Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur, on Saturday
India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar on Friday said that the several water breaks taken by New Zealand batsmen disturbed the rhythm of his bowlers while insisting that one breakthrough will put the hosts on top in the first cricket Test in Kanpur. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (65 batting) and Tom Latham (56 batting), who frustrated India with their unbeaten 117-run stand, took several water breaks apart from the stipulated drinks intervals. And, Bangar said that the intermittent breaks did disturb the tempo of their spinners.
Captain Brendon McCullum's blazing century gave New Zealand a brisk start on the second day of the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah as the death of Australian Phillip Hughes continued to cast a gloomy shadow over the match.
New Zealand's 2-0 series defeat on home pitches by Australia was a disappointing end to the Brendon McCullum era and showed the Black Caps have work to do if they hope to consistently challenge the top test nations.
England pacer James Anderson reclaimed the number-one ranking from India's Ravichandran Ashwin in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers released on Monday after the end of the Edgbaston Test.
Uncapped leg spinner Ish Sodhi and all rounder Corey Anderson have been promoted from the New Zealand 'A' team to the full Test squad for a two Test series in Bangladesh in October.
BJ Watling scored a fine century as New Zealand dominated the final session with steely resolve to reach 338 for six on the third day of the second Test against England on Sunday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hailed his bowlers for the resounding series-clinching win over New Zealand in the fifth and final ODI in Visakhapatnam, describing it as "one of the best performances by the bowlers".
Kumar Sangakkara completely changed the complexion of the second Test against New Zealand with an outstanding double century as the visitors finished the second day with a 113-run lead.
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.
Ishant Sharma exploited the seaming conditions brilliantly to return a career-best 6 for 51 as India took early control of the second and final Test by bowling out New Zealand for a paltry 192 in the first innings in Wellington on Friday. Opener Shikhar Dhawan then hit an unbeaten half-century as India reached 100 for 2 at close, still trailing by 92 runs at the Basin Reserve.
Picking up where he left off in the first Test in Brisbane, the opener scored 244 not out for his third century in three innings as the hosts dominated New Zealand's bowlers as ruthlessly as they had in the 208-run victory at the Gabba.
Penpix of the New Zealand squad for the cricket World Cup which they will co-host with Australia.
Australia can take the top Test ranking from India with a series victory
Middle-order batsmen Corey Anderson and Anton Devcich staged a spirited fightback after early jitters as New Zealand 'A' ended the first day's play against India 'A' on 300 for eight, in the second and final four-day 'Test' in Hyderabad on Monday.
Virat Kohli roared back to form with a superbly crafted century on a tricky pitch to take India to a comfortable 267 for three against New Zealand on Day 1 of the third and final Test match at the Holkar stadium in Indore, on Saturday.
New Zealand's bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets to reduce India to 239 for seven on Day 1 of the second Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Friday. The 24-year-old from Christchurch, who replaced Ish Sodhi, dismissed Shikhar Dhawan (1) and Murali Vijay (9) in the first 50 minutes in his brilliant first spell of 6-2-14-2 as the Kiwis seamers utilised the grassy condition to full effect after Kohli opted to bat.
The trouble-prone Pakistan cricket team dressing room was once again witness to some drama and it took PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan's intervention to diffuse the controversy generated by Misbah-ul-Haq's decision to rest from the third ODI against Australia.
Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne obstinately defied New Zealand's bowlers for much of the second day of the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin on Friday though the hosts still have the upper hand.
Alastair Cook and Ian Bell survived a torrid final hour to guide England to 74 for two at the close on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday.
The second Test between Australia and New Zealand fizzled out in a draw on Tuesday but not before Mitchell Johnson gave one last reminder of his bowling prowess on the day he announced his retirement from international cricket.
Having reclaimed the World No 1 spot in the International Cricket Council's Test rankings, a beaming Indian captain Virat Kohli on Monday said the team has a good chance of holding on to the No. 1 position given the long home season.
A formidable Indian cricket team is likely to revel in home conditions, as they prepare to host and dominate New Zealand in the first Test in Kanpur, from Thursday, heralding the beginning of a long 13-match home season.
Veteran Luke Ronchi smashed a quick century as New Zealand 'A' recovered from a precarious position to post a respectable 310 against India 'A' on the second day of their three-day match in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Statistical highlights of the fifth and final ODI between India and New Zealand.
Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja hammered home the advantage their bowlers had established when they took Australia to 147-3, a deficit of just 36 runs, at the close of the opening day's play in the first Test against New Zealand on Friday.
Penpix of the New Zealand squad that will play the cricket World Cup final against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Bruised and battered by India after being bundled out for a meagre 79 while chasing 270 in the series-deciding fifth and final ODI here, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson termed the performance of his batting department as "frustrating". Williamson said the Kiwi batsmen did not justify to lose eight wickets for just 16 runs. "That's what's so frustrating, because we failed as a batting unit. The spinners of the Indian side bowled very well but I don't think it is justified to lose 8 wickets for 16 runs. We need to look at some of our plans. There was turn in the pitch in some other games too but we were able to handle it better then," Williamson said after their massive 190-run defeat in the fifth and final ODI in Vizag.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the fascinating career numbers of players in the World Cup.
Kumar Sangakkara scored an unbeaten 113 and then returned to break the world record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in One-day internationals as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 34 runs in the seventh and final match in Wellington on Thursday.
Factbox on the cricket World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland.
Gavin Larsen says if he could rein in the batsmen of 1990s era even with his military medium pace it was because of his skipper Martin Crowe's tremendous leadership style and his faith in the bowlers.
India frittered away a solid start as a middle-order collapse saw them reduced to 291 for 9 on the opening day of the first cricket Test against New Zealand despite half-centuries from Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara in Kanpur on Thursday.
Rajiv Satyal is a standup comedian. He resides at the intersection of Indian comedy and Seinfeld quotes. So you can imagine what a Seinfeld show in India affected him!
What makes Ravichandran Ashwin the world's premier Test spinner?
The body of Jasmine Joseph, 22, who went missing from her Syosset, Long Island, New York home since February 24, was found in her car at a busy parking lot not far from her home.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's Ryan Harris has moved up two places to second following his six wickets against India in the fourth Test at MCG.