A brilliant 81 by captain Brendon McCullum and an equally well made 71 not out by Brad Hodge enabled Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets in their Indian Premier League match at SuperSport Park, Centurion on Monday.
Besides the surface, the behaviour of the Dukes has also come under scanner with the softer ball hardly offering anything to the bowlers.
England still have hopes of winning this game. This prognosis is based on their fourth innings exploits over the last three years and the fact that India galloped to 321 runs in 70 overs, suggesting the wicket isn't particularly tricky. However, the big difference from Leeds in June this year, or Birmingham in 2022, is that this track still has plenty of juice.
Images from the Champions League T20 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Otago Volts in Mohali, on Friday.
Led by aggressive Australian opener David Warner, Sunrisers would be relying mostly on foreigners to deliver the goods, given the scarcity of local stars in their ranks.
KKR coach said there was no demon in the pitch but their batsmen lacked intent against some quality RCB bowling.
Brendon McCullum became the first New Zealand batsmen to score a Test match triple century on Tuesday during the fifth day of the second Test against India at the Basin Reserve.
Curran hasn't played for England since he featured in a white-ball series against the West Indies in November last year and was recently overlooked for the side's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign
Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum says young Venkatesh Iyer, with his flamboyance, played the role of a catalyst in turning around the fortunes of the side in the second leg of the IPL in the UAE.
After missing last month's tri-series in Sri Lanka for family reasons, skipper Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum returned to the New Zealand squad for the tour of Bangladesh next month.
'He sees the big picture in everything, so I've no concerns that the skipper will be totally looked after. And I also believe that the Ashes is the script that the skipper is waiting to write, so he'll be sweet.'
Brendon McCullum's buccaneering spirit was at its ruthless best on Friday as he not only plundered the fastest World Cup half century but drove another stake into the heart of the demoralised England cricket team.
Images from the CLT20 match between Faisalabad Wolves and Otago Volts in Mohali on Tuesday.
Brendon McCullum blazed his way to the tournament's first century as Chennai Super Kings defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 45 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to register their second straight win.
A livid Kolkata Knight Riders coach Brendon McCullum came down heavily on his team's top-order batsmen for not showing enough intent and aggression in the ongoing IPL after demanding 'loyalty' from him during team selection.
An unbeaten 69 from Dean Brownlie helped New Zealand reach 169 for four in their second innings on day two of the first Test against South Africa on Thursday.
'England can regain the urn next summer'
Ross Taylor will take a break from cricket after rejecting an offer to remain captain of New Zealand's Test team but give up the role in the shorter forms of the game, New Zealand Cricket said on Friday.
Bairstow is the only English batter yet to play a significant knock in the Test series against India.
England coach Brendon McCullum, known for his aggressive 'Bazball' approach, has surprised everyone by promising a "watchful" style of cricket in the limited overs series against India. He also confirmed that captain Jos Buttler will focus solely on batting and won't be keeping wickets during the tour. The tour begins with the first of the five-match T20I series at Eden Gardens on Wednesday, followed by three one-day internationals. This ODI series serves as a dress rehearsal for both teams ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19.
Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum has insisted that he can never forgive his ex-team-mate Chris Cairns after the latter effectively lobbied to destroy his credibility over match-fixing allegations. Cairns had been linked to match-fixing following statements by Stephen Fleming and McCullum. However, he was cleared of any wrongdoing in a court of law and by the ICC's anti-corruption unit. McCullum, who had told the jury that Cairns had approached him three times in total over fixing a match, insisted that he felt as if his character had come under-fire during the prejury trial.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum stubbornly provided a glimmer of hope for his side on the third day of the second Test against India as he battled to his ninth Test century to thwart the visitors' push for a series-levelling victory on Sunday.
Brendon McCullum showed his growing maturity and desire to stamp his mark on New Zealand with an inspirational triple-century that salvaged the second Test against India and sealed a 1-0 series win on Tuesday.
Images from the Day Five of the second and final Test between New Zealand and India, at the Basin Reserve, in Wellington, on Tuesday.
Brendon McCullum was on 281, his highest Test score and the second highest by a New Zealander, at the close of play on Day 4 after having shared a world record stand of 352 runs for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper BJ Watling who made 124.
Inspired by captain Brendon McCullum's match-saving 281 runs, New Zealand turned the match on its head -- the hosts taking a 325-run lead at the end of the fourth day's play at Basin Reserve India bowlers only managed to take one wicket in the day -- that of JB Watling -- and Shikhar Dhawan was clueless when questioned about the performance of India's bowlers.
An exhausted Brendon McCullum stood on the cusp of history on Monday after he had saved the second Test against India and set up his side up for a tilt at what would be an astounding victory on the fifth and final day.
Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum were anchoring a New Zealand recovery against Bangladesh before bad light stopped play on the first day of the one-off cricket Test in Hamilton.
New Zealand Cricket have promised to support Brendon McCullum after former Test all-rounder Chris Cairns was acquitted of perjury in London despite evidence given against him by the Black Caps captain.
Kolkata Knight Riders' loss to Auckland Aces on Monday match left New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum with mixed emotions. On the one hand, he felt gutted for his IPL champion team but on the other, he was glad to see a New Zealand side doing well.
India and England players will push their tired bodies on the line with everything to play for in the fifth and final Test starting at The Oval on Thursday
No Indian cricketer figures in the ICC's World Cup XI, which is dominated by runners-up New Zealand rather than champions Australia.
For New Zealand, the tournament is still a great success. They had never played in a World Cup final before, reaching the semi-finals six times but losing on each occasion, and were unbeaten going into the final.
'I don't know if it's symbolic of where the game itself is at around the globe, but I see it as an absolute positive to be honest.'
The New Zealand wicketkeeper made 143 to help his team take control after day three of the first Test against Bangladesh.
Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Mumbai Indians by nine wickets in their Indian Premier League match at Eden Gardens on Monday to finish their campaign on a winning note.
Dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, Sri Lankan master batsman Mahela Jayawardene and R Vinay Kumar will attract top bids when 144 players from eleven countries go under the hammer in the IPL V auction in Bangalore on Saturday.
Wary of taking ill or relying just on pizzas and canned food from home, the England cricket team will travel to India with a chef for the five Test tour starting January 25.
India will have to contend with some hostile and aggressive fast bowling in the first One-dayer, New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum warned on Saturday.
Brendon McCullum's inspirational captaincy has lifted New Zealand and the flamboyant batsman should continue leading the side in all three formats at least until next year's World Twenty20, former captain Stephen Fleming said.
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