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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hosts England lock horns with New Zealand at the Riverside with both sides knowing that victory would secure their passage.
The India captain dropped three points despite a first innings score of 82 in the third Test in Melbourne, but still enjoys a 34-point lead over Kane Williamson.
Images from Day 2 of the third and final Test between India and New Zealand in Indore on Sunday.
Axar Patel made it clear that he does not consider himself as a substitute of Ravindra Jadeja in the limited overs format and will 'automatically' get selected if he is doing well.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and chose to bat first against Australia on Friday in cricket's inaugural day-night Test match at Adelaide Oval.
The series already in their pocket and the number one ranking cemented, a dominant India go into the third Test against New Zealand in Indore on Saturday, aiming yet another clean sweep of a Test rubber at home. The hosts had blanked Australia 4-0 in 2012-13 and the West Indies in the next season. They nearly repeated the feat against South Africa last year and this impressive history in recent past makes India favourites in the first-ever Test being hosted by this city which has a long tradition in the game.
The game features two of the world's leading batsmen captaining their sides in Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, as well as a pair of strike bowlers at the top of their game in Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult.
Captain Steve Smith blasted a career best 164, the highest one-day international innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground, to power Australia to a crushing 68-run victory against New Zealand in the first ODI.
Kane Williamson, leading New Zealand in a Test for the first time at home, scored his 24th half century to guide the hosts to an eight-wicket victory in the first test against Pakistan in Christchurch on Sunday. Chasing a target of 105 for the win, Williamson was dismissed on 61 with the hosts just a run shy of victory. Jeet Raval (36 not out) hit a four to push New Zealand over the line on 108 for two shortly after lunch on the fourth day. New Zealand had bowled the visitors out in their second innings for 171 about an hour into the day's play at Hagley Oval.
New Zealand completed their World Cup preparations with a 134-run victory over South Africa on Wednesday.
An unbeaten century from opener Martin Guptill eased New Zealand to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the second One-Day International at Senwes Park on Sunday.
Eyeing a historic bilateral One-Day International cricket series win in India, New Zealand senior batsman Ross Taylor said the Kiwis are hungry for victory.
It was India's players all the way, with batting sensation Virat Kohli emerging the most valuable, ahead of senior spinner Amit Mishra. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji graphically depict the top players from the recently concluded India-New Zealand ODI series.
Check out the statistical highlights on Day 2 of the second Test between India and New Zealand.
Kane Williamson will get another chance to prove his leadership credentials after being named New Zealand captain for limited overs series.
With six lbw dismissals cluttering up their scorecard, New Zealand clearly did not put their best foot forward in the first test against India on Saturday. India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja frequently beat the bats and hit the pads of the New Zealand batsmen, the hosts coming close to equalling the record of seven lbw dismissals in a test innings. "They were trying to play the sweep shot and we knew if an odd ball keeps low or an odd ball spins, there were always changes of an edge or an lbw," Jadeja, whose five-wicket haul included four leg befores, told reporters.
Tillikaratane Dilshan eased to his 19th One-day International century to anchor his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second game of their seven-match series at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday.
Kumar Sangakkara became the fastest player to reach 12,000 Test runs and will look to rebuild Sri Lanka's innings after they were left teetering at 78 for five at the end of the first day of the second Test against New Zealand.
Dale Steyn grabbed five wickets to lead South Africa to a convincing 204 run-victory over New Zealand in the second test at Centurion on Tuesday that sealed a 1-0 win in the series. Set an unlikely target of 400 to win the match, New Zealand were bowled out for 195 with a day to spare as South Africa kept in tact their record of never losing a series against the Kiwis.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann has praised captain Steve Smith's handling of an outburst by Mitchell Starc that cost the left-arm quick half his match fee from the first Test against New Zealand.
After a comfortable outing in the tournament-opener against Bangladesh, title favourites England are set to face a much stiffer test against New Zealand in a crucial ICC Champions Trophy Group A fixture in Cardiff, on Tuesday.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.
Amit Mishra produced a magical spell to send New Zealand crashing for a lowly 79 as India won by a massive margin of 190 runs to clinch the five-match series 3-2, in the fifth and final One-Day International in Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.
Guptill will undergo a fitness Test on Sunday after which a final decision will be taken on whether he can partner Henry Nicholls at the top of New Zealand's order.
Images from Day 1 of the third and final Test between India and New Zealand in Indore on Saturday.
Rediscovering himself in the twilight of his career, a rejuvenated Mahendra Singh Dhoni would look to continue his regained form and guide India to a series-clinching win when the hosts take on New Zealand in the fourth One-Day International, in Ranchi, on Wednesday.
Stung by an improved New Zealand the other night, a wary India would like to quickly get their house in order when they square off with Kane Williamson's boys in the third ODI in Mohali on Sunday. While the six-run defeat in Delhi has given India plenty to ponder about, it has also renewed interest in the contest which had been dominated by the home team prior to Thursday, stretching from the one-sided Test series to the first ODI in Dharamsala. From the New Zealand point of view, a victory was all that they needed after a string of deflating defeats. As a result of their first win on Indian soil in 13 years, one can expect a certain spring in the stride of the visitors when they take the field at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
Swing bowler Kyle Mills will captain New Zealand for the first time on his country's limited overs tour of Sri Lanka later this month after Kane Williamson was ruled out with a broken and dislocated thumb.
At the face of it, there is apparently no danger to Dhoni's captaincy since the team is still winning matches. But if one digs deeper, Kohli has slowly and surely been the man everyone is looking forward to as the leader, across all formats for India.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and senior batsman Ross Taylor will skip next month's limited overs series in Sri Lanka to prepare for December's home tests against West Indies, the country's cricket board said on Saturday.
A stat pack of India and New Zealand's ODI careers...
Indian skipper Virat Kohli hammered a listless New Zealand attack with a superlative double hundred as the hosts piled up a mammoth 557 for five on the second day of the third Test in Indore, on Sunday.
Heavy overnight rain ended New Zealand's hopes of winning the third Test against South Africa and levelling the series at 1-1 on Wednesday when the final day in Hamilton was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
India's marauding cricket team will be aiming to reclaim the No 1 spot in ICC rankings when it takes on an unsettled New Zealand in the second Test starting, in Kolkata, on Friday.
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