Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look to assert their supremacy, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will have revenge on mind when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator in New Delhi on Wednesday. Both Sunrisers and KKR finished their league engagements on 16 points each but the Gautam Gambhir-led side ended fourth behind Sunrisers due to inferior net run rate. But going into the do-or-die game, KKR have psychological advantage over the Sunrisers having beaten them on both the occasions during the league stage. KKR thrashed Sunrisres by eight wickets in their first meeting this season and came out victorious by 22 runs in a must-win match last Sunday to qualify for the play-offs.
Australia replaced injured batsman Shaun Marsh with Phillip Hughes on Thursday while clearing fit-again paceman Jackson Bird to join the team in South Africa for the three-Test series starting on February 12.
Australia replaced injured batsman Shaun Marsh with Phillip Hughes on Thursday while clearing fit-again paceman Jackson Bird to join the team in South Africa for the three-Test series starting on February 12.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty for the third Champions League game in a row with the Spaniards maintaining their winning start to the group stage.
Scroll down to see the list of other awardees and cricketers who glamed up the night in their sartorial best.
India and Australia play their opening T20 match In Ranchi on Saturday. And, although the visitors have added fresh faces to their squad for the three-match series, India are clearly the dominant side in this match-up.
The result also means second-placed Real Sociedad can reclaim top spot if they beat Eibar on Sunday.
The defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad did not hurt them since they have already qualified for the Indian Premier League Play-offs but for Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma the defeat is 'an eye-opener'.
The R Ashwin-led Kings XI slipped to the fifth spot after suffering back-to-back losses against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. Overall, the hosts have registered four wins from eight matches this season.
Following the horrific collision during a Twenty20 match left two Surrey fielders injured, Rediff.com looks at the bizarre world of sports that can sometimes present unique oddities.
Iain Hume struck from a spot-kick after some Debjit Majumder heroics under the bar as a 10-man Atletico de Kolkata secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Delhi Dynamos.
All praise for both his batsmen and bowlers, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner said the side has achieved balance midway into the tournament and would look to continue being consistent in the coming matches.
Karun Nair kept Delhi Daredevils' slender hopes of qualifying for the play-offs alive with a 59-ball unbeaten 83 that guided them to a six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Friday's Indian Premier League match, at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh stadium in Raipur, that went down to the wire.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann wants one-day international matches to continue as long as conditions are safe.
On a roll after three consecutive wins, a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad will start as overwhelming favourites against struggling Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Tuesday.
Media attention has focused on whether their most prized asset Neymar will eventually make a sensational move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Sri Lanka set Australia a stiff 268-run victory target before claiming three wickets in a truncated afternoon session to take the upper hand on the penultimate day of the first Test in Pallekele on Friday.
Canadian striker Iain Hume proved his worth once again as he scored a last minute goal to help Atletico de Kolkata hold NorthEast United FC to a 1-1 draw in the Indian Super League match, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
All-rounder Marcus Stoinis was called up for Australia's two remaining Tests in India on the strength of his bowling and previous performances in the region, interim chief selector Trevor Hohns said on Thursday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's mentor VVS Laxman has said that opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan's form is not a matter of concern for the team and added that domestic players need to score runs.
Brazil forward Neymar was taken to hospital after being injured in the closing stages of the 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over Colombia on Friday that kept the hosts on course for a sixth title.
Brazil scored an unconvincing 2-1 victory over Colombia to enter the semi-finals of the World Cup on Friday night. They will meet Germany.
David Warner played a captain's knock, smashing an unbeaten 90 runs off 59 balls to power the Sunrisers Hyderabad to a 7-wicket convincing victory against defending champions Mumbai Indians on Monday. Chasing a modest 143-run target, the Sunrisers chased the target with 15 balls to spare in Hyderabad. The Sunrisers have recorded their first points in the points table of IPL 9, while MI have now lost three out of their last four games.
Desperate to break their title jinx, Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar feels the dismissal of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in Jason Behrendorff's first over of the innings tilted the scales Australia's way in the second Twenty20 International in Guwahati on Tuesday.
Skipper Virat Kohli played a handy cameo after yet another impressive show by the bowling unit as India comfortably beat Australia by nine wickets in a rain-curtailed opening T20 International, in Ranchi, on Saturday.
Founded in 1992, Qarabag's Imarat Stadium is reduced to rubble and they play their home games 440km away in the capital Baku.
Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Eoin Morgan said absence of paceman Ashish Nehra hurt them badly as they suffered a narrow defeat against Delhi Daredevils.
Captain Ravichandran Ashwin's superb all-round showing helped Kings XI Punjab outclass Rajasthan Royals by 12 runs, in the IPL match, in Mohali on Tuesda
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner feels the key to winning matches in Twenty20 cricket, especially in the Indian Premier League, is one good partnership at the top.
Back to their winning ways after sucessive victories, a rejuvenated Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to continue their good run when they take on laggards Kings XI Punjab in an IPL T20 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on Saturday.
Eyeing their first win of the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad would be looking to put up an improved show in their home ground where they lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders, who would also be keen to get back to winning ways in the Indian Premier League.
Notwithstanding Rising Pune Supergiants' poor run in IPL-9, Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman considers the debutante side as a formidable unit and said his team will have to put its best foot forward when they clash with them in their IPL match on Tuesday. "It goes without saying that (RPS Captain M S Dhoni) Dhoni will be looking forward to use Ashwin against Warner and Shikhar. I believe that Pune has got a very formidable batting line up," Laxman said in a pre-match press conference at Hyderabad. "Lot of people talk about Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, Faf Duplessis being similar. They are all extrordinary T20 players. We cannot at all be complecent or we cannot at all underestimate the batting strength of Pune. We are very mindful," he added. The former Test batsman, however, exuded confidence that SRH can take on any opposition if it sticks to its plans and executes them well. "But, I believe that if we concentrate on our plans and try to execute our plans, then we can do well against any opposition. It's more about concentrating and playing to our strength, while strategizing for each and every opposition batsman or bowler," he said. Noting that the MS Dhoni-led Pune team would look to bounce back strongly, Laxman said no team can be ruled out as it is still the early part of the long IPL tournament.
Sri Lanka beat Australia by 163 runs in the final test in Colombo on Wednesday to complete a 3-0 sweep in the three-match series. Chasing 324 for victory, Australia were all out for 160 half-an-hour before the tea break, succumbing to their third successive defeat against the hosts.
The race to find the continent's fastest woman saw Asher-Smith end the 100m reign of Dutchwoman Daphne Schippers in brilliant style, clocking 10.85, equalling the world's fastest time this year and setting a British record.
Dhananjaya de Silva hit a maiden century and combined with Dinesh Chandimal to resurrect Sri Lanka's innings after a poor start against Australia on the opening day of the third and final Test on Saturday.
As someone with nostalgia for the good cheer and friendly feelings of Brazilian people, former Ambassador to Brazil B S Prakash can only hope that when they see on their TV screens their President being feted on Rajpath, they will sense India's goodwill for Brazil.
Australia will be desperately hoping to play a full game under clear skies when they face arch-rivals England in their must-win Champions Trophy clash in Birmingham on Saturday.
After back-to-back losses against Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers eked out a seven-wicket win over table-toppers Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad and David Warner's men need another inspiring show.
He has made rapid strides in limited overs cricket over the past couple of months but for Kuldeep Yadav, the ultimate challenge is to bowl long spells consistently in the Test format.