Australia have named a trio of unproven all-rounders in their Test squad for the tour of India and thrown a life-line to discarded spinner Xavier Doherty as they scramble to find a winning combination ahead of back-to-back Ashes campaigns.
Phil Hughes returned to form with a century before Xavier Doherty and Moises Henriques took three wickets each to lead Australia to a series-levelling 32-run win over Sri Lanka in the final one-day cricket international on Wednesday.
All-rounder Cartwright gets call-up, recovering Starc still sidelined
Shane Watson claimed a hat-trick as Rajasthan Royals restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to a 134 for 9 in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Thursday. However, his effort was in vain as Hyderabad came back with a vengeance to dismiss the former champions for 102 and win by 32 runs for only their third victory this season.
Delhi Daredevils will be aiming to display more impact in their batting department as they face a formidable challenge from defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL encounter, in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
Brazilian football resumed after a three-month hiatus on Thursday night, with Flamengo beating Bangu 3-0 at an empty Maracana stadium in the first game of the restarted Rio de Janeiro state championship.
India would eye nothing less than a clean sweep when they take on an Australian side significantly weakened by injury blows, in the third and final T20 International, in Sydney, on Tuesday.
A series win will be an ideal confidence booster for India before the visitors hit Test match mode.
Team India possess a much more balanced squad in the shortest format.
India's vacant cupboard of all-rounders will give Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri numerous points to ponder.
Chasing a revised target of 235 from 33 overs following two rain interruptions, Australia were struggling at 53 for three in nine overs when the heavens opened up for the third time in the day, forcing the onfield umpires to abandon the game as both the sides split points.
Manoj Tiwary staked his claim for a maiden call-up to the Test squad with a timely century before Australia's spinners bowled out India A for 451 on the second day of the warm-up match in Chennai on Sunday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim to stop a rampaging Rising Pune Supergiant when both teams meet in the Indian Premier League, on Saturday, in a bid to cement their place in the play-offs.
Delhi Daredevils produced an all-round effort and defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to jump to the third spot in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
The fact that some of the records in the ongoing IPL are held by KKR players reflects the red-hot form of the team.
Swimming's governing body FINA has insisted athletes are responsible for monitoring their own dietary supplements as it prepares to appeal a decision by Brazil not to sanction four swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance.
Brazil could field Ronaldinho, Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso, a key trio in their 2014 World Cup ambitions, when they meet Bosnia in a friendly in Switzerland on February 28.
Unbeaten in all the three games they have played so far in the tournament, Gujarat Lions would look to continue with their impressive winning run when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Rajkot on Thursday. The Lions have been in red-hot form in their debut season with convincing wins in all the three games and they would seek to maintain a clean slate tomorrow at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The home side will also be bolstered by the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who did not play in the Lion's seven-wicket thrashing of defending champions Mumbai Indians in Mumbai due to his wedding.
There will certainly be some distinct home advantage for Australia along with the experience of playing more Day/Night Tests.
Shikhar Dhawan struck an unbeaten 47 after a clinical display by his bowling team-mates as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Gujarat Lions by five wickets in their IPL match.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list the Most Valuable Players during the India-Australia ODI series.
We will find a way to send back foreign players, says IPL chairman Brijesh Patel.
Substitute Fred struck in a last-minute equaliser to give holders Brazil a 2-2 draw with Paraguay before unfancied Venezuela upset Ecuador 1-0 to go top of Group B at the Copa America on Saturday.
Statistical highlights of Tuesday's Champions League Twenty20 match between New South Wales and Chennai Super Kings, in Chennai.
New South Wales made a sensational fightback by smashing 16 runs in the final over before defeating Trinidad and Tobago via the Super Over Eliminator in a dramatic Champions League Twenty20 match in Chennai on Wednesday.
Brazil coach Mano Menezes has named injured pair Paulo Henrique Ganso and Alexandre Pato in his 22-man squad for the Copa America.
Calls by India and Brazil for appreciation of Chinese currency smacks of protectionism borne out of concerns over growing trade imbalances with China rather than the two countries backing US demand for Yuan revaluation, Chinese analysts said.
While multiple-time world champions and Champions Trophy winners Australia are always a tough nut to crack, New Zealand will enter the game at Edgbaston with renewed confidence after their six-wicket warm-up win over Sri Lanka at the same venue.
New Brazil coach Mano Menezes made wholesale changes with only four survivors from the World Cup when he named his squad on Monday for next month's friendly against the United States.
'If you had have told me then (he would captain Australia), I certainly wouldn't have believed you, but this game moves fast and sometimes things happen that are quite unexpected and that's exactly what's happened in this scenario.'
Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will start favourites when they take on the struggling-for-survival Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League match, in Mohali, on Thursday.
Images from the Indian Premier League 10 match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils on Wednesday
Brazil coach Dunga is coming under increasing pressure to include Santos youngsters Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso in his World Cup squad after the pair's electrifying performances for Santos this season. With Brazil heavily dependent on out-of-form Kaka for creativity, many feel the pair should be given a chance by Dunga after scoring 10 goals apiece in helping Santos top the Paulista championship.
Left chasing shadows in the first two games, a listless Indian team would most certainly tweak its bowling combination in order to avoid a second successive clean-sweep when it takes on Australia in the third and final ODI, in Canberra, on Wednesday.
India captain Virat Kohli lamented that his team was simply not good enough with the bat in the second T20 International against Australia, which the home team lost by eight wickets, in Guwahati, on Tuesday.
India failed to defend their title in the Twenty20 leg of the Emerging Players Tournament, suffering a 29-run defeat to the Australian Institute of Sports in the final at Brisbane on Thursday.
Australia suffered a huge blow ahead of Wednesday's second one-dayer against India as fast bowlers Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson as well as all-rounder James Hopes were ruled out of the match due to injuries.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers put up an incredible performance to ruin Virat Kohli's fairytale season beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs in a high-octane summit clash walking away with their maiden Indian Premier League trophy, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Forward Adriano and former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho were left out of Brazil's World Cup squad on Tuesday.
Former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho will learn on Tuesday whether or not his impressive season with AC Milan will be enough to earn him a place at his third World Cup.
