'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'

A B de Villiers still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.

A B de Villiers may have made some big mistakes in the semi-final: Choosing to bat first in spite of the rain threat, batting too low at No 5, not hogging the strike after David Miller departed, fielding badly, asking Dale Steyn to bowl the last over ... but he is still best placed to be adjudged the most valuable player of the 2015 World Cup.

'This was not the cleanest game of cricket you've ever seen -- there were too many flubs and fumbles for that. But it was certainly the semi-final this mostly blah tournament has needed -- two tough, well-rounded teams, toe to toe, slugging it out, bleeding and drawing blood until there was only one left standing.'

Although A B de Villiers is still the front-runner for the MVP crown of the 2015 World Cup, a new and serious challenger has suddenly appeared out of the blue -- New Zealand opener Martin Guptill.

VfL Wolfsburg's Luiz Gustavo scored on the hour to rescue a 1-1 draw at improving Mainz 05 on Sunday but the Wolves lost possible further ground in their chase of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

It looks highly unlikely if anyone will catch the South African captain in Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.

Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.

West Indies captain Jason Holder praised his team's effort in the do-or-die clash against United Arab Emirates on Sunday and will next look to target the batting of likely World Cup quarter-final opponents New Zealand in Wellington next week.

'Pratchett's work mocked the very idea of literary limitations, going from police procedural in one book to Christmas adventure in the next, from vampires to football, from the birth of motion pictures to the examining of religion itself.'

After four centuries on the trot with a strike rate of nearly 120, Sri Lanka's run machine Kumar Sangakkara (MVPI: 686) has raced to the top of the most valuable player standing at the ICC World Cup.

The West Indian has blasted his way to the top of Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup with the South African skipper close on his heels.

West Indies batsman Darren Bravo will be sent home from the World Cup after failing to recover from a hamstring injury sustained in the second match of the campaign, a team spokesman said on Friday.

Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji are back with Rediff.com's World Cup Most Valuable Players ratings.

Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dunedin on Sunday

Watching the 1992 World Cup got New Zealand's Grant Elliott suspended from school but also set him on the path to a career as a professional cricket.

Cumberbatch's Sherlock costar Martin Freeman, who plays Dr Watson in the hit BBC show, was best man at the wedding.

Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are India's highest-ranked batsman and bowler in third and 13th positions respectively.

PM Modi seems to be gradually ending India's strategic ambiguity

Some of the best photographs, clicked across the globe in January.

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara added another milestone to his already storied career when he broke the world record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in One-Day Internationals against New Zealand in Wellington on Thursday.

Full transcript of President Obama's speech at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.

Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson fell agonisingly short of centuries but New Zealand's imposing total ensured they beat Sri Lanka by 120 runs in the sixth One-day international on Sunday to take an unassailable 4-1 lead in their seven-match series.

The president called for tax reform that eliminates corporate-friendly loopholes, highlighted his earlier proposal for free community college.

Photos from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.

'It is in the interest of both sides that the visit of the US President is seen as being successful. Both sides have invested considerable political capital in it. This rapid exchange of visits and the decisions taken have to be justified, beyond the symbolism, which is no doubt important in itself. This opportunity to impart a fresh momentum to ties should not be missed,' says former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.

Take a look!

Even as France mourns the bloodiest terrorist attack for 20 years, let's take a look at some major standoffs witnessed in the past:

It is in Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi, officials in Washington believe, US President Barack Obama has found an Indian leader who is willing to walk the talk to realise the common goals of the two countries. Lalit K Jha reports

From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series,rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.

Two victims of the deadly Sydney siege were remembered on Tuesday by tearful mourners at private memorial services here, a week after a gunman held them hostage inside a downtown cafe in Australia.

A stoppage time goal by a heavily-bandaged Martin Skrtel spared Liverpool another deflating defeat as they drew 2-2 at home to Arsenal in the Premier League.

Pakistan avenged their Asian Games final loss when they beat India 4-3 in Bhubaneswar on Saturday to enter the Champions Trophy hockey final.

Civil rights activist Deepa Iyer, former executive director, South Asian Americans Leading Together, a social justice organisation thought after a visit to the minority businesses hit in recent weeks that the tragic story in Ferguson, Missouri, offers Indian Americans an opportunity to stand up and decry police brutality and show sympathy and support for African Americans in the beleaguered city

At 17, Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel laureate. She was conferred the joint Peace Prize along with India's Kailash Satyarthi at Oslo on Wednesday. Here is the full transcript of her speech.

Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United; Champions Manchester City took full advantage of Chelsea's surprise reverse to cut the gap at the top.

Manchester City were never out of the title race and the Premier League champions did not need to change their style despite a frustrating to start the season, manager Manuel Pellegrini has said.

Bastia forward Brandao has been sentenced to one month in prison for headbutting Paris St Germain midfielder Thiago Motta, a French tribunal said on Thursday.

Cricketing world in shock over Phil Hughes' death.