Injured New Zealand pace bowlers Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson are "tracking nicely" as the side begin their preparations for the Test series against India, according to captain Kane Williamson. Both missed the Twenty20 and One-Day International series against India but Williamson said there are hopes they could be available for the first match against the world's top ranked Test team that starts on February 21 in Wellington.
The West Indies are currently lying seventh in the 10-team standings with just three points in their kitty and they can't afford any further loss to stay in the mix for a semifinal spot.
It was not an ideal preparation, but New Zealand made good use of their time in the middle against a mediocre Mumbai attack on Day 1 of their only warm-up match ahead of the three-Test series against India.
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.
New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill has been dropped for the Test series against Pakistan and the uncapped Jeet Raval is poised to make his debut.
Some of their bowling and fielding frailties exposed in the series-opener, India will aim for quick course correction when they take on a resurgent New Zealand in a must-win second ODI, in Auckland, on Saturday. India find themselves in a familiar situation after the loss in Hamilton. But the visitors have come from behind against the West Indies and Australia to win their last two ODI series and Virat Kohli's men will aim to do the same against the Kiwis.
Ahmed Shehzad struck his third Test century as Pakistan completely dominated the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi to reach 269 for one and stay on course for a mammoth first-innings total on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals, who have won their last two games, will look for another victory against RCB and keep their hopes alive of making it to the IPL play-offs.
Royals are more affected than Sunrisers with the absence of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joffra Archer, who have left for England to join the World Cup camp.
Mumbai Indians will look to continue in similar vein when they lock horns with Rajasthan Royals in
One of the primary focus of Monday's encounter could be the inclusion of Indian cricket's latest enfant terrible Hardik Pandya, who is coming back from provisional suspension for his loose talk on a TV chat show.
India beat New Zealand by six runs in the rain-curtailed match to claim the series 2-1. India had beaten the Kiwis in the ODIs with the same margin.
Images from the ICC World T20 match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur.
Trent Boult grabbed two wickets on successive balls to help New Zealand to a 12-run win over England in their Twenty20 tri-series match at Wellington Regional Stadium on Tuesday.
England's sporting global ambitions have never been fully realised since Sir Alf Ramsey's team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Whether it is Gary Linekar or Hary Kane, the 'Cup' that they desperately want never came home during the last five and half decades.
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.
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.
India are yet to finalise their middle-order ahead of the World Cup but are unlikely to tinker much with the playing eleven for Friday's second ODI in Mount Maunganui.
Going by the nature of the pitch on eve of the three-day game, senior player Ross Taylor said he does not expect the ball to turn much at Kotla, but is aware it won't be the case in the three-Test series, starting in Kanpur on September 22.
Nathan McCullum gets recall into Kiwi set-up for World T20; Nicholls gets call-up after good showing in series vs Pakistan
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.
Darren Bravo provided stubborn resistance to New Zealand's bowlers bringing up his maiden Test double century to ensure West Indies made the hosts bat again and sent the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin into a fifth and final day.
Injured New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor will test his fitness ahead of next month's World Twenty20 tournament in India when he plays in an 'Island of Origin' match next week.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and coach, Mike Hesson, opined that it will be a "bit of scrap" for the batsmen to face Ravichandran Ashwin & Co. while their own spinners need to adapt quickly to the SG Test from kookaburra ball.
Pakistan will not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semi-final berth.
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.
The Royals are aware of the challenges facing them at the Sawai Mansingh Stadum, a few days after Sunrisers Hyderabad got the better of Kings XI Punjab to grab the second position in the standings.
New Zealand will have their tails up and eye another upset when they resume the trans-Tasman rivalry with a strong Australian side.
Rajasthan Royals face a herculean task when they take on mighty Chennai Super Kings in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) match, in Jaipur, on Friday.
The Indian team is still searching for the right middle-order combination with the World Cup just a few months away.
CSK will be brimming with confidence having defeated the Royals earlier in the season
Martin Guptill flirted with a world record then had to settle for a New Zealand one as he demolished Sri Lanka's bowling to guide his side to a comprehensive 10-wicket victory in the second One-Day International in Christchurch on Monday.
England beat New Zealand by four runs in their third one-day international on Saturday.
Images from the first One-Day International between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, on Wednesday.
India discard Robin Uthappa slammed a sparkling century as India 'A' recorded a comprehensive six-wicket victory over New Zealand 'A' in the first of the three-match unofficial ODI series in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Tom Latham's century and 91 from Kane Williamson put New Zealand firmly in the driving seat with a 151-run lead over Zimbabwe on the second day of the first Test on Friday.
New Zealand beat India by 19 runs in the fourth one-day international to level the five-match series at 2-2 as the hosts suffered a mid-innings collapse at Ranchi on Wednesday. - Scorecard: Chasing 261 for a series clinching win, India were all out for 241 with eight balls to spare. Opener Ajinkya Rahane's fluent 57 put India on course for the chase and the right-handed batsman added 79 for the second wicket with the in-form Virat Kohli (45).
It remains to be seen whether India stick to their combination of three specialist pacers and two spinners combination or bring in an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav to partner Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja.
Sean Williams scored a maiden Test century in vain as New Zealand clinched a comprehensive innings and 117-run victory over hosts Zimbabwe on day four of the first Test in Bulawayo, on Sunday.
Steve Smith believes India is one of the toughest places to play Test cricket and winning a five-day format series in the country is a major career goal for him. Smith also heaped praise on India's spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, describing him as a difficult bowler to face in the subcontinent.
