Having braved the long, colourful and festive queues for hours early Sunday to get into the ground, many started leaving the stadium in droves by the 35th over of Australia's chase as the result became obvious.

Wearing a face mask in the colours of the Palestinian flag, and a T-shirt with the slogan "Stop Bombing Palestine", the unnamed young protester ran onto the pitch in the 132,000-seat mega-stadium in India's western city of Ahmedabad.

As a cricketer, Virat Kohli is in a league of his own. Cricket fans all around the world enjoy his energetic and powerful playing style. In fact, he broke Sachin Tendulkar's milestone for the most runs at an ODI World Cup with his 50th ODI century in India's semi-final match versus New Zealand during the 2023 World Cup.

Drivers honked at fans blocking roads, shouting slogans and bargaining with roadside hawkers hours before the Sunday afternoon finale between the cricket-crazy hosts and the game's traditional powerhouse Australia.

The hosts take on Australia in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday with Shami on top of the tournament bowling chart, taking 23 wickets in six matches

A showpiece match at the 130,000 capacity Narendra Modi Stadium --  named after the Indian Prime Minister, who is expected to attend the game -- will also feature a pre-match fly-past by the Indian Air Force as well as choreographed displays featuring dozens of dancers and light shows during the innings breaks.

In the ranks of cricket warriors, Glenn Maxwell has made quite a name for himself. The lightning-fast batting of this 35-year-old Australian has been a highlight of the World Cup 2023 games. One of the best batsmen in the world, he has earned the moniker "Big Show" due to his propensity for smashing sixes and unconventional shots.

Australia bowled out South Africa for a below-par 212 despite David Miller's defiant 101 in the second semi-final of the 50-over World Cup at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

"A lot of people believe that this could be the year that we see ourselves in the final," Bavuma, who remains doubtful to play the semi-final due his hamstring injury, told reporters.

"The first time I met you in the Indian dressing room, you were pranked by other teammates into touching my feet. I couldn't stop laughing that day," Tendulkar wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

In the middle of the 23rd over, after managing a single, Gill went down and had to receive treatment. He scored 79 off 65 balls.

Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul hit hundreds while India's top-order batsmen all sparkled as the World Cup hosts, already bound for the semi-finals, posted a mammoth 410-4 from 50 overs against the Netherlands in their final group-stage game on Sunday.

“You can debate whether we have to stick to the rules as they are. Or you have to sometimes give a little leeway for a little bit of spirit of cricket. And there'll be people on both sides of the camp."

“The batters failed to convert their starts. That will be the biggest learning that everybody would take out of this World Cup,” Sriram told The Daily Star before the Australia match

Trent Boult led an inspired bowling display to help New Zealand down Sri Lanka by five wickets on Thursday and move to the brink of the World Cup semi-finals.

The opener and his wife are expecting the birth of their first child

After a disastrous show in the ongoing ICC World Cup, Ashraful feels the Tigers think tank needs revamping in order to create a difference in Bangladesh’s performance for the coming days. 

The Dutch side, who came through the qualifiers, upset South Africa and beat Bangladesh to register two wins from their eight matches so far.

In 1956, Pakistani umpire Idris Baig was 'kidnapped' by England players, taken to the team hotel in Peshawar and doused with buckets of water

The weather in Bengaluru has been cloudy since the morning with some light drizzle earlier in the day