Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.

Matt Henry shrugged off the disappointment of missing out on selection for next month's World Twenty20 with a hostile spell of pace bowling that helped New Zealand ease to a 159-run win over Australia in the first one-day international on Wednesday.

A hobbling Kane Williamson guided New Zealand to 142 for five at the close of play on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Hamilton, with the hosts needing another 47 runs to seal a 2-0 series sweep.

Paceman Dushmantha Chameera took career-best figures with aggressive short-pitched bowling to give Sri Lanka a slight advantage at the close of play on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Saturday.

Trent Boult took two quick wickets after lunch to help New Zealand complete a 122-run victory over Sri Lanka on the fifth day of the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin on Monday.

Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne obstinately defied New Zealand's bowlers for much of the second day of the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin on Friday though the hosts still have the upper hand.

For several years the Chinese authorities have been taking steps to internationalise the use of the yuan.

Martin Guptill struck his third Test century while Kane Williamson fell just short his 13th as New Zealand blunted Sri Lanka's inexperienced bowling attack to set themselves up for a big total in the first Test in Dunedin on Thursday.

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea turned from domestic whipping boys back to European stalwarts on Wednesday, beating his former club Porto 2-0 to top Champions League Group G.

Juergen Klopp's side remain seventh, six points behind the Champions League places, after only their second defeat in the 12 games since the German took over in October

An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

French police have identified the first of seven gunmen who killed at least 129 people in a wave of carnage claimed by the Islamic State group.

Usman Khawaja's magnificent 174 helped Australia to a dominant 556 for four declared and an imposing lead of 399 at the end of the second day of the first Test against New Zealand on Friday.

In an online chat with readers, Amit Jaiswal, head of academics, MockBank.com answered queries on how to prepare for the IBPS Bank PO entrance examination.

Martin Sorell on how effective is Modi's media strategy

Poland's star striker Robert Lewandowski scored the winner to secure Poland a place at Euro 2016 with a 2-1 victory in Warsaw on Sunday.

Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from first T20 match between India and South Africa.

Ronaldo equals Raul Real Madrid record while Morata emulates Del Piero after scoring in five consecutive matches

It is significant that the PM's appeal to invest in India comes at a time when the global economy is facing a difficult phase

Higuain had a disappointing Copa America tournament in July, scoring two goals during the competition and missing his spot kick as Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the final.

The 67th annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California, on September 20.

Malta make Italy sweat, while Bale takes Wales closer to competition

Tiger Woods fed off an "electric" atmosphere to card his lowest score in two years on the PGA Tour, a six-under 64 that put him within two shots of the early first round lead at the Wyndham Championship on Thursday.

Rediff.com brings you this and a lot more gripping sporting action from the week gone by...

Rediff.com gives you a flashback of the beautiful moments from the Tour de France this year.

But Froome's Big Four rivals at the tour -- Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana - weren't the only hurdles in his path. There were outside influences that threatened to derail his campaign.

Briton Chris Froome won his second Tour de France title in three years on Sunday to enhance his growing reputation as a grand tour specialist.

Real Madrid completed their pre-season tour of Australia with a crushing 4-1 friendly win over a depleted Manchester City in front of a record soccer crowd of 99,382 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

German Andre Greipel was again far too strong for the opposition as he claimed his second win in this year's Tour de France.

Jonny Bairstow bludgeoned a brilliant 83 not out in Durham to lead England to a three-wicket win over New Zealand on the Duckworth-Lewis method on Saturday, earning a 3-2 victory in the five-match series of one-dayers.

Ivan Saponjic scored from a header in extra-time to give Serbia a 2-1 victory over Mali in the under-20 World Cup on Wednesday and set up a final against Brazil, who demolished a 10-man Senegal 5-0, two of those goals coming from Marcos Guilherme.

Mexican striker Matias Vuoso and Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal both scored twice in a game that roared from end to end and never let up in intensity.

Ben Stokes took two wickets in two balls to inspire England to victory over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord's.

Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor mastered a lifeless England attack to lift New Zealand to 303 for two at the close on the second day of the first Test at Lord's on Friday.

CONCACAF's congress witnessed an outburst of support for incumbent Sepp Blatter.

Despite fielding their reserve team, East Bengal dominated the proceedings to hammer Balestier Khalsa FC 3-0 for their first win this season in the the AFC Cup football tournament

Jordan Spieth threatened to turn the year's first major into a runaway as he fired a six-under-par 66 for a five-shot lead and a Masters record for lowest 36-hole total at Augusta National on Friday.

'That Mad Men is currently the best-written show and quite unlike anything else out there is an understatement.'

The winners of the annual US Military Photographer of the Year competition showcase the compelling body of work military photographers compiled in 2014.

Mitchell Starc was the Player of the Tournament, but he ranks only 5th on Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings list, revealing how this World Cup was so much in the batsmen's favour.