A rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson needs only one victim to become Australia's third-highest Test wicket-taker but will hope for a bigger haul at his home ground in Perth, where New Zealand will be fighting to keep the three-match series alive.
Josh Hazlewood will be Australia's third pace bowler in this week's first Test against New Zealand after Peter Siddle was named 12th man on Wednesday.
While India has had a smooth passage to the quarter-finals, Ravi Shastri's claims of India retaining their title seem a tad premature, if not far-fetched. Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com looks at the lighter side of things.
Rediff.com brings you the best quotes of World Cup 2015. From players and coaches to legends and fans; let's hear them out!
'If they were really serious (about conferring the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar) what were they doing for the last five years?' 'Why do they have to take so long?' 'Gandhi himself never got the Bharat Ratna so it does not really matter.'
Irish captain William Porterfield not getting pressured by the daring batting of De Villiers
Roger Federer registers his 1,000 ATP career win.
India's most successful Test captain also presided over a dismal away record with the team winning only two of 22 Tests on foreign soil since 2011.
Former Australian captain Allan Border is extremely critical of senior batsman Shane Watson's inconsistent performance and fears that time might just be running out for the 33-year-old all-rounder, rated as one of the best players of his time.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar rated India's bowling on the opening day of the third cricket Test against Australia as their best performance in the series so far but reminded that lack of quality bowling all-rounder could hurt the visitors again going into day two.
Matthew Hayden feels the tourists do not seem to believe that they can win away from home.
Statistical highlights on the opening day of the second Test between India and Australia in Brisbane.
'We hope the boys can find the inner strength to play the game in the way Phillip would have wanted in Adelaide' 'We left a bit of heart in Macksville yesterday'
She might be one of the most sought-after sportspersons in India but tennis ace Sania Mirza says "it's difficult to be a Sania Mirza in this country" due to the prevailing "gender inequality" and called for an urgent need to bring about a cultural change.
Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic gave Australia an unwanted reputation as a breeding ground for tennis brats during a tempestuous 2015 and the pair will be firmly under the spotlight in front of home crowds at Melbourne Park. With former world number one Lleyton Hewitt set to retire and the last of his two grand slam titles at the 2002 Wimbledon championships a distant memory, Australia has long yearned for a new force in men's tennis to challenge at the majors. Tomic, 23, and Kyrgios, 20, have both been tagged as the future of the sport in the country but the excitement generated by their undeniable talent gave way to dismay last season as the pair hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Rediff.com has chosen the highlights of Queen Elizabeth reign so far -- from her Coronation right up to the present day.
Tennis legend Chris Evert believes an inability to dominate on serve is preventing the current crop of female players from usurping Serena Williams at the top of the rankings with the American world number one using her main weapon to great effect.
Team India, despite all the hype and expectations, failed to beat Australia even once during the tour. On the contrary, the co-hosts, having already got the measure of their opponents in the Test matches and the tri-series, thrashed them in Sydney, abruptly ending the Men in Blue's World Cup defense. Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com looks at the lighter side of things.
Batting at No. 9, Wahab Riaz struck a quickfire half-century before he returned to claim four wickets with the ball to lift Pakistan to a narrow 20-run victory.
The aviation pioneer's body has never been officially found after she disappeared July 2, 1937.
In what will be a dress rehearsal of their opening game in the World Cup, an unbeaten Australia take on England in the cricket tri-series final, in Perth on Sunday.
- 'I still think that he had 2 or 3 more years of cricket left in him' - 'India is going to miss Dhoni the player big time'
With Steven Smith now helming the Australian affairs, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni returning from injury, the 2nd Test at Gabba, starting Tuesday, will shed light on the mindset of the two leaders.
As the entire Australia mourned the death of Phillip Hughes, the front pages of all the national dailies on Friday paid rich tribute to the young batsman, who succumbed to his head injuries yesterday that he sustained during a domestic match.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has been rendered a doubtful starter for the fourth and final cricket Test against Australia in Ranchi, a scenario that has put the hosts under immense pressure on the eve of the decider of the bitterly fought series.
Rare unanimity was witnessed as the members passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014.
Chappell, now 66, came to India after a five-year stint as coach of South Australia, where he was noted by the Australian media as exhibiting "fantastic" individual skills, but proving "poor" when it came to group dynamics.
If the deal is indeed being considered, this will be the first time that Ambani will be putting his money in a print media venture since he and his younger brother, Anil Ambani, split businesses to form their own groups
Rafael Nadal's announcement on Friday that he will miss the ATP World Tour Finals because of appendicitis ended a difficult year for the Spaniard during which he has endured injury, illness and worrying defeats.
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza admitted they were in a state of sorrow in the aftermath of their inexplicable one-run loss to India but hoped they would return home with their heads held high by winning against New Zealand in their concluding league fixture of ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday. "The whole team is in a state of sorrow, everyone is broken. Nobody is blaming anyone but we've somehow accepted the defeat. Everyone was very upset. They just could not talk to each other. It was so disappointing," Mortaza said summing up the team's mood after their loss in Bengaluru. "We have never lost this way. We have to play our best again. If we get the opportunity, we have to make sure we don't repeat the same mistakes. The conditions are similar but the wicket is different. New Zealand are on top clearly, whereas we lost all three. We will try our best." Mortaza further said saying 'sorry' to their fans would not be enough and they would try to play hard to put the disappointment behind and try to get over the line against the unstoppable Black Caps.
Australia have included uncapped George Bailey in their 12-man squad for the first Ashes encounter against England next week in a gamble the 31-year-old can replicate his "extraordinary" limited overs form in the Test arena.
Niall O'Brien, the sturdy batting backbone during Irish cricket's meteoric rise, owes much of his World Cup success to the timely arrival of a pet dog.
Australia all-rounder Shane Watson said memories of Phil Hughes will flood him the moment he steps out to compete in the fourth Test against India in Sydney, starting on January 6.
- 'He led more by example than by rhetoric or by words' - 'If there are kids in small towns today dreaming and aspiring for great things, then MS Dhoni has a lot to do with it' - 'He was never defensive when captaining in India'
More than his hundred on debut as captain Steven Smith was happy that Australia putting up 500 runs on the board on Day 3 of the second Test against India.
Australia were dealt a blow as their all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will not bowl again in the remainder of the second cricket Test against India due to a hamstring injury on the first day at the Gabba.
Late Australian batsman Phillip Hughes's closest friend has posted what might be the most touching tribute for the deceased cricketer.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
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.
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