Shikhar Dhawan's injury has unintentionally forced India to go for a tactical rejig despite convincing victories in the first two games against South Africa and Australia.
One of the primary focus of Monday's encounter could be the inclusion of Indian cricket's latest enfant terrible Hardik Pandya, who is coming back from provisional suspension for his loose talk on a TV chat show.
Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja reduced Australia's victory target to 131 runs with nine wickets in hand at the end of the fourth day of the second Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval on Tuesday.
The Indian team is still searching for the right middle-order combination with the World Cup just a few months away.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the T20 series against England.
Virat Kohli produced another breathtaking effort as his superbly crafted unbeaten 154 enabled India to cruise to an easy seven-wicket victory in the third ODI against New Zealand, in Mohali, on Sunday.
Virat Kohli held centrestage with a delightful unbeaten 85 after a collective bowling effort as India cruised to an easy six-wicket victory over New Zealand taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series in Dharamsala on Sunday. After bowling out New Zealand for 190 in 43.5 overs, India reached the target in a mere 33.1 overs in a match that turned out to be thoroughly one-sided.
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has criticised his players' decision-making in India after the one-day side were thrashed in the final match of the tour.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra picked up his second five-wicket haul in one-day internationals as India skittled New Zealand for 79 to win the final match by 190 runs in Visakhapatnam on Saturday for a 3-2 series victory.
Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara added another milestone to his already storied career when he broke the world record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in One-Day Internationals against New Zealand in Wellington on Thursday.
Aggressive top-order batsman Jesse Ryder was passionate about rekindling his international career after he was thrown a World Cup lifeline by being named in a New Zealand 'A' team for one-day matches in the United Arab Emirates next month.
Despite their up and down showing in the league stage, there is no doubt that England are one of the most complete teams in the World Cup and are heavy favourites for Sunday's final, but New Zealand won't give up without a fight.
Following his return to form in the abruptly-ended West Indies series, Indian batsman Virat Kohli claimed the number two slot in the ICC rankings while swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke into the top-10 for the first time in his career.
Former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori believes a quick start will be crucial to their hopes against India in the first semi-final at Old Trafford.
England's James Anderson is the first fast bowler to take 600 Test wickets.
Captain Kane Williamson led from the front with a superb century before his bowlers held their nerves in a close finish to help New Zealand edge past India by six runs in the second One-Day International in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Skipper Kane Williamson's brilliant 97 and Matt Henry's maiden five-wicket haul gave New Zealand a comprehensive 68-run victory over Pakistan in the final one-dayer in Abu Dhabi on Friday. New Zealand won the series 3-2.
On a roll after a poor start, Delhi Daredevils will look to complete a hat-trick of victories on home turf when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League encounter, in New Delhi on Saturday.
The Mumbai Indians seem to script a similar story from the last two Indian Premier League editions, when they had recovered from poor starts. After a sluggish start in IPL 9, the defending champions have finally seemed to find their form by defeating heavyweights Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium. Captain Rohit Sharma led from the front by scoring a match-winning 62 runs but another major positive that MI can take from Wednesday's game is that they finally look to find their settled playing XI. Skipper Rohit reflects on MI's second victory out of five games and also reveals his future plans in the tournament. Congratulations on the successful run-chase. This must be a very satisfying win against a good team? Yes, it is a very satisfying victory, especially to beat a team like that. We just wanted to focus on our strengths and we did pretty much well. We bowled really well, we fielded really well and we batted well too. This was a perfect example of how we can perform as a team. As a captain it is sheer joy to see the batsmen step-up and perform well. I am really happy to see this.
IMAGES from the 2nd T20 International played between New Zealand and India in Auckland on Friday
Images from the first T20 International between India and New Zealand in Wellington on Wednesday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players of World Cup 2019.
India has played New Zealand in four T20 games. Guess how many India won?
Rajneesh Gupta is amazed at Evin Lewis' whirlwind knock.
AB de Villiers returned to form with a brisk half-century which helped South Africa to complete a 62-run win and a 2-1 series victory over New Zealand on Wednesday.
Joe Burns and Steve Smith capitalised on perfect batting conditions to score centuries as Australia reduced New Zealand's lead to just seven runs at the end of day two of the second test on Sunday. Neil Wagner dismissed both batsmen in identical fashion in the final half-hour to give his side some late reward for a day of toil under a cloudless Christchurch sky. Burns, who had been dismissed early in his innings only to have the decision overturned on review, was well caught low down by Martin Guptill at square leg for 170, his highest test score and third century. Smith also fell to a short ball in Wagner's next over for 138, his 14th test century, caught by the same fielder. Adam Voges was on two with nightwatchman Nathan Lyon on four as the visitors ended the day 363 for four, having all but mowed down New Zealand's first innings 370.
Left-handed batsman Henry Nicholls is in line to make his Test debut against Australia next week with Ross Taylor ruled out of the side for the match at the Basin Reserve with a side strain.
Hosts England lock horns with New Zealand at the Riverside with both sides knowing that victory would secure their passage.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has been named to lead his country in his final one-day series against Australia next month, providing he can prove his fitness.
James Pattinson has been recalled to Australia' starting side for the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday, replacing his injured Victorian team mate Peter Siddle.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 3.
His cricketing brain, always sharp, was blessed with exceptional speed of information absorption and processing. He could quickly zero in on what needed to be done and use the element of surprise to overpower the opposition, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
Images from Day 2 of the third and final Test between India and New Zealand in Indore on Sunday.
Kohli started his English summer on a bright note hitting an unbeaten 52 off 55 balls while Mahendra Singh Dhoni also played some delightful strokes square off the wicket.
Uncapped batsman Henry Nicholls has been called into New Zealand's one-day squad for the start of the five-match series against Sri Lanka, while pace duo Trent Boult and Tim Southee have been rested.
Selecting a talent like Virat Kohli early in his career would be considered a masterstroke by most but according to former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, it ended his career as a national selector.
The ball was old, the stage set and expectations high but India's Rohit Sharma again spurned the opportunity to assert his long-form credentials in the first test against New Zealand on Thursday. Often hailed as the next big thing to come out of Mumbai since Sachin Tendulkar, the 29-year-old is an automatic choice in the limited-overs side and the only batsman to score two one-day international double centuries.
Among others, Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has moved up to take top position among bowlers with some fine performances in a 2-0 series win over Zimbabwe.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players at World Cup 2019.
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