play the role of a finisher like the celebrated Indian skipper. "I follow him a lot. The way he's making a difference with wicket-keeping and batting, I try to learn a lot from him. He's a very good cricketer for India, and I idolise him. Hope I too will be able to finish the match like him," Sarfraz said in an Open Media Session. Having impressed both with the bat and as a wicketkeeper, Sarfraz wants to be an utility player like the star Indian skipper. "It's great to be here. About my batting order, I play according to my team's need, be it up or lower down the order. I've been doing well," said the Pakistani U-19 World Cup winning skipper. However, Sarfraz rued their forgettable outing at Asia Cup but said they've plugged the loopholes and hoped to make an impact in the World Twenty20. "The condition was difficult in Bangladesh. Every team faced the situation in initial six overs. We have sorted this out. The condition will be similar to Pakistan here. Hope we will do well here," he said.
A 27-member Pakistan cricket contingent left for India to take part in the Twenty20 World Cup, finally ending days of uncertainty over their participation in the mega event. The team will be reaching Kolkata via Abu Dhabi. The Pakistan squad including 15 players, 12 officials and support staff reached the Allama Iqbal international airport amidst tight security and boarded a flight hours after the Pakistan government finally gave the PCB the green signal to fly to India to take part in the ICC event. Due to a long stay in Abu Dhabi the squad will reach Kolkata later this evening. Head coach Waqar Younis, before departing for India, left a message on his Twitter account calling for unity in the team. "Come on together we can do it," he tweeted a message aimed at motivating the players. He told the media that though the departure of the team for India had been hit by uncertainty and security issues, the focus of the players now would only be on cricket and doing well in the world event.
Pakistan champions Lahore Lions registered their first win in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 main draw as they outplayed Dolphins of South Africa by 16 runs in Bangalore to keep their hopes of booking a semi-final spot alive.
Riding high on a comfortable win over Dolphins in their last encounter, Chennai Super Kings will look to keep the momentum going when they lock horns with Lahore Lions in the Champions League T20.
The NIA had also not opposed her bail application.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir led from the front with a confident half-century after Sunil Narine stifled Lahore Lions with his magical spin bowling as Kolkata Knight Riders eked out a four-wicket win in a Champions League Twenty20 Group A match in Hyderabad.
Rising star Babar Azam hit his third successive hundred to anchor Pakistan's 3-0 clean-sweep of the West Indies with a comfortable 136-run win in the third and final one-dayer on Wednesday. Azam smashed a 106-ball 117 while skipper Azah Ali returned to form with a 109-ball 101 as Pakistan compiled 308-6 before restricting West Indies to 172 in 44 overs on a flat Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch.
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup
The Indian pace attack has been talked up of late and to be fair, they have done a decent job in South Africa.
Babar Azam hit his maiden century while spinner Mohammad Nawaz grabbed four wickets as Pakistan thrashed the West Indies by 111 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in the first day-night international on Friday. Azam's rapid-fire 139-ball 120 helped Pakistan post a challenging 284-9 in a match reduced to 49 overs a side due to a 70-minute floodlight failure at Sharjah Stadium in the UAE. West Indies -- set 287 to win -- never got close and folded at 175 in 38.4 overs.
Photos of the third quarter-final match between Australia and Pakistan being played at the Adelaide Oval on Friday
Sri Lanka off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal scythed through Pakistan's batting order to pick up his first five-wicket haul as the visitors were bundled out for 138 on the opening day of the second test on Thursday.
Joe Root went serenely past 150 as England moved on to 427 for five at lunch on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Manchester on Saturday.
The Pakistan men's cricket team arrived in Kolkata on Saturday evening for the ICC World Twenty20 after high drama over the last few days.
