Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood on Sunday absolved Mitchell Marsh of blame for committing one of cricket's biggest sins -- dropping a catch which would have seen the back of India superstar Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul hit defiant half-centuries as India beat Australia by six wickets in the Cricket World Cup on Sunday.

Kohli and Rahul put together an unbeaten century stand in Chennai to thwart Australia's bowling in the 150th ODI meeting between the two teams.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes’ availability for the game against Bangladesh in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 remains doubtful, according to English media.

Ravindra Jadeja led India's spin charge with figures of 3-28 to bowl out Australia for 199 in a key clash of the ODI World Cup on Sunday.

A pitch invader breached heavy security and fencing to break onto the field at the Cricket World Cup game between India and Australia on Sunday, getting to within touching distance of players including superstar Virat Kohli.

Warner achieved the landmark, fastest to reach 1,000 World Cup runs, in 19 innings in Chennai to better Tendulkar and former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers -- both of whom got the runs in 20 outings.

In the Tiger’s opening match at the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, the Bangladesh fans saw another all-rounder come to bat at one-down, hit a half-century to steady the innings following a rocky start and snap up three wickets with the ball. This ‘2019 Shakibesque’ performance came from Mehedi Hasan Miraz.

While Australia have an obvious advantage head-to-head, having won 83 games to 56 losses, India’s recent form makes things even. They won the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka last month and then went on to beat Australia 2-1 at home. 

“In this team Miraz is the biggest asset,” Mashrafe further wrote, adding that Bangladesh’s World Cup dream will depend on the pace unit.

Three of South Africa's top four batters smashed rapid hundreds as they racked up a tournament record total of 428-5 en route to a comprehensive victory over the 1996 champions.

Hosts India will take on Australia in their opening World Cup fixture at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. 

With the triumph, Canada and Bermuda finished level on points in the double round-robin qualifying group, which also featured Panama and the Cayman Islands, but the Canadians advanced due to a better run rate.

India skipper Rohit Sharma said Saturday that a World Cup win at home was "unfinished business" for his men, channelling the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's words before the 2011 triumph that capped his career.

A placard reading "We love you Miraz" held by a Bangladesh fan in the stands of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium yesterday reflected the trust the all-rounder has gained in recent times.

South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 102 runs at the Cricket World Cup on Saturday after posting the highest total in the history of the tournament of 428-5.

The last time Bangladesh played in Dharamshala was back in 2016 during the ICC T20 World Cup. In that match against Oman, Tamim Iqbal made history by becoming the first Bangladeshi to score a century in the format. Even though Tamim is not a part of this World Cup campaign but, thanks to the fans, his presence was felt at the picturesque Dharamshala stadium during Bangladesh’s match yesterday. A number of Bangladesh supporters in the gallery were seen holding up a placard written, ‘We will never forget you’ with Tamim’s picture, reminiscing the contributions of the former Bangladesh captain.

A placard saying ‘We love you Miraz’ held by a Bangladesh supporter at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamsala on Saturday reflected the amount of trust and reliability that all-rounder Mehedi Hasan Miraz has been able to gain in recent times.

As for his batting, he said: "I always play at number eight so it was a great opportunity to bat in the top order...it's a great moment for me to perform."

This was Afghanistan's 13th successive defeat at the World Cup, a run stretching back to 2015.