Suryakumar Yadav, who scored a 44-ball 76 in the third T20 International against the West Indies on Tuesday, moved within two rating points of top-ranked Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
Virat Kohli has, in the past, been dismissed a number of times by leg-spinners but New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi doesn't find any distinct weakness in the Indian captain's game. Although he is only 27, Sodhi will be seen in a new role of spin consultant for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League starting next month, apart from learning about the financial and operational side of franchise management.
New Zealand pacer Doug Bracewell has been called in as a replacement for the injured Matt Henry in the ODI squads for India and Pakistan.
India were caught in a spin web on the Ranchi pitch as they lost the series opener by 21 runs on Friday.
Pace spearhead Trent Boult has been omitted from the white-ball squad a few months after being released from his national contract.
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.
Ishan Kishan had to sit out of the Sri Lanka series despite scoring the fastest double hundred in the history of ODIs against Bangladesh.
Ghoomer is an efficient crowd-pleaser that puts a lump in the throat, a tear in the eyes, and a smile on the face, all at the same time, applauds Mayur Sanap.
New Zealand registered a 13-run win over the West Indies in the first T20I to take 1-0 lead.
New Zealand last toured Pakistan in 2003 for a white-ball series and since then have avoided touring the country because of security reasons.
India are set for a T20 appetizer ahead of their marquee Test series against Australia when they face the touring New Zealand in a three-match series, beginning in Ranchi, on Friday.
New Zealand, on the other hand, will be eager to grab a consolation win to boost their morale.
Put in to bat, India's rejigged top order wilted in no time and the 2007 champions crawled to 110-7 in 20 overs in the Super 12 match. The below-par total was unlikely to test New Zealand's batting might and so it proved.
India were expected to try out a bunch of players after another World Cup debacle but if the team combination for the second T20 was any indication, they seemed reluctant to start with a clean slate.
A win for New Zealand against Afghanistan would end India's hopes of advancing to the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup.
Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi believes New Zealand need to be more aggressive with the ball against India's world class batting unit during the second T20I to make an immediate comeback in the five-match series. India claimed a six-wicket win in the first T20I after chasing down 204 with relative ease to go 1-0 up in the five-match series, in Auckland, on Friday. Sodhi feels the hosts didn't bowl many attacking spells to put enough pressure on the visitors.
Their opponents New Zealand, who effectively knocked India out of the World Cup, have reached Jaipur on a chartered flight from Dubai with little time to reflect on their loss to Australia in the title clash.
Twenty20 cricket has its own speed and Dhoni blessed with a superb cricket brain has shown how trying tweak the pace of the proceedings helps.
Is Bhuvneshwar going to be around for the T20 World Cup in 2024 with a sharp decline in his pace?
Chris Jordan's all-around brilliance could not prevent New Zealand from securing a series-levelling 21-run victory over England in the second Twenty20 International of the five-match series on Sunday.
India will aim to shed their archaic playing style for good with a 'young and fearless' bunch in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting in Wellington on Friday.
Mohammad Kaif had led the side to its first U-19 World Cup win on January 28, 2000.
SKY overtook Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan to become just the second Indian player to hold the top T20I batter ranking.
Glenn Phillips scored a half century off 33 balls as New Zealand thrashed the West Indies by 90 runs in the second Twenty20 International to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between New Zealand and Namibia, in Sharjah, in Friday.
India got off to a horror start in their practice match as youngsters Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill failed with the bat on Day 1 of the three-day game against New Zealand XI at Seddon Park, in Hamilton, on Friday. All the batsmen were dismissed by fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn as India were reduced to 5/3 in the seventh over.
Martin Guptill will play in his seventh T20 World Cup and Devon Conway will keep wickets in addition to his batting duties at the tournament
Players from New Zealand and Australia made significant gains in the rankings updated after the first two matches of the ongoing series between the two sides.
Rajneesh Gupta lists the New Zealand players's T20 Internationals records updated after the game against England in the T20 World Cup.
Prominent among these include former sports minister and sitting MLA Gurmit Singh Sodhi, MLA Fatehjang Singh Bajwa and former minister Anil Joshi.
Hockey greats Vasudevan Baskaran, M M Somaya and Mervyn Fernandis relive India's gold medal-winning campaign at the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between India and New Zealand, in Dubai, on Sunday.
The Indian-born 29-year-old, New Zealand's top domestic wicket-taker in the past three seasons, replaces all-rounder Mitchell Santner who is still recovering from knee surgery.
Injuries to frontline fast bowlers have forced New Zealand to opt for fresh blood in their pace attack for the three-match ODI series against India starting February 5 in Hamilton. Kyle Jamieson could be in for a potential debut, while Scott Kuggeleijn and Hamish Bennett return to the squad after a long absence. Injury has meant the likes of Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry are unavailable for the series.
Australia clawed back to 2-1 in the five-match series following defeats in Christchurch and Dunedin.
Hockey icon Balbir Singh Senior, who died at 96 after battling multiple health issues, was on Monday cremated in Chandigarh with full state honours, with Punjab Sports Minister Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi declaring that the Mohali stadium will be named after the legendary player. The mortal remains of the three-time Olympic gold medallist was consigned to flames at an electric crematorium here, with his maternal grandson Kabir performing the last rites in the presence of Sikh priests.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between New Zealand and Pakistan, in Sharjah, on Tuesday.
During a podcast organised by inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals, Steve Smith opened up about his unusual technique to New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi. Smith said his off-stump stance helps him to leave the ball which are outside his line of sight.
a red-ball warm-up game will be the most welcome distraction for Virat Kohli and his men as a precursor to the two-match Test series starting next week.
The New Zealand team management knows what lies ahead for their players during the next six weeks in India, and it was no surprise that the spin troika of leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, off-spinner Mark Craig and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner bowled a lot during a two-hour nets session at the Kotla in Delhi on Wednesday.
