Retired Cricketers in 2015

2015 is the year where a lot of experienced players and iconic players have been retired which will miss by a lot of cricket lovers in World Cricket. Here is the list of Cricketers who retired in 2015.

Michael Clarke: (All Formats) The Skipper of Australia in both formats had called his career off in 2015. Retired after memorable 2015 World Cup Championship but unfortunately lost in Ashes Test before retirement.

Brad Haddin: (All Formats) The Wicket Keeping batsman from Australia also retired from Cricket in 2015 along with Michael Clarke in ODI after World Cup and also in Tests after Ashes.

Shane Watson: (Test Cricket) An all-rounder from Australia who is blessed with rich all round abilities but unfortunately could not showcase his talent in the middle. His trouble with in-swinging deliveries is spot on which made him trouble in this format of game.

Chris Rogers: (All Formats) The Veteran Cricketer who only represented for Australia in Tests also announced his retirement in 2015. He had not been picked in the squad for many years as the Australia team is having golden players in their side.

Ryan Harris: (All Formats) Harris the one of the reason for Australia to lose against England in Ashes Test Series. His ankle injury made him to take the decision of retirement. One of the successful bowlers for Australia.

Shahid Afridi: (Test and ODI) Big hitter from Pakistan also retired in this year after their elimination from World Cup 2015. He had a glorious career as an All-rounder for Pakistan.

Kumar Sangakkara: (All Formats) The legendary cricketer called time on his career in all formats of the game in 2015.

Mahela Jayawardene: (All Formats) Another Sri Lanka Great called time of his career after 2015 World Cup.

Zaheer Khan: (All Formats) Indian legendary bowler recently retired from Cricket this year in October. Zaheer had been facing injury from a long time. He was not able to bowl as he was bowling in his earlier phase of Cricket.

Virender Sehwag: (All Formats) He put curtains on a remarkable career in which he scored 17,253 international runs across formats. Sehwag is the only Indian batsman to score a triple century in Tests and he did it twice.

Mitchell Johnson: (All Formats) One of the most shocking decisions of retirement. Johnson announced retirement from International Cricket in November in a test series against New Zealand. He was not able to maintain his speed and was not effective since the Ashes.

Some other Cricketers who retired from International Cricket are Matt Prior (All Formats), Brendon McCullum (All Formats), Daniel Vettori (All Formats), Shoaib Malik (Test), Ian Bell (ODI), Craig Kieswetter (All Formats), Misbah-ul-haq (ODI), Alex Cusack (All Formats), John Mooney (All Formats), Brendan Taylor (All Formats), Ramesh Powar, and Kyle Mills (All Formats).

2015 Tour de France

The 2015 Tour de France was the 102^nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling’s three Grand Tours. The 3360.3 km long race started in Utrecht, the Netherlands on July 4, 2015 and concluded with the Champs Elysees stage in Paris on 26 July. A total of 198 riders from 22 teams entered the 21-stage race, which was won by Chris Froome of Team Sky. The second and third places were taken by Movistar Team Riders Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde.

Froome became the first Briton to win the Tour de France twice, after his 2013 victory. He also won the mountains classification. Peter Sagan of Tinkoff Saxo won the points classification. The young rider classification was won by Quintana. Movistar Team finished as the winners of the team classification. However, Chris Froome won only one stage out of 21 but won the title with 72 seconds margin. Team Sky holds second position in Team Classification list.

Yellow jersey of General classification is won by Chris Froome. Green Jersey of Points Classification is won by Peter Sagan. White Jersey with Red Polka dots of Mountains Classification is won by Chris Froome. White Jersey of Young rider classification is won by Nairo Quintana. Team Classification jersey was awarded to Movistar Team and Combativity award was awarded to Romain Bardet.

The 2016 Tour de France will be 103^rd edition of the Tour de France. It will start in French department of Manche for the first time in the history of the Tour de France. The race is also scheduled to have a stage finish in Andorra. 

2015 Pro Kabaddi League

The Pro Kabaddi League is a professional Kabaddi League in India, based on the format of the Indian Premier League. The second edition of the tournament is getting start on 18^th July 2015 with eight franchises consisting of players from around the world. As many as 25 players can feature in the squad for each of the eight Franchise teams for the League in 2015. It also became the second most watched sport in the country.

There are eight teams in the tournament. Dabang Delhi - Delhi didn’t get into the winning positions with their Dabang style last year. It could change this year with the arrival of 26 year old Manikandan, who is known to be deceptively powerful with the ability to time his tackles to perfection. Bengaluru Bulls – This year they hope 21 year old Vinoth Kumar will fill the absence of Ajay Thakur this year. Thakur is a right side raider while Kumar starts from the left.

Telugu Titans – They spent Rs 41.2 Lakh to acquire services of attack minded Iranian all-rounder Hadi Oshtorak and Meraj Sheykh. This is the team to watch out for this season. U Mumba – they got Prapanjan this year in place of Sharfudheen who got fractured last year. Then there is also the presence of hard tackling Iran Captain. Patna Pirates – Both Indian and Pakistani team skipper play in this team and this year they also have Deepak Narwal and Santosh Singh on their side.

Puneri Paltan – They have a completely new squad this season, with 14 new faces in the squad of 25. Strong 24 year old raider Yogesh Hooda will assist Wazir on the attacking front. Jaipur Pink Panthers – It is tough to spot the weakness in the defending champion’s squad. They also have signing of 2010 Asian Games gold medalist Sonu Narwal. Bengal Warriors – Along with surprise package Jang Kun Lee from South Korea, the squad lacked a strong leader on court. They have good players in their team but lack leadership role. 

Wimbledon 2015: Players to watch out

The 2015 Wimbledon Championships is a tennis tournament which will take place at the all England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom, from 29 July to 12 July 2015. This will be the 129^th edition of the championships and third grand slam of the year. It is played on Grass courts. Novak Djokovic of Serbia is the defending champion in men’s singles and Petra Kvitova is the defending champion in women’s singles.

Players to watch out in Wimbledon 2015 Men’s edition are Novak Djokovic, Stanislas Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Kei Nishikori. Novak and Wawrinka had already won one grand slam this year. Novak lost in French Open 2015 final by Wawrinka but still he is the most challenging contender for Wimbledon 2015.

In Women’s singles edition, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep, Lucie Safarova, and Ana Ivanovic.  Serena Williams had already won two grand slams this year. In continuation she had won three grand slams including US Open 2014 Final. If Serena Williams won Wimbledon 2015 then it will be four in a row for her, which will be a world record in Tennis.

Prize money for winners in singles category is 1,880,000 pound. Tournament will end on 12^th July till then stay tuned for the result of Wimbledon 2015. 

Nico Rosberg wins Austrian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton started Sunday Spielberg race from Pole position, but it was Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg who led into turn 1. From there on the German driver never looked back, securing his third win of the season to reduce Hamilton’s title advantage to just 10 points. The world champion, also handicapped by a 5s time penalty for crossing the white line on the pit exit, took the flag 3.8s behind Rosberg, while Felipe Massa scored his first and Williams second podium of the season.

Nor could anyone hold a candle to the Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel tried his best, but lost third place when Ferrari pit stop was delayed as the right rear wheel took longer to change. That was sufficient to drop him behind Felipe Massa, and his chase after the Brazilian was one of the race highlights. Over the final laps he was within striking distance, but Massa held on for his first podium since Abu Dhabi last year.

Ferrari lost their car in a violent accident on the opening lap and came into contact with Fernando Alonso McLaren. McLaren then retired their second car soon afterwards, when Jenson Button lost power after two pit stops, one to serve his 10s stop and go penalty for power unit changes, the other to investigate the incurable problem.

Hamilton still leads the driver championship with 169 points to Rosberg 159 and Vettel 120, while in constructor stakes Mercedes have 328 points to Ferrari 192 and Williams 129. Next race will take in Silverstone circuit, Britain on 5^th July, 2015. Last year the race was won by Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Stay tuned for this year result. 

French Open 2015

French Open is a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 114^th edition of the French Open and second grand slam event of the year. It consisted of events for professional players in singles, doubles, mixed doubles, juniors and wheelchair players. Rafael Nadal was the nine time defending champion in Men’s singles and Maria Sharapova in the Women Singles.

Stan Wawrinka won his first French Open title defeating Number one Novak Djokovic in the final by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, and 6-4. Serena Williams won her 3^rd French Open title and 20^th Grand Slam Singles title beating Safarova in the final. She defeated Safarova by 6-3, 6-7(2/7), and 6-2. This was Wawrinka second major winning title after Australian Open 2014. He also ended Novak 28 match winning streak.

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo won the Men’s doubles title defeating Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the final. In Women Doubles Bethanie and Safarova defeated Casey and Shvedova in the final. Mixed Double is won by Bethanie and Mike Bryan. Stan Wawrinka defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals and Jw.Tsonga in the Semi-Finals to reach finals of French Open. On the other end, Novak defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and Andy Murray in Semi-Finals.

In Women Singles, Serena defeated S.Errani in quarterfinals and T. Bacsinszky in Semi-Finals to reach final. Lucie Safarova defeated G. Muguruza in quarterfinals and A. Ivanovic in Semi-Finals to reach final of the tournament. The next tennis major tournament Wimbledon will start from 29 June 2015 and last till 12 July 2015. With stunning performances in Men’s section, competition is tougher for other players to win their title. Last year Novak Djokovic won Men’s singles and Petra Kvitova won Women singles title.

The Wisden Trophy

The Wisden trophy is named after the famous cricketing publisher Wisden and was presented by John Wisden and Co. It is awarded to the winner of the Test Cricket Series played between England and West Indies. It was first awarded in 1963. If the series is drawn then the country holding the Wisden trophy retains it. The Wisden Trophy is presented to the victorious team as a symbol of victory, but then returns to the MCC Museum at Lords.

England currently holds the trophy. They held the trophy for nine years, after beating the West Indies 3-1 to regain it in 2000. They successfully defended the trophy three times. West Indies regain the trophy in the most recent series in the West Indies, winning 1-0 in early 2009. It was originally planned to consist of four test matches. Currently, Wisden trophy tournament is going on in England with English country leading the series with 1-0. Last match will start from May 1, 2015.

In overall 111 Test matches had been played between West Indies and England in Wisden Trophy with West Indies winning maximum number of matches. They won 43 matches and England has won 31 matches. Series is been hold by West Indies 13 times and by England 8 times. In last five Encounters West Indies has won the series only once. Brian Lara is the top scorer of the Wisden Trophy. He has scored 2983 runs in 51 innings. His highest score of 400 also came up in the same trophy in 2004.

Curtly Ambrose is the maximum wicket taker in Wisden Trophy with 164 wickets in 8284 balls in a period of 12 years. Clive Lloyd has played maximum number of Test Matches in Wisden Trophy and played 19 matches. Most wins as Captain Record is in name of Viv Richards with 13 wins from 18 matches. These are some of the past records which are hold mostly by West Indies Cricket team. In future we hope to see these records in bag of England Cricket Team.

Formula E Championship

Formula E, officially the Formula E Championship, is a class of auto racing sanctioned by FIA and is the highest class of competition for one-make, single seater, electrically powered racing cars. The series was conceived in 2012 and the inaugural championship started in Beijing on 13 September 2014. There are 10 teams and 20 drivers and 40 cars in the championship. Each team has four cars.

This championship is held in nine countries such as China, USA, Russia, Argentina, Monaco, United Kingdom, Germany, Malaysia, and Uruguay. In this championship racing circuits are smaller than Formula One circuits. Length of a circuit is 2-3.4 km long. Electric cars can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3 seconds, with a maximum speed of 225 km/h. The generators used to re-charge the batteries are powered by Glycerine, a by-product of bio-diesel production.

Races in Formula E championship are 45 minutes in length. There is one pit stop in between the race. After battery runs low, a driver makes a timed pit stop and switches into a new fully charged car. Points system in Formula E championship is same as Formula One. First season of the championship is organized in eleven rounds. Out of these eleven rounds six rounds are already completed in five countries.

Lucas di Grassi from Audi Sport ABT leads the points table with 75 points and Nelson Piquet from China Racing stands at second place with 74 points. Both drivers are from Brazil. E.dams- Renault is at top position in team standings with 124 points. Second place is hold by Audi Sport ABT with 97 points. Next race of Formula E Championship will held in Monaco on 9 May 2015.

The second season of Formula E will be held from September 2015 to June 2016. The calendar will be expanded to 12 cities. The season will see the introduction of eight manufacturers, who will be allowed to change certain parts of the car.

Sebastian Vettel Wins Malaysian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel stunned everyone in the second race of this season at Malaysian Grand Prix, winning his first race after Brazil 2013. In the searing heat of Sepang, Vettel brought first win race for Ferrari. He won by a margin of +8 seconds. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton finished second and Mercedes Nico Rosberg finished third. After a dominant opening in Australia by Lewis Hamilton, he was challenged by Sebastian in Malaysia.

Now it seems to be a season between Mercedes and Ferrari whereas Williams and Red Bull can be tough competitors in the upcoming races. In Sepang, Mercedes had locked themselves into a three stop strategy but Ferrari had both pace and Tyres to get by with a two stopper. With Rosberg similarly trapped in a slower car, Mercedes never recovered sufficiently to launch a counter-attack. Vettel team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was able to recover from a first lap puncture caused by a brush with Felipe Nasr.

Hamilton was struggling with his car and had an angry exchange with his team over the radio. Hamilton was 8.5 sec behind Ferrari, with Rosberg another 3.7 sec down. Vettel lapped both Red Bulls on his 52^nd lap, but took no delight in that. Both Hamilton and Rosberg dominated last year season in Formula One. But this year there is a competition from Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel.        

Australia Clinch Fifth World Cup Title

After 45 days of fight between 14 teams, finally Australia Clinch their fifth World Cup title beating New Zealand in the final in MCG. Australian Captain Michael Clarke retired from ODI cricket. Match was completely in favor of Australia from beginning. New Zealand lost their captain in the first over and lost top three in first 15 overs. Whole team got out for 183 runs in 45 overs.

Australian Bowlers Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner took three wickets each and Starc took two important wickets. Grant Elliott top scored for the black caps with 83 but New Zealand hopes of winning the World Cup for the first time were dealt a savage blow when they lost last seven wickets in just 33 runs. Australia reached their victory target in 34^th over for the loss of just three wickets. Clarke, playing his last match made important 74 runs in just 72 balls.

Steven Smith is likely to be the new Australian Captain. Martin Guptill from New Zealand remained as the top scorer in the World Cup with 547 runs. Trent Boult and Starc shared most wicket dismissal figures of 22 wickets. Brad Haddin was the most successful wicket keepers in the World Cup with 16 dismissals. Chris Gayle hit 26 numbers of sixes which are most by any player. Guptill hit 59 fours which are most in the tournament by a single player.

James Faulkner won the man of the match award for his brilliant bowling spell and Mitchell Starc won the man of the Tournament Award for his 22 wickets. This was 400^th world cup game out of 3646 total ODI games played till now. Brad Haddin was the oldest Australian batsman to play in the final at MCG in 2015. Seven number of New Zealand players got out on ducks in two matches against Australia in 2015 World Cup.

In 2011, both hosting nations played final and the one hosting final won the cup. This same incident happened this time too. Both hosting nation played final and one hosting final match won the Tournament. Next world cup will held in England in 2019 from 30 May to 15 July and final will be played in Lords.

Cricket World Cup 2015: Semi-Final Clashes

Last week of Cricket World Cup 2015 has started and finally out of 14 teams in the tournament, four teams are left to compete against each other. Only one team from Asia is able to make it to the semi-finals this year. In Quarter Finals, all Asians teams played their matches and three of them went back. Sri Lanka ended their long streak of reaching semi-finals this year. Pakistan was knocked out again by Australia this year. Bangladesh was knocked out by India and West Indies by New Zealand.

India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand made into the finals. India will face Australia in Semi-final number two on 26^th March in Sydney. New Zealand will face South Africa in Semi-Final number one on 24^th March in Auckland. This year there will be space for only one team out of South Africa and New Zealand to reach finals. None of the team has ever won the cup. Australia will be playing their seventh consecutive semi-final on Thursday. However, they lose one game in this tournament against New Zealand by one wicket.

Australia also has advantage over India having won seven matches out of ten world Cup clash. Australia also came out on top in a tri-series against India and England, a month before world cup. However, India turnaround has been an impressive one. Bowlers have performed well and bowled out opposition team within 50 overs in every game. Batsman played well and top four making centuries in any of the game. Shikhar Dhawan did it twice and Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suresh Raina made it once. Captain Cool Dhoni also did well in middle against West Indies and Zimbabwe.

In first clash between New Zealand and South Africa, New Zealand has advantage over Caribbean’s. New Zealand will be playing in their home and batting efforts from Top five batsmen is quite impressive in this tournament. Bowlers are also doing well with Boult as the leading wicket taker and Southee and Vettori giving valuable contributions. South Africa will have to fight hard to win the game. However, they did against Sri Lanka. AB and Amla are top performers and Quinton and Du Plessis giving valuable support. Morkel, Tahir, and Steyn bowled well in the tournament but their losses against India and Pakistan make them less favorite.

My predictions are India and New Zealand will play Finals or it may happen both home teams will knocked out and India and South Africa will face each other again in Finals. Australia can beat India because of their home advantage.

2015 Sudirman Cup

The Sudirman Cup is the world mixed team Badminton Championship which takes place every two years. There are five matches in every round in Men singles, Women Singles, Men and Women Doubles and Mixed Doubles categories. The cup is named after Dick Sudirman, a former Indonesian badminton player and the founder of the Badminton Association of Indonesia. There is no prize money in the Sudirman Cup, players play for their respective countries and to earn BWF Ranking points and national prestige.

In 2015 format, there are four groups with each group sub-divided into more groups. Group One has four sub groups. Rest of the groups is divided into two subgroups. This year, Sudirman Cup will held in Dongguan, China. India is placed in Group 1D with Korea and Malaysia. The tournament will start from May 10 and last up to May 17. India will solely depend on the singles stars such as Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Kidambi Srikanth, and Parupalli Kashyap.

Group 1A is consists of China, Thailand, and Germany with China as the strong contender. Group 1B consists of Japan, USA, and Chinese Taipei. Group 1C is named as Group of Death with Denmark, Indonesia, and England. Teams in Group 1 will play two stages: group play off followed by knockout. The top two teams from each sub group will qualify for the knock out. China has been the most dominant nation in the Sudirman Cup, having won nine editions. Indonesia and Korea have lifted the trophy once and thrice.

The Sudirman Cup for the World Mixed Team Championships feature 35 teams divided into four groups. Of these, the top 12 ranked teams in Group 1 will vie for the trophy, while the other teams will fight for the ranking spots.

Here are the groups for the Sudirman Cup:

Group 1:

Group 1A: China, Thailand, Germany

Group 1B: Japan, Chinese Taipei, USA

Group 1C: Denmark, Indonesia, England

Group 1D: India, Korea, Malaysia

Group 2:

Group 2A: Russia, Hong Kong China, Canada, Spain

Group 2B: Singapore, Netherlands, France, Brazil

Group 3:

Group 3A: Czech Republic, Turkey, South Africa, Australia

Group 3B: Vietnam, Australia, Italy, Switzerland

Group 4:

Group 4A: Nigeria, Philippines, Iceland

Group 4B: Israel, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Kazakhstan

2015 Formula One Calendar

The 2015 Formula One season will be the 66^th season of the Formula One world Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which is recognized by the sport governing body, the Federation International of Automobile. Twenty drivers representing ten teams will contest twenty Grand Prix, starting in Australia on 15 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 29 November. Lewis Hamilton is the defending champion after securing his second title at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mercedes will begin the season as the defending constructor champion, having securing its first championship title at the 2014 Russian Grand Prix.

The pre-season test drive had already taken place in Spain in February. Car launches is also done in month of January and February. The Ten teams participating in the tournament are Williams, Lotus, McLaren-Honda, Ferrari, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Mercedes, and Force India. Season will kick from Australia and end in Abu Dhabi. The 2015 Calendar is as follow:-

March 15: Australian GP, March 29: Malaysia GP, April 12: Chinese GP, April 19: Bahrain GP, May 10: Spanish GP, May 24: Monaco GP, June 7: Canadian GP, June 21: Austrian GP, July 5: British GP, July 19: German GP, July 26: Hungarian GP, August 23: Belgian GP, September 6: Italian GP, September 20: Singapore GP, September 27: Japanese GP, October 11: Russian GP, October 25: U.S. GP, November 1: Mexican GP, November 15: Brazilian GP, November 29: Abu Dhabi GP.

This season Honda will return to Formula One as an Engine Supplier to McLaren. Lotus will change engine suppliers, ending their association with Renault in favor of a deal with Mercedes. Fernando Alonso will replace Kevin Magnussen at McLaren. Sebastian Vettel left at Red Bull Racing at the end of 2014 season after fifteen years and join Ferrari in the place of Alonso. Daniil Kvyat was promoted to Red Bull form Toro Russo to fill the seat vacated by Vettel. Mexican Grand Prix is returned in this season for the first time since 1992. Grand prix of America, Indian Grand Prix, and Korean Grand Prix failed to race bids and will not take part in this season.

The driver line-ups of all teams with one reserved driver are here. Mercedes Drivers are Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with Pascal Wehriein as Reserved Driver. Red Bull drivers are Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat with Sebastien Buemi as reserved driver. Williams drivers are Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa with Susie Wolff as reserved driver. Ferrari drivers are Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen with Esteban Gutierrez as reserved driver. McLaren drivers are Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button with Kevin Magnussen as reserved driver.

Force India drivers are Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso drivers are Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus drivers are Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado with Jolyon Palmer as reserved driver. Sauber drivers are Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr with Raffaele Marciello as reserved driver. Manor drivers are Will Stevens and one place is still vacant for one a driver. Fernando Alonso was involved in a pre-season testing accident that saw the two-time world champion hospitalized. Alonso withdrew from the season opening Australian Grand Prix prompting the team to replace him with Kevin Magnussen for the race. 

World Cup 2015 - Records Breaking Match

This year in World Cup 2015, both bowlers and batsman are giving great performances. Ten days are passed and tournament is already flooded with lot of records. World Cup first match started with 300+ scores and most of the matches are ending in 300+ scores in first innings. New Zealand, Australia, India, and West Indies are giving great performances. West Indies have scored 300+ in all matches and so did India.

New Zealand beats England with 37.4 overs spare, it is the worst defeat for a test nation. Tim Southee took seven wickets in a match, which is the best bowling for New Zealand in World Cup. McCullum smashed fastest World Cup fifty against England. Ireland chased down 300+ score against West Indies. Pakistan were reduced to 1 for 4 against West Indies, the worst start in any of the World Cup match. Eoin Morgan is the only man in World Cup 2015 to play for two different countries. He played for Ireland in 2007 and now for England as a Captain.

Finally, on 24^th February 2015, many World Cup records were broken. West Indies firing machine Chris Gayle finally turned all faces towards him in a single match. He struck first double-hundreds of World Cup in in just 138 balls. He scored 215 runs, the highest by any batsman in World Cup. He broke Gary Kirsten record of 188 runs against UAE. He is the now the fourth batsman to scored double hundred in ODIs. His double century came after exactly five years, Sachin Tendulkar scored first Double-hundreds against South Africa.

Sixteen number of sixes smashed by Chris Gayle in his innings, joint most by any batsman in ODI. AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma have also hit 16 sixes. Gayle runs tally is above 9000 in ODIs and became second West Indies batsman after Brian Lara to achieve this feat. This was his 22^nd century, equal to Saurav Ganguly and Virat Kohli. 372 runs scored by West Indies in their innings, their highest in ODI. This is also the highest score by any team in ODI in Australia.

Gayle and Samuels scored 372 runs partnership for second wicket, which is the highest any wicket partnership in ODI. The previous record was 331, between Sachin and Rahul Dravid. 298 balls faced by Gayle and Samuels, the most for any ODI stand. The partnership record for second wicket is also broken by them. Earlier record was for 165 runs between Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin in 1987. Zimbabwe scored 3 number of 275+ scores in this World Cup, the most ever for them in single edition of World Cup.

These are some of the records broken in a single match and until now in this edition of World Cup. We may see more records breaking performance in remaining matches. Stay Tuned for all.

Cricket World Cup 2015

The 2015 Cricket World Cup is the 11^th Cricket World Cup, currently being hosted by Australia and New Zealand from 14 February 2015 to 29 March 2015. Fourteen teams will play 49 matches in 14 venues, with Australia staging 26 games and New Zealand hosting 23 games. The final match of the tournament will take place at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The ICC has named Sachin Tendulkar as the 2015 Cricket World Cup Ambassador for the second time, after 2011 Cricket World Cup where he was the Ambassador. India is the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2011 defeating Sri Lanka in the finals. Now, let us have a look on all teams and key players from each team.

Afghanistan- This debutant team of this year got good experience in T20 Cricket and beaten both Ireland and Scotland in 2015. Key Players are Nawroz Mangal and Captain Mohammad Nabil.

Australia- The hosts, the favorites, and the team to beat. They have won 11 of their last 13 ODI. Key Players are David Warner, Mitchell Johnson, Steve Smith, and Glenn Maxwell. Captain Michael Clarke is also in good form and Coach Darren Lehmann guidance can make this team fifth time champion.

Bangladesh- Always a threat but not quite the dangerous underdogs they were in 2007 and 2011. Whitewashed Zimbabwe in recently but have not beaten any of the top eight team since 2013. Key Players are Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, and Tamim Iqbal. Captain is Mashrafe Mortaza.

England- Founder country of Cricket but have never won the World Cup. This time they got some all-rounders and a captain in form. Key Players are Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Joe Root, Stuart Broad, and James Anderson. Their Captain is Eoin Morgan.

India- Defending champions and good performer team in last four years in major tournaments. Played three major finals and won two. Current conditions are little shaky but captain cool is always good to watch. Key players are Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Captain is Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Ireland- Famous win over Pakistan in 2007 and England in 2011 are still remembered. This team can beat any top performing team. Key Player is Ed Joyce and captain is William Porterfield.

New Zealand- Currently the best team in form and favorite to win the tournament. Played six semi-finals until now. Key Players are Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Boult, Vettori, and Southee. Captain is Brendon McCullum.

Pakistan- Line up looks shaky after absence of Hafeez. Star batsman Afridi is in good form. Key players are Umar Akmal, Afridi, Irfan, and Ahmed Shahzad. Captain is Misbah-Ul-Haq.

Scotland- Goal is to register first win at World Cup. Good performing team with key player and captain Preston Mommsen.

South Africa- Top most team in ODI with a star line up. This is the team to watch out for in this season. This team have never won any major tournament. Key Players are Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Philander, Morkel, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, and Duminy. Captain is AB de Villiers.

Sri Lanka- Runner up of last two world cup tournaments and winner of 2014 T20 World Cup. Most consistent performing team always. Key Players are Lasith Malinga, Jayawardene, Sangakkara, and Dilshan. Captain is Angelo Mattews.

UAE- Another opportunity to play in World Cup. Key Player is Khurram Khan, 43 year old all rounder and oldest player in the tournament. Captain is Mohammad Tauqir.

West Indies- Never Underestimated team with huge and power hitters. Key Players are Chris Gayle, Smith, Sammy, Russell, and Samuels. Captain is Jason Holder.

Zimbabwe- One of the underdog’s team from the past. They have experienced and consistent players in the team. Key Players is Brendan Taylor. Captain is Elton Chigumbura.

These are the 14 teams of the tournament this year. Event will start on 14 February 2015. Opening match will be played between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Auckland.

Big Bash League 2014-15

The KFC T20 Big Bash League is the Australian domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament, which was established in 2011. The Big Bash League replaced the previous competition, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, and featured city based franchises instead of state teams, which had participated previously. The top two teams in the tournament qualify for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

The 2014-15 Big Bash League season was the fourth season of the BBL. The tournament started on 18 December 2014 and final was played on 28 January 2015. The Perth Scorchers won back-to-back titles by defeating Sydney Sixers by 4 wickets on the last ball of the match. The final was also the final match of Brett Lee’s career. Jacque Kallis of the Sydney Thunder was named ‘Player of the tournament for his 235 runs and 6 wickets in the tournament. Jason Behrendroff of the Scorchers was named ‘Young Gun of the Tournament’ for his 15 wickets in the season.

Sydney Sixers batted first and scored 147 in 20 overs and their captain Henriques made 77 runs with Strike rate of 135.08. In response, Perth Scorchers made 148 runs in 20 overs. Shaun Marsh made the maximum runs in second innings. He scored 73 runs with strike rate of 123.72. Perth Scorchers needed 8 in the last over and two back-to-back wickets from Brett Lee kept the match in excited mode. On the last ball, Yasir Arafat took a risky single when Henriques was not able to hit the stumps for run-out, which made Scorchers second time winner of the tournament.

Klinger from Scorchers scored the most runs in the tournament and the only one to hit a century. Kevin Peterson followed him from Melbourne Stars and was second highest run scorer. Hastings from Melbourne Stars took the maximum wickets and Behrendroff from Scorchers was second highest wicket taker. A total 789 four were smashed in the tournament. Count tally of Sixes was 312. Perth Scorchers is the most successful team in the Big Bash League in all seasons. In four seasons, this was their fourth Final. This year again they will compete in the Champions League, which is played between Top Domestic teams from New Zealand, India, South Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and other Test playing nations.