'He was one of the reasons I had the courage to move to Mumbai from Bangalore to pursue modelling when I was just 18 years old' Anushka wrote in her post.
Martin Guptill struck his third Test century while Kane Williamson fell just short his 13th as New Zealand blunted Sri Lanka's inexperienced bowling attack to set themselves up for a big total in the first Test in Dunedin on Thursday.
All-rounder Colin de Grandhomme took six for 41 in the best haul for a New Zealand cricketer on debut as the hosts dismissed Pakistan for 133 before tea on the second day of the first test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday. The 30-year-old seamer, a surprise selection in the squad, also became the eighth New Zealander to take a five-wicket haul on debut. New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Jeet Raval, who is also on debut, will begin New Zealand's reply after tea was taken early.
As we write this we still await the crucial India-Australia knock-out in Mohali. But India's individual performances in the T20 World Cup so far haven't been truly impressive. A look at the most valuable player index (MVPI) table reveals that there's no Indian player in the top 20. MVPI merges a player's batting + bowling + fielding performance into a single 'run equivalent'. The formula to compute the MVP is devised to reward batsmen who score runs at a high strike rate, bowlers who take wickets at low economy rate and fielders who field the best (take a lot of catches and participate in run-outs). Since this is a relatively low scoring tournament we have assumed a team's par score to be 150, and each wicket to be worth 15 'runs'. It isn't a surprise that players from New Zealand dominate the rankings so far, although Joe Root tops the table after his 83 in 44 balls against South Africa.
ECB to allow replacements for concussed players in domestic matches
Trent Boult provided the impetus needed for New Zealand with a five-wicket haul as the hosts completed an innings and 52-run victory over Bangladesh on the fourth day of the first Test in Hamilton on Sunday.
Cairns feels his sporting career is helping his recovery as he hopes to be able to walk again.
Images from the World Cup match between Australia and New Zealand at Lord's on Saturday.
New Zealand named an unchanged squad that beat West Indies 2-0 in December for the two-match Test series against India starting February 6.
The second Test between India and Bangladesh at Kolkata's Eden Gardens will be the first day-night Test on Indian soil, making India the seventh country to host a day-night Test.
New Zealand have never won a major global title, losing the last two 50-over World Cup finals and never reaching the World Twenty20 final.
SLC said Perera decided to retire to focus on his family life and to make way for younger players to come into the team.
New Zealand and Bangladesh enter their final group match of the ICC Champions Trophy, in Cardiff, on Friday, with the knowledge that even a win may not be enough to see either of them into the semi-finals.
IMAGES from the first ODI played between New Zealand and India at Napier
Yuvraj Singh will be missing India's opening warm-up game against New Zealand on Sunday.
Goalkeeper P R Sreejesh could feature in his first competitive event in eight months after being named in India's 20-member squad for a four-nation tournament in New Zealand. India will compete with Belgium, Japan and hosts New Zealand at Tauranga and Hamilton in the tournament, beginning January 17.
New Zealand's best-known and most highly-rated umpire was axed from New Zealand Cricket's international panel after standing in 84 Tests and 200 One-day internationals during a 21-year career.
Pakistan to allow vaccinated spectators to attend NZ series.
India captain Jasprit Bumrah on Tuesday blamed his side's defeat to England in the rescheduled fifth Test in Birmingham to the batting failure in the second innings, saying they let the match slip away from their hands after dominating major part of it.
India's ODI squad against Australia announced; squads for New Zealand tour declared
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
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.
Brendon McCullum - playing his last Test match- produced a sensational display of stroke-play, blasting to the fastest hundred in Test cricket history. McCullum took 54 balls to reach the three-figure mark, two less than the previous record. Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq held the previous record with 56-ball hundreds. In terms of time taken, McCullum's hundred in 78 minutes is the joint fourth fastest in Test cricket. Statistician Rajneesh Gupta glances at the records of the fastest hundreds in Test cricket:
The visitors were 38 for one in 14 overs at the draw of stumps on day three. Ravikumar Samarth (27 not out) and Ankit Bawne (5 not out) were on the crease after Abhimanyu Easwaran was dismissed in the seventh over.
There is an uncanny resemblance between Wade and Jackson's 'gravity-defying tilt'.
Impressed with their consistent showings in the tournament so far, former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson on Sunday backed Shahid Afridi and his men to emerge winners in the much-anticipated World Cup semi-final against India.
After New Zealand thrashed India by ten wickets in the first Test in Wellington on Monday, former cricketer VVS Laxman said the visitors were outplayed in all departments. This was New Zealand's 100th Test match win, while on the other hand World No 1 India suffered their first defeat in the ICC World Test Championship.
Veteran leg-spinner Shah took six second innings wickets for 143 runs to finish the match with a career-best 14 for 184 as New Zealand were bowled out for 312 after being forced to follow on a day earlier.
Martin Guptill underlined his importance to the New Zealand one-day side with a blistering match-winning century as he guided his side to a seven-wicket victory over South Africa in their fourth one-day international in Hamilton on Wednesday.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns is in an intensive care unit at a Sydney hospital after undergoing cardiovascular surgery following a major heart incident in Canberra last week.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers became the fastest man to score 9,000 one-day international runs as he led his side to a 159-run victory over New Zealand in the third one-day international on Saturday.
Trent Boult took the prized wicket of AB de Villiers then bowled Dwaine Pretorious in the penultimate over as New Zealand secured a series-levelling six-run victory in the second One-day international against South Africa on Wednesday.
Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma struck scintillating half-centuries during a record 158-run partnership and powered India to a formidable 202 for three.
This was India's 50 victory in ODIs against New Zealand, against whom they have played 100 matches.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players.
Australia captain Steve Smith has been ruled out of the upcoming one-day international series in New Zealand after he picked up a minor ankle injury in the ODI victory over Pakistan in Adelaide on Thursday.
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has sent out a clear warning to his team ahead of its tour of India: either adapt quickly to the conditions or be taught a harsh lesson by the world's No.1 side.
Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori could make a surprise return to the Test arena as coach Mike Hesson considers taking three spinners into the deciding clash with Pakistan in Sharjah which starts on Wednesday.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has returned to side after recovering from eye surgery in late November and will rejoin the Test team for their two-match series against Bangladesh. Taylor had surgery to remove a pterygium, or growth, on his left eye that had affected his vision after the second Test victory against Pakistan in Hamilton. "It's great to have Ross back," New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said in a statement on Thursday. "He has a phenomenal record that speaks for itself and he's coming off a terrific hundred in his last Test.
