Paceman Trent Boult took four wickets as New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 80 runs to win the third and final Test within four days and level the series 1-1.
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.
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.
Opener Murali Vijay on Thursday admitted that Indian batsmen were guilty of playing loose shots to let go the advantage in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur but asserted that the hosts have put up a good total to make a game out of it. India were in a strong position at 154 for 1 at one stage before a middle-order collapse saw them reduce to 291 for 9 at stumps on the opening day. Vijay top-scored for the hosts with a 65 but himself played a poor shot, a cut off a not-so-short ball off leg-break bowler Ish Sodhi and was caught behind.
Off-spinner Mark Craig captured the best figures by a New Zealand bowler on debut as the visitors beat West Indies by 186 runs late on the fourth day of the first Test at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
England simply got it right on the day, something they have struggled to do in recent years.
Australia cruised to a 19-run victory in a rain-affected Twenty20 tri-series final with New Zealand to claim the world number one ranking in the shortest form of the game for the first time.
West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor, revelling in his return to the Test arena after a nearly five-year absence, made up for lost time with a devastating spell in the second Test against New Zealand on Monday.
However, Rajasthan would be a bit more desperate than Delhi as they are languishing at the second last position in the points table with just three wins from nine outings.
CSK will be brimming with confidence having defeated the Royals earlier in the season
Senior New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor admitted that the 0-5 whitewash by India has hurt his side badly and the whole T20I series has been a disappointment for them. Taylor, however, said his side played better cricket than the results suggest though they knew from the beginning that it was going to a be tough task against a strong Indian team.
The Kiwis will have greater concern over their lack of finishing after squandering two last over winning positions in two consecutive games, and the series along with.
Brendon McCullum had possibly the easiest day of his Test captaincy on Friday but still agonised over asking West Indies to follow-on in the wake of criticism of his decision to do so last week in the drawn first Test.
India's Virat Kohli continued to torment New Zealand with the bat, hitting an unbeaten 85 to secure a six-wicket victory with nearly 17 overs to spare in the first One-day International at Dharamsala on Sunday.
Scoring some quick runs in the middle overs is one area India need to work on ahead of the World Cup
Rookie all-rounder Mitchell Santner and veteran Grant Elliott have been rewarded for their recent strong performances by being included in New Zealand's list of centrally contracted players on Wednesday.
Middle-order batsmen Corey Anderson and Anton Devcich staged a spirited fightback after early jitters as New Zealand 'A' ended the first day's play against India 'A' on 300 for eight, in the second and final four-day 'Test' in Hyderabad on Monday.
Tom Latham struck his maiden Test century but New Zealand crumbled to 262 all out, conceding a 304-run first-innings lead as well as control of the first Test to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Kings XI Punjab put up yet another dominating performance as they outclassed Northern Knights from New Zealand by a whopping 120 runs in Mohali to enter the semi-finals in their maiden appearance in the Oppo Champions League T20.
Virat Kohli will be facing the most defining test of his captaincy career as he expects his men to be the proverbial 'phoenix rising from the ashes' when India take on a street-smart New Zealand in a do-or-die T20 World Cup Super 12 match in Dubai on Sunday.
Captain Ravichandran Ashwin's superb all-round showing helped Kings XI Punjab outclass Rajasthan Royals by 12 runs, in the IPL match, in Mohali on Tuesda
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.
Weakened by the departure of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Saturday.
Their fate hanging in balance, a loss in the penultimate league round match may virtually sound the death knell for one of the two teams.
New Zealand spinners claimed three wickets in the morning session but India extended their advantage to a daunting 308 runs by lunch on the fourth day of the first Test at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium on Sunday.
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.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players of the India-New Zealand ODI series.
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.
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.
Fast running out of time, a struggling Rajasthan Royals will hope to complete the double against Mumbai Indians in a return-leg IPL fixture and revive their campaign in Jaipur Saturday.
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.
Among others, Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has moved up to take top position among bowlers with some fine performances in a 2-0 series win over Zimbabwe.
Yet another semi-final exit from a big ICC event but New Zealand captain Kane Williamson refuses to call it a jinx, saying that the loss to England in the World Twenty20 last-four stage was just a case of going down to a better team on the given day.
Featuring Santer, Jordan, Faulkner, Morris, Zampa.
Trent Boult top the most valuable players list with Mohammed Shami hold on to second position
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.
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.
Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo scored half centuries as West Indies battled to save the first Test against New Zealand but were still 228 runs from making the hosts bat again at the close of play on the third day in Dunedin on Thursday.
India dished out a dominating performance to crush New Zealand by 90 runs as spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal yet again tormented the home batsmen.
After his half-century helped New Zealand register a series-levelling 19-run victory over India opener Martin Guptill said the conditions were tough for batting once the ball lost it's shine.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances