Undefeated India, England, Pakistan and host Bangladesh will start as favourites when the Super League quarter-finals of the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2016 are played from 5 to 8 February in Mirpur and Fatullah. These four teams topped their respective groups in the preliminary league with an all-win record, displaying all-round strengths good enough to take any one of them all the way to the title. Sri Lanka and the West Indies, the other two Test nations in the last eight, will also fancy their chances even as qualifiers Namibia and Nepal look to make a mark against the bigger teams. There is a strong possibility of arch-rivals India and Pakistan facing-off in the semi-final (On February 11), if both the teams win their respective quarterfinal matches. India meets minnows Namibia in Fatullah on Saturday, while Pakistan faces a comparatively difficult task against the West Indies on Monday at the same venue.
South Africa skipper AB de Villiers led from the front with an all-round show to help South Africa thrash minnows UAE.
Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com looks at the lighter side of how Chris Gayle remains lone star West Indies player Team India has to contend with in their Pool B encounter at the WACA.
The expanded European soccer Championship format with 24 teams in the finals instead of 16 contributed to fairytale runs by so-called minnows at Euro 2016 but also helped Portugal lift their first major trophy. The new formula introduces an extra knockout stage, the round of 16, with the top two teams in each of the six groups going through as well as the four best third-placed sides. Portugal did just that, finishing third in their group and going on to win the tournament with a 1-0 victory in extra time over hosts France in Sunday's final.
Minnows Scotland came up just four runs short of a famous upset in a World warm-up match.
ICC's Chief Executive Officer Dave Richardson today said that the game's governing body is all set to prune the number of teams from 14 to 10 for the next Cricket World Cup, scheduled to be held in England in 2019.
This was Sri Lanka's second loss in as many matches, and, as a consequence, they have been knocked out of the tournament.
Images from the World Cup Pool B game between India and the United Arab Emirates in Perth.
Germany scored five times in 27 minutes in the first half to crush Estonia 8-0 and make it three wins in three Euro 2020 Group C qualifiers.
The Asia Cup triumph, during which Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men did not lose a single match, is the latest confidence-booster that the Indians received heading into the big event following convincing victories over Australia and Sri Lanka in the run-up.
A floundering England will be looking to avoid a potential banana skin when they take on minnows Scotland in a crucial Pool A cricket World Cup match at the Hagley Oval, in Christchurch on Monday.
Belgium are on red hot form and have stunned strong gold medal contenders and world champions Australia.
Harry Kane's injury-time goal gave England a 2-2 draw after a crazy finish to their World Cup qualifier against Scotland on Saturday with Leigh Griffiths having struck twice for the home side in the final three minutes.
England captain Eoin Morgan said the 57-run eight-wicket stand between Moeen Ali and David Willey proved to be the difference in his side's win against an ever-improving Afghanistan in a group match of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Feroze Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Wednesday.
World Cup winners Germany are no mood to experiment against minnows Gibraltar in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Friday, promising a goal bonanza to make amends for recent poor results.
The consistency of India's bowlers throughout the tournament disguised the team's batting problems till they were exposed in the semi-final against Australia.
On paper as well as on current form, West Indies are no match for defending champions India, who have registered convincing victories against Pakistan, South Africa and UAE in their first three matches of the ICC World Cup.
England are out of the 2015 ODI World Cup. Bangladesh delivered the knock-out blow, after they lost to Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
Ian Pont, a former Essex player and fast bowling coach, now at the Ultimate Pace Foundation in Bengaluru, analyses England's disastrous World Cup campaign in an exclusive conversation with Manu Shankar/Rediff.com.
Roberto Firmino's goal gave Brazil a 1-0 victory over Chile in a feisty friendly at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday, their eighth successive win since last year's disappointing World Cup campaign.
Two unassuming young women saved India the humiliation of returning empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time since Barcelona in 1992 with awe-inspiring performances at Rio.
