The Indian team may have been struggling off late in the One-dayers, but ask former India coach John Wright, and he would tell you that starting the World Cup on a winning note will act as a confidence booster for the Men in Blue.
With Australia taking a 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series against India, the scales are titled highly in favour of the hosts. History also shows that the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been a happy hunting ground for the hosts. With the Boxing Day Test around the corner, here is a quick look at how the teams stand.
Officials will meet with the coach to discuss extending his contract beyond next September.
All-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who has failed to recover fully from a hernia operation, will be sent home from England's ill-fated tour of Australia, coach Duncan Fletcher said.
Unheralded New Zealand will have a tough job at hand when take on Turkey in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Group B opening match at the D Y Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
Five-time Olympian and poster boy of winter sports in India, Shiva Keshavan pulled out of the Luge World Championships in Germany and Luge World Cup circuit due to 'lack of funds'.
Secretary of the Indian cricket board, Anurag Thakur, on Saturday, sought to play down health issues of the Board of Control for Cricket in India president Jagmohan Dalmiya, stating that rumours of a communication gap between the duo is a figment of imagination.
Just a few days after the BCCI invited applications for the vacant post of India senior men's team head coach through its website, chief selector Sandeep Patil has thrown his hat into the ring for the high-profile job. "I have just applied (for the post)," Patil told PTI.
Former Australia pacer Brett Lee feels ex-India skipper Sourav Ganguly has a huge wealth of knowledge and would do a great job if he is appointed as India's head coach.
Shiva Keshavan has often been described as India's answer to Cool Runnings, befitting as it was the film of Jamaica's unlikely bobsleigh team which played a role in inspiring his own unique story.
The three will share the eight million Swedish kronor (around USD 933,000 or Rs 6.20 crore) prize equally.
Johnson, the former foreign secretary, secured 92,153 votes against 46,656 of his rival Jeremy Hunt in the battle for 10 Downing Street.
There's some amazing stuff beneath the water. For proof, look no further than the annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition.
Days after cricketing legend Ian Botham called for IPL to be scrapped, former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has now said it is not the T20 tournament but the Indian cricket board wielding enormous power that is detrimental to the game.
Under-fire Indian pacer Ishant Sharma whose sloppy bowling cost India the third One-Day International against Australia, worked overtime with bowling coach Joe Dawes on Monday even as his team mates took a day's break ahead of their fourth match in Ranchi.
Ravi Shastri, Indian cricket's man for all seasons, has returned to the spotlight by grabbing the much-coveted head coach's job.
India's Cricket Board has finalised a short three-match ODI series in Bangladesh next month before the Indian team embarks on its lengthy tour of England lasting for over two months.
Wriddhiman does acknowledge that he didn't score too many runs despite getting starts (25 and 35) in the first innings of both the Test matches Down Under.
This is probably the first time a Hindu priest has been called for services at the national prayer service of the presidential inauguration.
Following is a list of winners of the Sportsperson of the Year award by Sports Illustrated magazine.
Out of the 745 gardens in Assam, which accounts for over 55 per cent of total tea production, an alert has been sounded for 88 gardens, while for West Bengal, out of the 377 gardens, 65 have been cautioned.
Former Australia Test batsman Justin Langer ruled himself out of the running for the India and England coaching jobs.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar said the episode would send out the wrong message as the Board of Control for Cricket in India sets about finding Anil Kumble's successor.
May will now go head to head with Leadsom in an all-woman contest.
With a saffron-coloured cloth covering his head, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday offered prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where he was presented with a traditional robe of honour. The Punjab leg of Trudeau's visit comes after he mingled with Bollywood stars in Mumbai and a visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and a trip to Taj Mahal in Agra. Here are glimpses from Day 4 of the Trudeau India visit.
Australia set a world record of 7:41.50 en route to winning the gold medal in the women's 4x200 freestyle relay at the world championships on Thursday.
Christian Benteke condemned struggling Sunderland to a 1-0 defeat and sent Liverpool level on points with sixth-placed Manchester United in the last Premier League game of the year on Wednesday.
Young Indian golfer Aditi Ashok notched up her second successive top-10 finish by finishing tied-sixth at the Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic, in Texas.
India may be way behind Australia in the Test rankings, but the World Cup holders are just 0.2 points behind the top-of-the-table Kangaroos in the ODI rankings. According to the latest ICC rankings, Australia and India are on 117 rating points and the scores will only be settled in the upcoming tri-series involving the two teams and England, starting January 18 next year.
Suresh Raina said he would have been left devastated had India failed to draw the fourth and final Test against Australia in Sydney following his failures with the bat in both innings.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice to earn Belgium a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League on Friday, lifting the mood in the country after a week marred by match-fixing allegations.
As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
In Pep Guardiola's 100th match in charge of the Manchester club, captain De Bruyne led from the front as City outclassed the Gunners, who have now suffered six home games without a win. Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday.
His challenge now may be coping with Alibaba's undoubted status as a whale in the world of e-commerce.
Former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri has been appointed interim coach of India's cricket team for the tour of Bangladesh. The team will play one Test and three One-day Internationals on the tour, which kicks-off with the Test, from June 10 to 14.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India rubbished a report on a website that it is planning to appoint an Indian assistant coach in place of bowling coach Joe Dawes, whose contract is unlikely to be extended in the wake of a consistent poor show by the bowlers.
The trio, according to sources, will provide input to BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur, who were on Sunday entrusted with the job of finding the new coach at the Board of Control for Cricket in India's Working Committee meeting in Kolkata.
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