Cricket diplomacy was in abundance at a rare reception given to Narendra Modi at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground with the prime minister saying a "new journey" in India-Australia relationship has begun.
As the tournament gets to the business end here's a chance to predict the winner. Listed below are the eight quarter-finalists. Pick four who you think will make the semi-finals.
Archie, who suffers from a heart ailment, dreams of captaining Australia and it has been confirmed he would co-captain Tim Paine
India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are both under an injury cloud ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, leaving the tourists with a potential selection conundrum.
Australia captain Steve Smith brushed off concerns about his fitness on the eve of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England on Wednesday before Mitchell Starc's return to spearhead the pace attack was confirmed as the only change to his team.
However, ECB chief executive Tom Harrison put the cold water on the prospect, saying that it was highly unlikely that a day-night Test would be there in the schedule when the Ashes series would return to England next year.
List of players who have claimed hat-tricks in the Cricket World Cup.
England skipper Joe Root has been more like a little boy than a leader under the immense pressure of the Ashes series and must step up, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has said.
Former Pakistan pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar has said that current skipper Misbah-ul Haq needs to adopt Imran Khan's frontline approach employed by the captain in 1992 if the 2015 squad wants to win this year's Cricket World Cup.
A strong fourth innings fightback that had nearly clinched a remarkable record run chase in the first Test loss to Australia in Brisbane had given Pakistan the confidence they needed for the rest of the series, captain Misbah-ul-haq has said. The visitors, who were dismissed for 142 in their first innings, had Australian cricket fans chewing their fingernails to the quick as they counter-attacked in chasing 490 for victory.
Check out the lowest totals in Ashes history after England bowled Australia out for 60 in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose selfie with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang grabbed eyeballs across the globe, on Sunday, extended his 'selfie diplomacy' to Mongolia by clicking one with President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.
'Ponting would have been dropped had he not retired in 2012'
Australia cricket coach Darren Lehmann has defended wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and the team's vocal aggression.
India would start their campaign in the Asia Cup T20 Championship by taking on hosts Bangladesh in the tournament-opener at the Sher-E-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur on February 24, according to the event schedule released on Monday. The eagerly awaited high-octane clash between India and Pakistan is slated three days later, on February 27, at the same venue. India's subsequent fixtures are slated against defending champions Sri Lanka (March 1) and a qualifier, from amongst Afghanistan, UAE, Oman and Hong Kong, on March 3.
Overwhelmed by the ongoing World Cup's success, ICC CEO David Richardson said it has been the most followed cricket event.
Australia captain Michael Clarke will retire from One-day international cricket after Sunday's World Cup final against New Zealand. The 33-year-old will, however, continue playing Test cricket.
Considering the Test format as the ultimate challenge for any cricketer, Cheteshwar Pujara, on Friday, said if he had to get an opportunity, he would still like to play the longest format.
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup
Australia captain believes the result could have been different had Steve Smith and David Warner been available for the home side in Melbourne.
India made two changes for this must-win game, with Gurkeerat Mann and Rishi Dhawan handed debuts on account of their all-round capabilities. Ravichandran Ashwin and Manish Pandey made way for them in the playing eleven.
Long retired from the game but Sachin Tendulkar's mere presence was good enough for a near-capacity crowd to go hysterical during India's World Cup game against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in Melbourne on Sunday.
The batting icon claimed one of the challenges of his career was being among the best cricketers of his era.
The much-awaited return of David Warner and Steve Smith from their one-year bans has bolstered the team
'We'll let them go play the game as they normally would' 'You don't want to clone them all into little choir boys'
On the back of some great all-round performance, Australia thumped New Zealand by 247 runs to win the Boxing Day Test and take a 2-0 series lead. Images from Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test played at the MCG on Sunday.
England skipper Eoin Morgan has slammed as "ridiculous" plans to restrict the size of cricket bats to try and stem the flow of runs in the one-day game.
Australia's world champion one-day team could face a major overhaul after they slumped to a 10th loss in 11 games, according to chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns.
The 2015 World Cup was, skipper Brendon McCollum said, the ride of a lifetime for New Zealand and even if Australia brought it to a shuddering halt in Sunday's final, their brilliant campaign will not quickly fade from the memory.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had made it clear to their Bangladesh counterparts that it will not host them on a neutral venue during the upcoming home series in January-February.
Australia will miss George Bailey in the next tri-series match against England as the skipper was on Monday handed a one-match suspension.
Injured Australian captain Michael Clarke said on Wednesday that his recovery from hamstring surgery was ahead of schedule though it's still unclear whether he will be fit to play the entire World Cup, beginning on February 14.
Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar will join Australia's squad for the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney, captain Steven Smith said on Tuesday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired from Test cricket immediate effect and Virat Kohli will lead the team in the fourth Test against Australia in Sydney starting on January 6.
'As such, the pitch did not allow an even contest between the bat and the ball as it neither favoured the batsmen too much nor it gave the bowlers sufficient opportunity to take wickets'
Virat Kohli became only the second Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar to score three Test hundreds in a series against Australia.
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.
Sachin Tendulkar was invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be part of his official delegation for the Australia tour later this month, but the cricket icon has expressed his inability to make the trip due to prior commitments.
The new stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad, which will be completed in two years, will become the biggest cricket stadium in the world with seating capacity of 1.10 lakh.
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