It will be David vs Goliath when title favourites South Africa take on spirited new entrants Afghanistan in their second and final Group C match for a Super Eight berth in the Twenty20 World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados on Wednesday.

Determined to clinch the only trophy missing from their cupboard, formidable Australia face potential giant-killers Bangladesh in their second and final Group A match for a place in the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup in Barbados on Wednesday.

Smarting from an embarrassing defeat to Zimbabwe in a warm-up match, defending champions Pakistan will have to quickly get their act together as they have a tricky opener against Bangladesh in the Twenty20 World Cup in St Lucia on Saturday.

Debutants Afghanistan made an impressive start to their World Twenty20 campaign, beating Ireland by five wickets in a warm-up match in Guyana on Wednesday.

In the Caribbean islands which spawned a conveyor belt of intimidating pacemen in the 1970s and 1980s, spin is poised to dominate the World T20.

The event technical committee of the Twenty20 World Cup has approved Ryan Harris as replacement for injured Brett Lee in the Australian squad for the tournament which begins in the Caribbean on Friday.

Zimbabwe shocked favourites Australia with a stunning one-run win in their opening World Twenty20 warm-up match in St Lucia on Tuesday.

Complete schedule of the ICC World Twenty20 Championship, beginning in West Indies on April 30.

Busy slogging it out in the Indian Premier League right now, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will not play any warm-up matches ahead of the Twenty20 World Championships in the West Indies.

All 12 men's squads for the ICC World Twenty20 2010 have been confirmed with the very best players in the world all getting ready for the big event, which gets underway in the West Indies later this month.

Young Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey and his fast bowling team mate R Vinay Kumar were among the three new faces named in India's 30-member list of probables for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in the West Indies in April-May this year. Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper Naman Ojha, who also had a successful domestic season, was the other new face in the list.

Afghanistan will head to the West Indies for the ICC World Twenty20 2010 as the top qualifier and will now look forward to playing India in St Lucia and South Africa in Barbados in the big event, which runs from April 30 to May 16. They beat Ireland by eight wickets in the final of the qualifying tournament.

The West Indies staged a strong fight back after being dismissed for 312 in their first innings on Day 3 of the third Test against Australia. Chasing Australia's massive first innings total of 520 for 7 declared, the tourists, resuming on 214 for two, lost six wickets for 32 runs after lunch and folded 208 runs behind. But the Aussies, deciding not to enforce the follow-on, found themselves in trouble in the final session, being reduced to 8-137 in their second essay.

West Indies spinner Sulieman Benn was on Friday handed a two-ODI ban while Australia's Brad Haddin and Mitchel Johnson were let off with fines after being found guilty of conduct contrary to the Spirit of Cricket.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that there have been some developments in the three provisions of the draft prepared under the Long Term Cooperative Action (LCA) track, which India presently finds "unacceptable".

Legions of fans may adore him as god of cricket but Sachin Tendulkar insists that he is only a mortal who loves playing for his country.

Tamil actor Ganesh Venkataraman on reprising Jimmy Shergill's role in the Tamilversion of A Wednesday.

'Mad Men' and '30 Rock' among top winners at the ceremony in Los Angeles.

With Salman Khan becoming the latest to join the killer ranks, here's a look at Bollywood assassins over the years.

Kevin McClean will replace Daren Powell in the West Indies' squad while Tim Paine will come in for Brad Haddin in Australia's squad after the ICC approved changes for the Champions Trophy, in South Africa from September 22 to October 5.

The stars were in the city to attend the I View Film Festival.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt shattered his own 200 metres world record in Berlin on Thursday to win gold at the world championships in a breathtaking 19.19 seconds and secure his place as the greatest sprinter ever seen. One year exactly after he posted 19.30 seconds at the Beijing Olympics to beat Michael Johnson's "untouchable" 19.32 from the Atlanta Games, he sliced another 11 hundredths of a second off just as he did in Sunday's 100 when he ran 9.58.

Reader Aslam Khan sent us this photograph from Barbados.

World record holder Usain Bolt brought a flash of Jamaican sunshine to another miserable European evening when he raced to 100 metres victory in 9.91 seconds at the London Grand Prix on Friday.

West Indies cricket, which has united the islands of the Caribbean for over a century, could be split if the chief of Trinidad and Tobago's cricket body follows through his idea of competing as independent nation.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) scrambled to get a team together for the first Test against Bangladesh starting on Thursday after the selected players decided to boycott the match due to contract disputes.

The West Indies Cricket Board is scrambling to get a team together for the first Test against Bangladesh, starting on Thursday, after the selected players decided to boycott the match due to contract disputes. The WICB has said the match would go ahead but has not stated whether it is recruiting an alernative team after Tuesday's boycott announcement.

West Indies players are to boycott the Test series against Bangladesh due to start on Thursday, the Caribbean team's players' union said in a statement on Tuesday.

Three consecutive ducks in his first three Tests were the worst of times for Ravi Bopara. Centuries in his last three Test innings are the best.

Batsman Ravi Bopara said he had earned his place in the England squad for the Ashes series starting next month.

A look at Nagarjuna's nephew's comeback film.

A series that will help clarify financial jargon and empower you to make your own financial decisions.

Ravi Bopara stood firm in the face of some magnificent fast bowling from Fidel Edwards on Wednesday to steer England to a respectable 289 for seven on the opening day of the first Test against West Indies at Lord's.

Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his 36th birthday today. To mark the occasion, a book, titled 'If Cricket Is a Religion, Sachin is God', authored by two graduates of IIM (Ahmedabad), Vijay Santhanam and Shyam Balasubramaniam, was unveiled by billiards ace Geet Sethi and former India Test skipper Nari Contractor in Mumbai.

The West Indies dropped fast bowler Daren Powell and all-rounder Ryan Hinds for their two-Test tour of England next month. A statement on the West Indies official website (www.windiescricket.com) said all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was unavailable because he was still recovering after ankle surgery. Three uncapped players, Grenada fast bowler Nelon Pascal, Barbados batsman Dale Richards and Jamaica medium-pacer Andrew Richardson, were named in the 17-man squad.

Captain Chris Gayle led West Indies to a crushing eight-wicket victory as the hosts matched England's feeble total of 117 in fewer than 15 overs in a rain-affected third one-dayer in Barbados on Friday. Gayle smashed eight sixes and five fours as he scored 80 in 43 balls to put his team 2-1 up in the five-match series.

Test cricket on Sunday said farewell and thanks to Steve Bucknor, the most experienced umpire to date in the longest form of the game. The 62-year-old Jamaican umpired his final Test match at Newlands in Cape Town between South Africa and Australia, his 128th match in the middle. Bucknor has been umpiring at international level since 1989 when he took charge of the One-Day International (ODI) between the West Indies and India at the Antigua Recreation Ground on March 18.

An unbeaten 112 from Shivnarine Chanderpaul guided West Indies to a 21-run victory over England in the second one-day international at Providence Stadium Sunday. The win ties the five match series at 1-1 after England won Friday's opener and sets the contest up nicely before next week's two games in Barbados.

South Africa will stage this year's Champions Trophy one-day tournament in September and October, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday.

The International Cricket Council's Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) on Wednesday recommended that the Champions Trophy be held in South Africa and not Sri Lanka as rainfall could affect the tournament to be held during September-October this year.