On the back of some great all-round performance, Australia thumped New Zealand by 247 runs to win the Boxing Day Test and take a 2-0 series lead. Images from Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test played at the MCG on Sunday.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had made it clear to their Bangladesh counterparts that it will not host them on a neutral venue during the upcoming home series in January-February.
Listless Indian bowling allowed New Zealand get off the hook. The home team rode on captain Brendon McCullum's magnificent double century to continue their remarkable fightback and take a commanding lead on the fourth day of the second Test in Wellington on Monday.
For Kohli, a trophy-less cabinet doesn't do justice to the champion performer that he has been for a decade.
Jasprit Bumrah, the fastest Indian pacer to 50 wickets, is now seventh in the bowlers' list after a leap of nine places owing to his five-wicket haul against the West Indies.
Seamer Trent Boult delivered career-best figures of 10-80 as New Zealand thrashed West Indies by an innings and 73 runs inside three days to complete their first Test victory in more than a year on Friday.
Ross Taylor scored his 10th Test century and surpassed 4,000 career runs to anchor New Zealand's 307 for six at the close of play on the first day of the second Test against the West Indies at the Basin Reserve on Wednesday.
Ajinkya Rahane cracked his maiden ton as India dished out a dominant batting display to take a massive 246-run lead and put themselves in the drivers' seat over New Zealand on the second and final Test in Wellington on Saturday.
India beat New Zealand by 197 runs to win the opening Test in Kanpur and take a 1-0 in the 3-Test match series.
Mominul Haque struck an unbeaten century as Bangladesh battled back bravely against New Zealand to leave the second Test and series up for grabs after an entertaining fourth day in Mirpur on Thursday.
India opener Prithvi Shaw is likely to retain his place in the playing eleven for the second Test against New Zealand, starting Saturday, while Ravindra Jadeja may replace Ravichandran Ashwin.
Kane Williamson staged a fight-back along with opener Tom Latham (36), and Ross Taylor (26) as New Zealand reached 140 for 2 (42 overs) at close of play on Day 2 of the 2nd Test at the WACA in Perth on Saturday.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers anchored his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand, whose bowling and fielding was far superior to a poor batting performance in the first game of their three match one-day series on Tuesday.
Hobart Hurricanes produced a commanding performance to beat Northern Knights by 86 runs in a Group B match in Raipur to keep their hopes afloat in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20.
A splendid six-wicket effort from premier strike bowler Ravichandran Ashwin saw India maintain their stranglehold on New Zealand and remain firmly on course for a 3-0 series whitewash at the end of third day's play in the final Test match in Indore.
Kohli has so far led India in three ICC events -- the 2017 Champions Trophy, the 2019 50-over World Cup and the recently completed inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC). In all these events, India managed to reach the closing stages, but the trophy eluded the team.
Images from Day 6 of the ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand, at The Hampshire Bowl, in Southampton, on Wednesday.
Images from Day 5 of the ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand, at The Hampshire Bowl, in Southampton, on Tuesday.
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.
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.
Riding on Rohit Sharma's fluent 82, India emerged stronger in the battle of attrition against a gritty New Zealand to take complete control of the second cricket Test by grabbing a 339-run lead, on day three of the second Test at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara guided India to 87 for one to leave the first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland delicately poised at the end of a tumultuous third day.
Ross Taylor's first Test double century helped New Zealand to 609 for nine declared before his bowlers reduced West Indies to 67 for two as the hosts took firm control on day two of the first Test in Dunedin on Wednesday.
India ended an utterly forgettable tour of New Zealand by drawing the second and final Test at the Basin Reserve (Wellington) on Tuesday. Captain Brendon McCullum became the first New Zealand batsman to hit a triple century, a knock that helped stage an incredible turnaround that ensured his team a memorable series win.
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.
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.
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.
Before they take the field for the World Test Championship final on Friday, June 18, Rajneesh Gupta takes a look at India-New Zealand Test encounters in the new century.
ECB to allow replacements for concussed players in domestic matches
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership as well as finishing skills will be put through a stern test when an inconsistent India take on a rejuvenated New Zealand in the series-deciding fifth and final cricket ODI in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. With the series locked at 2-2, Dhoni and his men will be eager to clinch the issue while history beckons Kane Williamson's men as they have a glorious opportunity to taste their maiden success in a bilateral ODI rubber. The only thing that can play spoilsport is the cyclone threat which can lead to complete washout.
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.
Crediting Brendon McCullum and B J Watling for their spirited batting in the ongoing third Test against India, New Zealand's assistant coach Bob Carter said that they still have a challenge ahead.
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.
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