'India have played very good cricket for a long time now in your conditions (sic). They are tough to beat. We have taken it to the decider in the last two series. Both teams will want to win (tomorrow).'
Kane Williamson will get another chance to prove his leadership credentials after being named New Zealand captain for limited overs series.
The focus will be on K L Rahul and Vijay Shankar, contenders for the number four slot, in the World Cup warm up match against New Zealand, in London, on Saturday.
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.
It was CSK who denied Delhi a top-two spot in the league standings with a crushing 80-run win at Chepauk and the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side stands in their way again, only the stakes are much higher.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the Chennai Super Kings record in the IPL over the years.
Williamson had moved to 148 at stumps with Mitchell Santner on 13, the home side holding a seven run lead over South Africa's first innings of 314.
Peter Siddle has been brought into Australia's squad while uncapped fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been called into the New Zealand squad.
Australia's Marnus Labuschange struck another half century to pile on the runs and the misery over New Zealand on Day 3 of the day-night Test in Perth on Saturday. Earlier, Starc picked a five-wicket haul.
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.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers calmly guided his side to a tense four-wicket victory over New Zealand with one ball to spare in a rain-affected first one-day international in Hamilton on Sunday.
Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings will look to complete the double against Kolkata Knight Riders, just like Delhi Capitals did, when the teams clash in Sunday's IPL match in Kolkata. The home side's consistency has suddenly taken a beating after two defeats on the trot, first in Chennai and then against Delhi Capitals on Friday night. Thus, the Knight Riders will be under immense pressure to arrest the slide when they face mighty Chennai.
Mumbai Indians lock horns with an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match in which home skipper Rohit Sharma's return from injury will also be awaited, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler said Chennai Super Kings' skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was 'probably not right' in stepping on to the field to argue with the umpires during their IPL match in Jaipur on Thursday.
Wagner took three wickets in 17 balls for just one run as England collapsed from 132-5 to 138-8 before tea, then broke a 59-run ninth-wicket partnership between Jofra Archer and Sam Curran after they had threatened to thwart the hosts.
It will be a big statement if Virat Kohli's young side could start off with a bang at Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 'spritual home', a task which will be easier said than done.
All-rounder Corey Anderson has been ruled out of New Zealand's tour of Australia with a back injury and been replaced by Mitchell Santner, the team said on Monday.
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.
Virat Kohli, on Monday, returned to the top of the International Cricket Council ODI rankings for batsmen after logging career-high rating points, going past the iconic Sachin Tendulkar in the process.
We've tried Dinesh Karthik, we've tried Jadeja, we've tried Vijay Shankar, three guys have been tried and they've not proved useful so maybe we can find a good youngster for No 5, says former India batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
A stunning spell of a fast bowling from Matt Henry ripped through the Indian top order and set New Zealand on their way to a second successive ICC World Cup final with an 18-run victory over India.
On the ICC ODI Team Rankings, No.1 ranked Australia has moved up from 118 points to 120 points, while New Zealand has dropped behind India in fourth position. New Zealand had started the series on 112 points, but the 3-0 defeat has meant it has dropped to 109 points.
Only Indians Sachin Tendulkar (nine in 1998) and Sourav Ganguly (seven in 2000) have hit more centuries in one year.
Images from the World Cup match between New Zealand and Pakistan, at Birmingham, on Wednesday.
Trent Boult top the most valuable players list with Mohammed Shami hold on to second position
With the three-match T20I series ahead and also the World Cup round the corner, India will have to address this weakness to ensure that their much-vaunted batting doesn't crumble on an odd day when the condition aids swing bowling in England.
Bangladesh put in a disciplined performance in the field to restrict New Zealand to 145-8 in a World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar feels India got a taste of their own medicine in Tuesday's World Twenty20 loss to New Zealand and should be prepared to handle quality spin if they want to dish out rank turners for their opponents.
Kuldeep Yadav picked up four wickets, while Shikhar Dhawan hit an unbeaten half-century to power India to a crushing eight-wicket victory against New Zealand in the first ODI.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur, on Friday.
Out-of-favour India opener Gautam Gambhir feels spinners will decide the fate of the upcoming three-match Test series between India and New Zealand, starting in Kanpur on September 22.
New Zealand will bank heavily on reverse swing to emerge from the trial by spin that awaits them in the test series in India, coach Mike Hesson said on Tuesday. Last time they hosted a team, India rolled out turning tracks and flexed their spin muscles to crush South Africa 3-0 in the four-test series last year. Kane Williamson and his men can look forward to a similar treatment in the three-test series beginning in Kanpur on Sept. 22 but Hesson sounded upbeat.
Opener Jason Roy hit a quickfire half-century while leg-spinner Adil Rashid claimed three wickets to lift England to a convincing six-wicket victory against England in the ICC World T20 warm-up match at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
India pulled off a brilliant all-round performance to trounce New Zealand by 178 runs in the second Test and clinch the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead, a win that propelled the team to the top of the ICC rankings, dethroning arch-rivals Pakistan.
After the gruelling league phase of the ongoing IPL, the stage is set for the play-offs with CSK and MI clashing against each other for a place in May 12 final.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's uncharacteristic outburst against a controversial umpiring decision led to the Chennai Super Kings captain being fined 50 percent of his match fee in Thursday night's Indian Premier League match in Jaipur.
CSK coach Stephen Fleming differed with Gautam Gambhir's viewpoint that one can't say Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the same breath, as India's captain has not won the tournament.
'We have the belief that we will win our next two games and then look ahead'
New Zealand failed to make the most of a strong start as they were dismissed for 299 to concede a 258-run first innings deficit to India on the third evening of the third and final Test in Indore, on Monday.
Images from Day 1 of the third and final Test between India and New Zealand in Indore on Saturday.
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