Pakistan suffered their second consecutive loss as they were handed a crushing 150-run defeat by the West Indies.
Children mingled with cricketing greats in "backyard" matches and Maori warriors shared the stage with dancers as the Cricket World Cup opened with a vibrant and quirky ceremony in Christchurch.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra celebrated his return to Indian ODI squad with a brilliant double century as he added an astonishing 392 runs for a record eighth wicket partnership with Jayant Yadav to guide Haryana to 587 for nine against Karnataka in a Ranji Trophy group league encounter in Hubli on Sunday.
Overall, India enjoy a wonderful against the Kiwis in Tests, having won 18 matches out of 52, but have clinched victory in only five games out of 21 in New Zealand.
Describing India's defence of the World Cup title as shaky, former Australia captain Ian Chappell has advised them to keep star batsman Virat Kohli at number three to negate any opposition plans to bounce them out with short-pitched deliveries on lively pitches Down Under.
Tillikaratane Dilshan eased to his 19th One-day International century to anchor his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second game of their seven-match series at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday.
Test cricket's leading wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan will be asked to pass on his expertise to New Zealand's bowlers and batsmen on their tour of Sri Lanka, the country's head coach has said.
The New Zealand captain belted 18 fours and 11 sixes in his innings as he became the first New Zealand batsman to surpass 1000 Test runs in a calendar year and broke his own New Zealand record for the fastest century, which came off 74 balls.
Shane Smeltz moved into outright second as New Zealand's highest scorer as the All Whites completed a comfortable 2-0 victory over Tahiti in their Oceania World Cup qualifying clash in Papeete on Friday.
Faf du Plessis seems to be a master of fourth innings chases. On his Test debut he batted for seven hours 46 minutes against Australia at Adelaide in 2012-13, saving South Africa from certain defeat.
Statistical highlights of the World Twenty20 match between Pakistan and New Zealand in Pallekele.
India have won six ODI series on the trot. New Zealand have never won an ODI series in India.
India will launch their World Cup title defence against traditional rivals Pakistan in Adelaide on February 15 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side is capable of adapting and performing in any condition.
Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler
Against the backdrop of the West Indies team's withdrawal from its tour of India, Rediff.com takes a look at instances when cricket tours have been called off midway through a series.
Auckland's Eden Park will host Test cricket for the first time since 2006 when the world's top-ranked team England tour New Zealand early next year, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said on Thursday.
Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar's willow fetched the highest bid of Rs 42 lakh at a glittering sports auction in Mumbai that saw personal items donated by 25 top sportspersons from the country and overseas go under the hammer.
New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has been suspended for six months for failing a doping test for banned stimulants he claimed he took in a supplement to help him lose weight, the country's top sports tribunal said on Tuesday.
Rediff.com lists a few temples that shun tradition and prefer a rather unusual look. Here are some of the world's most bizarre places of worship.
Memorabilia belonging to 25 top sportspersons from India and overseas, including tennis star Roger Federer, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and chess ace Viswanathan Anand, will go under the auctioneer's hammer on October 29.
South Africa-born pace bowler Neil Wagner has been declared eligible to play for New Zealand after the International Cricket Council ruled there were special circumstances why he did not meet residency regulations, NZ Cricket said on Thursday.
New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has retained his New Zealand Cricket contract despite his latest off-field indiscretions which have led to a one-match international ban.
Confined to wheelchair due to paralysis, Deepa Malik, who found a place in the Limca Book of Records for the third time recently for becoming the first paraplegic woman to reach world's highest motorable road, has set her eyes on a medal in the upcoming London Paralympics.
If you have a question relating to cricket and did not know who to ask, bounce them off to Rajneesh Gupta. He will pick questions readers send him and provide answers. Your queries should be addressed to: Ask Rajneesh on Facebook or askrajneesh@rediffmail.com Rajneesh replies to questions he received from readers last week:
As Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic set out to defend their titles at Melbourne Park, rediff.com takes a look at a few interesting facts and figures related to the year's first major tournament.
Luke Wright shone with bat and ball while captain Stuart Broad took four wickets as England eased to a 40-run victory over New Zealand in their first Twenty20 international in Auckland on Saturday.
Rajneesh Gupta breaks down all the facts and figures from the recent India vs Australia ODI series.
If bowling was the only main worry for Team India heading into the World Cup, then think again! Skipper MS Dhoni, on Saturday, revealed that India team, besides bowling is also struggling in batting.
New Zealand will play their first home Test against Zimbabwe in 11 years, as well as a three-match series against South Africa, in the next southern hemisphere summer, New Zealand Cricket announced on Friday.
Kenyan Moses Mosop shattered 30-year-old track records for the rarely run 25,000 and 30,000 metres at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting on Friday.
Jacques Kallis became the fourth South African to score a hundred in his last Test, emulating Pieter van der Bijl, Lee Irvine and Barry Richards.
Statistical highlights from the day's play
From Rohit Sharma's record breaking double century in One-Day Internationals, the team's never-ending woes in overseas Tests, to the controversy surrounding Board of Control for Cricket in India's president-in-exile Narayanswami Srinivasan over the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal, Indian cricket had the good, bad and ugly in equal measure in 2014.
South Africa won the fifth One-Day International against India by 214 runs on Sunday, to win the five-match series 3-1, their first ODI series win on Indian soil. Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from the match played in Mumbai.
Statistical highlights of the fifth and final day of the first Test between India and Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
New Zealand Cricket is all set to get $1 million from the ICC to relocate its headquarters destroyed in the earthquake in Christchurch, a gesture that has 'blown away' NZC officials.
Australian national airline Qantas on Wednesday announced slew of cost-cutting measures, including job reductions, retirement of older aircraft and a reduction in domestic and international flights.
# Virat Kohli's 70 off 41 balls is the highest individual innings by an Indian player against New Zealand in T20s.
Despite picking 14 wickets in the World Cup thus far, Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi is modesty personified by crediting bowling conditions for his success, writes Bikash Mohapatra.
New Zealand batsmen flunked their first test against raw pace dished out by champions Australia a week ago but Friday's trial against nagging spin will probably signal the tenure of their World Cup campaign.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances