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.
On a roll after five wins on the trot, table toppers Mumbai Indians will look to continue their domination when they clash with struggling Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League game, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
It will be a battle of youngsters with the likes of Nitish Rana, Hardik Pandya on one side and the new star in the horizon Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan with his variations on the other side.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians paid the price for an indifferent showing and crashed out of the Champions League T20 after being beaten by New Zealand's Northern Knights by six wickets in the final qualifying round match in Raipur, on Tuesday.
New Zealand romped to a seven-wicket victory over India in the second Test in Christchurch on Monday for an emphatic 2-0 series sweep of the number one side in the world. The Black Caps dismissed the tourists for 124 in the first hour of the day before chasing down their 132-run victory target with half of the Test to spare for the loss of three wickets.
Australia, who won the toss and batted in the day-nighter, reached 248 for four at stumps with Labuschagne 110 not out and Travis Head unbeaten on 20.
Mumbai Indians seek to maintain momentum against Kings XI Punjab.
India are poised for their third T20 International series triumph in five years but would be wary of a strong fightback from the usually plucky New Zealand when the two sides clash in the second game of the three-match series in Rajkot.
Having found some light at the end of the tunnel, Royal Challengers Bangalore will be keen to expose the chinks in Kings XI Punjab's armoury during their must-win IPL encounter in Indore on Monday.
Mumbai Indians will look to continue their rampaging run when they take on the formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad on Monday
An under pressure India will face their stiffest test in recent times when they try to bounce back in the three-match ODI series against a refreshed New Zealand in the must-win second game in Pune, on Wednesday.
New Zealand's Brendon McCullum expects favouritism, underdog status and the possibility of choking under the weight of expectation to have little influence on Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against West Indies.
For Kohli, a trophy-less cabinet doesn't do justice to the champion performer that he has been for a decade.
The first ODI between India and New Zealand in Napier on Wednesday was halted for about half an hour due to players being blinded by a setting sun, a bizarre first in international cricket which is otherwise no stranger to rain-related interruptions.
It was the sun that troubled the batsmen by coming right in the line of their view, forcing play to stop for about half an hour in the first ODI between New Zealand and India.
Pakistan will be desperately looking to ensure the painful defeat to India becomes a distant past when they run into an in-form New Zealand in Mohali on Tuesday with an aim to bounce back into the World Twenty20 and pacify their bitter fans back home. Pakistan are coming into the Group 2 Super 10 game having suffered their 11th defeat to the arch-rivals in ICC's world events. The 2009 champions entered the tournament after an early elimination in the Asia Cup. On the other hand, the New Zealanders are on a roll with two massive wins over hosts India and Australia, making them one of the strong contenders to lift the coveted trophy on April 3. Another win and they will be in the knockout stages of the mega-event. New Zealand have emerged as the team to beat after the stunned tournament favourites India first up, before getting the better of traditional rivals Australia in a trans-Tasman battle.
Captain Kane Williamson, all-rounder Vijay Shankar and comeback man Wriddhiman Saha will look to score in the key 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.
The squad will then be trimmed to 15 for the ICC World Test Championship final against India at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton starting on June 18, as per ICC regulations.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test played between Australia and New Zealand at the MCG on Friday.
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham will miss the second Test against India in Kolkata due to the rib injury that kept him out of the first match in Kanpur, coach Mike Hesson said on Wednesday.
IMAGES from the 1st Test played between Australia and New Zealand in Melbourne on Thursday
Debutant spinner Ajaz Patel claimed five wickets in the second innings as New Zealand beat Pakistan by four runs on a dramatic fourth day of the opening Test in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Having turned the tables in the one-dayers after a shoddy show in the Test series, New Zealand speedster Tim Southee is confident that the Black Caps can script history by winning their first ever bilateral ODI series in India.
Langer's side secured their spot in the last four with a 64-run win over hosts England at Lord's on Tuesday and return to the famous north London ground on Saturday to face neighbours New Zealand in their penultimate round-robin tie.
England face unbeaten New Zealand in the first semi-final of 2016 World T20 at New Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla Stadium on March 30. While England have been champions in 2010, New Zealand will be eyeing their first World T20 title. Following is a factbox of the two teams:
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand in Perth on Friday
Brimming with confidence after a clean-sweep in the Test series, India will look to carry on their dominance over New Zealand when the two teams lock horns in the first cricket One-day International of the five-match series, in Dharamsala on Sunday.
What went wrong for India in the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand?
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum smashed the fastest fifty in the history of the World Cup during the Group A match against England in Wellington.
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.
South Africa will need their bowlers to step up to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and New Zealand, at Green Park, Kanpur, on Saturday.
India captain Virat Kohli consolidated his position at the top of the table, while openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan moved up in the latest ICC T20I Player Rankings.
Factbox on the fastest half centuries in Test cricket after Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq reached the mark in 21 balls against Australia in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
India will strive to play with the same grit they displayed in the second match in Pune when they square off against New Zealand in the third and final One-Day International of the series, in Kanpur, on Sunday.
New Zealand are hoping to give a better account of themselves when they take on the Indian Board President's XI in the final warm-up game on Thursday before the first One-Day International, in Mumbai on October 22.
Virat Kohli's split second indiscretion became his undoing as he went for a needless pull-shot to a well-disguised short ball.
The New Zealand captain provided a batting masterclass against Sri Lanka in Wellington on Sunday to keep up his chase of Virat Kohli to become the world's top Test batsman.
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