The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be staged in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29, and India will begin its title defence against traditional rivals Pakistan in a high-voltage clash in Adelaide, on February 15.
Auckland Aces were knockout of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament after they suffered a four-wicket defeat against Somerset in a nail-biting qualifying match in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Jacques Kallis conceded that his side made mistakes but could still win their Champions Trophy Twenty20 qualifiers match against Auckland Aces in Hyderabad.
The 29-year-old Olympic bronze medallist and World No 9 went down 16-21, 23-21, 4-21 to her 19-year-old opponent in the women's singles match.
Rahul is likely to continue behind the wickets again in Friday's Twenty20 series opener in Auckland.
India's bowlers highlighted the balance of their side as they set up an easy seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international at Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. KL Rahul (57 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (44) then marshalled the run chase as they helped their side to reach 135-3 with 15 balls to spare, chasing New Zealand's 132-5.
It remains to be seen whether India stick to their combination of three specialist pacers and two spinners combination or bring in an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav to partner Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja.
New Zealand are favourites to beat Australia in their highly anticipated World Cup clash at Eden Park on Saturday but won't like the idea, former Australia captain Steve Waugh has said.
'It's not necessarily just been that one moment and the lights, or that twilight period. It's sometimes been right at the start of the game... later on in day four, these strange passages of play have happened.'
The squad for the two Tests against India is set to be named on February 17, with the opening match starting four days later in Wellington on February 21.
With a jaunty victory dance, 101- year-old Man Kaur celebrated winning the 100 metres sprint at the World Masters Games in Auckland on Monday, the 17th gold medal in the Indian athlete's remarkable late-blooming career.
New Zealand will be banking on injured pace bowlers Trent Boult (hand), Matt Henry (thumb) and Lockie Ferguson (calf) coming back into contention for the Tests
Towering fast bowler Kyle Jamieson will make his international debut for New Zealand against India in the second one-day match in Auckland on Saturday. The 2.03m (6'8") tall Jamieson was called into the national squad for the final two Tests against Australia but did not play and was not in the side for the opening one-day match against India in Hamilton on Wednesday.
India's fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar said that the team has not lived up to the fielding standards which was witnessed during the ICC World Cup last year. In the ongoing tour of New Zealand, the Indian team has dropped quite a few catches and has not been able to capitalise on the run-out opportunities.
Reader Perdy Mohindru from Auckland, New Zealand, sent us this article and picture of Shreya Ghoshal's concert in New Zealand recently.
Next year's Women's Cricket ODI World Cupw ill be capped by a final in Christchurch under lights at the Hagley Oval, one of New Zealand's main Test venues.
Senior New Zealand opener Martin Guptill was ruled out of the three-match series after failing to recover from a back injury.
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Aamir was Friday booed on his return to international cricket by the crowd during the first Twenty20 match against New Zealand in Auckland. The 23-year-old left-arm pacer was making his first appearance for Pakistan since returning from a five-year ban and jail time for being implicated in a spot-fixing scandal in 2010. Pakistan defeated the hosts by 16 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with Mohammad Hafeez scoring 61 as they reached 171 for eight. Shahid Afridi's astute captaincy coupled with an all-round effort, helped Pakistan overcome New Zealand's challenge.
India won the twin T20 Internationals in Auckland by margins of six and seven wickets respectively to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
New Zealand's fast bowling department has been hit hard by injuries as Matt Henry, Doug Bracewell and Adam Milne have also been sidelined.
Juan Martin Del Potro, who reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open on two occasions, has been battling problems with his right knee since June last year
New Zealand's temperamental batsman Jesse Ryder and medium-pacer Doug Bracewell have been fined an undisclosed amount by the country's cricket board for a late-night drinking binge ahead of the opening Test against India at Auckland.
Virat Kohli will join the elite company of eleven other Indians and a total of 70 other players across the various countries to complete the century of Test match appearances.
The skipper, however, hinted that there would be a bit more lateral movement with the pink ball which can 'work in their favour'.
China has lost an opportunity to witness something inspirational by denying visa to the 101-year old sprinter Man Kaur, who wanted to compete at the Asian Masters Athletics Championships, says her son Gurdev Singh.
Chanting protestors interrupted Shahar Peer's second round match at the Auckland Classic on Wednesday before the Israeli advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-1 6-0 victory over Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova.
New Zealand is the latest country after the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka which has offered to host the Indian Premier League in case the T20 league can't be held in India due to rising cases of coronavirus. The postponement announcement of the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in October-November in Australia, is imminent, creating a window for the 13th edition of IPL.
B Sai Praneeth went down fighting to second seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the men's singles semi-finals of the New Zealand Open badminton in Auckland on Saturday.
A homicide inquiry has been launched into the death of an Indian-origin taxi driver in Auckland suburbs early on Sunday.The victim has been identified as Hiren Mohini, a 39-year-old resident of Mount Roskill. Mohini was driving an Auckland co-op taxi, which veered off the road and hit a tree at approximately 1.30 a.m. Local residents, who were woken by the crash, rushed to help Mohini and remove him from the vehicle. Emergency services were also called but he died.
The vicious way in which an Indian taxi driver was murdered in New Zealand's Auckland city would shock even criminals, a senior police official said on Tuesday, as 40 officers stepped up their hunt for the elusive killer.Hiren Mohini, 39, was killed early on Sunday in Auckland, one of the largest cities in New Zealand. Mohini's taxi collided with a tree in Mount Eden at approximately 1.20 am after he was allegedly stabbed by a passenger.
The New Zealand government may introduce mandatory safety measures in taxis after an Indian origin cab driver was stabbed to death in Auckland over the weekend.
The T20 team has been doing really well in New Zealand and the young guns have contributed significantly to its success, leaving the batting coach hugely impressed.
Nick Kyrgios clinched his maiden tour title on home soil in a big confidence boost ahead of the Australian Open, beating Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-2 in the Brisbane International final.
After keeping wickets K L Rahul scored 56 off 27 balls; his 99-run partnership with Virat Kohli set up the base for India's successful chase of New Zealand's 203 runs in the opening T20 in Auckland on Friday.
Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar congratulated New Zealand on sealing their maiden cricket World Cup final spot, but also consoled South Africa for again failing to cross the semi-final hurdle after losing to the Kiwis by four wickets in a nail-biting finish in Auckland, on Tuesday.
India should look to attack NZ with two regular spinners, says Kumble
The second India-Australia Test begins on Friday at the new Perth Stadium, which has succeeded the WACA as the city's premier venue for internationals, and which has a drop-in pitch.
Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna warmed up for the next week's Australian Open in great style as they won ATP titles with their partners in Auckland and Sydney respectively.
Neesham and Martin Guptill were in the thick of things at Lord's on Sunday when Gordon passed away due to a heart ailment.
