Hamstrung, running out of partners and his team's title defence at stake -- the stage was set for Angelo Mathews to emerge from the Saturday night drizzle and enter Twenty20 folklore but the Sri Lankan captain fell agonisingly short. At 15-4, after England had set them a 172-run victory target in the World Twenty20 match, Sri Lanka's title defence looked all but over inside three overs. Their skipper then engineered a stunning recovery in the tournament's most portentous contest that was key to the semi-final hopes of three teams, including South Africa. But the lion-hearted effort took its toll on his hamstring and Mathews was clearly struggling when he took guard for the final over from Ben Stokes -- 15 runs separating him from Twenty20 greatness and his team from a place in the last four. As a mild drizzle fell on the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Stokes charged in with a ball in hand and ice in veins to thwart Mathews' audacious bid to pull off a heist.
It is time again to return to the shortest format of cricket as leading players, including India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, get ready to represent their respective franchises in the sixth edition of the Champions League T20.
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Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis combined for a 58-run partnership to give Sri Lanka a nervous four-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their World Cup Pool A match at University Oval in Dunedin on Sunday.
Sri Lanka clinched the one-day international series against Pakistan after their bowlers, led by Thisara Perera, routed the tourists to secure a seven-wicket victory in the deciding third and final match on Saturday.
IPL Season 11 begins on April 7. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers.
Sri Lanka compensated for their batting failure with a disciplined bowling performance to beat United Arab Emirates by 14 runs in a round robin league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20, in Mirpur on Thursday.
Twenty-four players, including 14 Indians (of which three are uncapped) and ten overseas, were retained as the retention window for the 2014 Pepsi IPL season closed at 1700 hours on Friday.
Rediff.com takes a look at the youngsters who impressed during the course of the eighth edition of the cash-rich Twenty20 extravaganza.
Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad face each other in a must-win IPL match.
The film to be produced under Daggubati's banner Suresh Productions, will see Vijay Sethupathi portray the role of Sri Lankan spin legend.
India pacer Jasprit Bumrah says the zeal to learn something new with each game has helped him survive in international cricket.
Shikhar Dhawan is savouring a purple patch, hitting century after century, but the opener won't be overtly worried if he has to face a slump in form.
Captain Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu played crucial knocks after Harbhajan Singh's impressive showing with the ball as Mumbai Indians notched up a thrilling five-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in their rain-affected Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka shot out the Netherlands for just 39 runs, the lowest ever Twenty20 International total, before winning the Super 10 match in the World Twenty20 by nine wickets, in Chittagong, on Monday.
Sri Lanka are never anybody's pre-tournament favourites but when the dust settles there they are.
Marlon Samuels' unbeaten century proved in vain as Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 19 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method to complete a 3-0 one-day series whitewash on Saturday.
A responsible half-century from captain Angelo Mathews and some big hitting by Thisara Perera set up a comprehensive 77-run win for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in the second ODI on Tuesday and helped the hosts level the series at 1-1.
Mumbai Indians team celebrate their second IPL title at the iconic Wankhede stadium on Monday.
Following Rising Pune Supergiants batsman Faf du Plessis's exit, Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com takes stock of the players forced out of the cash-rich Twenty20 extravaganza by injury.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma slammed centuries as a dominant India humiliated Sri Lanka by a record 168-run margin in the fourth One-Day International in Colombo, on Thursday.
A fuming Tom Moody says he was left 'embarrassed' after Sunrisers Hyderabad's poor batting performance against Mumbai Indians which saw them lose by 20 runs in the Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Saturday.
The visitors have a 2-0 lead in the series and can wrap up the contest with another win here before leaving for the last leg of the tour in Colombo.
The hosts have hit nadir in both form and confidence, and, after a lop-sided 3-0 Test series victory, the script did not change much in the opening ODI, where India steamrolled the opposition by nine wickets.
With 35 matches spread over 27 days, World T20 looks set to illustrate once again just how skewed the 20-overs game is against bowlers.
Consistent death bowling from a Bumrah and spinners picking up wickets in the middle overs is why the average run-rate in the last few years hasn't exploded the way one would have expected, says Dhruv Munjal.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
What separates the men from the boys? What is it that winners have but losers lack? Sonil Dedhia/Rediff.com lists lessons you can learn from Mumbai Indians' win against Chennai Super Kings at Eden Gardens on May 24.
Rediff.com takes a look at a few players who made a significant impact to their team's fortunes.
Captain Virat Kohli's blazing blade ensured a comfortable seven-wicket victory in the one-off Twenty20 International as the visitors completed a 9-0 rout of Sri Lanka across all three formats, in Colombo, on Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians will start as favourites when they take on laggards Kings XI Punjab.
An inconsistent Delhi Daredevils will look to break the home jinx when they take on Mumbai Indians in their sixth match of the IPL cricket tournament at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Thursday.
Rajneesh Gupta brings you the drama and the magic behind all the 12 IPL finals so far.
New Zealand will stick with their crash, bang, wallop brand of cricket in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against West Indies because it gives them the best chance of winning, captain Brendon McCullum said on Friday.
India have to be cautious against giant slayers Bangladesh
Erratic Sunrisers Hyderabad look to bounce back against inconsistent Mumbai Indians.
Images from the World Cup first quarter-final between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Sydney, on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka veterans Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara smashed imperious centuries to punish a wasteful Bangladesh.
Although handicapped by the absence of their pace injured spearhead Lasith Malinga, who may miss the entire Indian Premier League season 9 commencing, in Mumbai, on Saturday, title holders Mumbai Indians are quite confident that there are others capable of stepping into the Sri Lankan's shoes.
New Zealand are looming as the popular dark horses for the cricket World Cup.
Skipper Angelo Mathews held his nerve under pressure and scored an unbeaten half-century as Sri Lanka recovered from a bad start to beat Bangladesh by three wickets in the concluding league match of the Asia Cup in Mirpur on Thursday.
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