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.
Stylish left-hander Vijay Zol carried his stupendous form at the Under-19 level to first-class cricket, scoring a fluent century on debut, as the three-day encounter between India 'A' and New Zealand 'A' ended in a draw, in Visakhapatnam, on Friday.
New Zealand beat England by a comfortable six wickets as the four-match Twenty20 International series finished in a 2-2 draw.
Earlier, Devon Conway fell for 92 but Tom Latham could not be denied his century after New Zealand resumed on 165 for no loss at the National Stadium.
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.
With this win, New Zealand has some points on the table, with two points and one win in two matches under their belt. On the other hand, Bangladesh has lost both of their games so far and is at the bottom of the table.
South Africa will need their bowlers to step up to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
Images from the first T20 International between India and New Zealand, in Ranchi, on Friday.
Rohit achieved the feat in style, clobbering leg-spinner Ish Sodhi over the fine-leg boundary for a six during India's chase of 159 runs in the second Twenty20 International against New Zealand in Auckland
Pace spearhead Trent Boult has been omitted from the white-ball squad a few months after being released from his national contract.
New Zealand find themselves in the a difficult group with two-time champions West Indies and Afghanistan also vying for the the top two spots.
IMAGES from the Day 1 of the third Test played between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday
Ahead of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023, here's a full list of the final squads of all ten teams.
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.
Playing spoilsport, the rains reduced the decisive match of the series and first ever International match at Greenfield Stadium to an eight-over-per-side affair.
Suryakumar Yadav, the lone Indian in the top 10, continued to top the charts in the latest ICC men's T20I player rankings.
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.
Bangladesh put in a disciplined performance in the field to restrict New Zealand to 145-8 in a World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between New Zealand and Namibia, in Sharjah, in Friday.
The second Test, also in Karachi, begins on Monday.
New Zealand will have their tails up and eye another upset when they resume the trans-Tasman rivalry with a strong Australian side.
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.
"He has indicated he's available for the World Cup," Stead told reporters.
Fast bowler Tim Southee will lead the Black Caps in the five matches against England starting in Christchurch on November 1.
New Zealand eye consolatory win over PNG
But with the Kiwis set to play a total of 14 Tests during the current cycle, Mitchell knows his side have plenty of work ahead before they think about a potential place in the World Test Championship final at Lord's in the middle of 2025.
Experienced pacers Tim Southee and Trent Boult's absence leaves a "massive hole" in the New Zealand squad, but also provides a chance to fringe players to step up during the India tour, says stand-in-captain Tom Latham.
Smith was handed a one-year ban along with his then deputy David Warner exactly a year ago for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
England will need to defeat Namibia in their last league match and hope that Scotland lose to Australia.
'I think they (India) will utilise Chahal as much as possible'
Amir, Imad recalled to Pakistan squad for NZ T20I series
With six lbw dismissals cluttering up their scorecard, New Zealand clearly did not put their best foot forward in the first test against India on Saturday. India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja frequently beat the bats and hit the pads of the New Zealand batsmen, the hosts coming close to equalling the record of seven lbw dismissals in a test innings. "They were trying to play the sweep shot and we knew if an odd ball keeps low or an odd ball spins, there were always changes of an edge or an lbw," Jadeja, whose five-wicket haul included four leg befores, told reporters.
Kane Williamson, spinners set up NZ's 35-run win over Ireland
New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell believes Mitchell Santner is one of the world's best spinners in white-ball cricket after the left-arm tweaker's impressive outing against India in the series opener in Ranchi on Friday.
Indian batter Suryakumar continued to hold onto the top position on the latest ICC T20I Rankings.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar criticised India for their 'over-confident approach' during their shock defeat against New Zealand in the World T20 opener at Nagpur on Tuesday. The Men in Blue had been expected to edge out the Kiwis, who were without their retired skipper Brendon McCullum, as India began their campaign as warm favourites to win the tournament for a second time. But the start-studded Indian batting line-up was undone by NZ's spin trio - Nathan McCullum, Ish Sodhi and man-of-the-match Mitchell Santner - to be bundled out for just 79, their fifth loss from five completed T20 internationals against the Black Caps. Gavaskar said India's batsmen had to take the blame for the loss. Chasing just 127 to win, only three Indian batsmen managed to get into double figures, including three of their top four batsmen dismissed inside the first three overs. "You've got to show a little bit of respect to the opposition," Gavaskar said during commentary. "If the (target) was 160, then I understand that the first ball you face from a bowler, you look to score a few runs because you cannot really afford a dot ball.
The opening Test, also played in Karachi, ended in a draw as well.
With 3,248 runs to his name, Martin Guptill is atop the leading T20I scorers' list, ahead of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have scored 3,227 and 3,086 runs respectively.
Nathan McCullum gets recall into Kiwi set-up for World T20; Nicholls gets call-up after good showing in series vs Pakistan
Having already played their opening encounters in the ongoing cricket World Cup, it is time for New Zealand and the Netherlands to venture deep into the tournament as they face each other in Hyderabad on Monday.
