New Zealand have never beaten South Africa in a Test series in nearly a century of trying and will rarely have a better chance to break that drought than in two matches against a severely depleted side starting on Sunday.
Kane Williamson rode his luck to reach his 21st Test century
The team includes four Pakistanis, three Indians, three Englishmen and one Bangladeshi, with Kane Williamson of New Zealand as 12th man.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against New Zealand?
Part-time spinner Kane Williamson took two wickets, including that of Alastair Cook, just before stumps to put New Zealand firmly in charge of the series-deciding third Test against England at the end of the fourth day at Eden Park on Monday.
Peter Fulton scored his maiden Test century as he anchored New Zealand to an impressive 250 for one at the close of play on the first day of the series-deciding third Test against England at Eden Park on Friday.
England enforced the follow-on after bowling New Zealand out for 254 shortly before tea on the third day of the second Test at the Basin Reserve on Saturday. New Zealand were dismissed 12 runs short of the required target, with Stuart Broad rattling through New Zealand's lower order with six wickets to leave the hosts well adrift of England's 465.
The win over Ireland saw New Zealand grab the top spot with seven points and a net runrate of +2.113.
Since the start of the century, India have made it to two finals and two semis in five ODI World Cups but have just ONE title to show for. It's high time to end that barren run!
Hyderabad have a fragile middle-order but captain David Warner says Kane Williamson adds depth to the batting.
The second Test, also in Karachi, begins on Monday.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between India and New Zealand, in Dubai, on Sunday.
Rain pushed the first semi-final of the ICC World Cup to the reserve day after dominant Indian bowlers excelled yet again to restrict New Zealand to a below-par 211 for five, at Old Trafford in Manchester, on Tuesday.
A sublime unbeaten 145 by Kane Williamson led New Zealand to a 27-run victory over the Proteas in the second One-day International on Tuesday to seal their first series win on South African soil.
Kiwi middle order batsman Kane Williamson believes the umpires' decision to declare him not out, when Alviro Petersen had caught him during the last day of the final Test, was right, as the catch was 'debatable'.
New Zealand's fast bowling department has been hit hard by injuries as Matt Henry, Doug Bracewell and Adam Milne have also been sidelined.
In the latest ICC ODI Rankings, Mohammed Siraj was dethroned from the top as he slipped to third place, while Josh Hazlewood climbed to the top.
Captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor combined to put New Zealand in a strong position in the first Test before India struck back late on Saturday to remove both just as their partnership threatened to take the match away from the tourists. Images from Day 2 of the first Test between New Zealand and India in Wellington on Saturday.
Glenn Phillips raced around the outfield to take an excellent diving catch at extra cover to trigger an Australian collapse.
Having opted out of a New Zealand contract last year, pacer Trent Boult expressed his desire to play in the ODI World Cup.
Babar also made it clear he had no issues with the interim chief selector Shahid Afridi on selection of players and said he and the head coach were giving their input and outlining their plans to the selectors regularly and in meetings.
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.
Potts, 23, dismissed New Zealand captain Kane Williamson for two to claim his first Test victim
Bolstered by Shreyas Iyer's return, Delhi Capitals will look to maintain the form they showed in the first half of the season as they resume their IPL campaign against a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Black Caps can only improve by lifting the title in Melbourne next month.
Virat Kohli stepped down as India's 20-overs skipper and lost ODI captaincy too with Rohit Sharma taking over as their sole white-ball leader.
The pitch sported a healthy green cover, although it looked dry underneath before being put under cover.
New Zealand picked two uncapped players in all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and pacer Blair Tickner for the three-match T20 International series against India.
The importance of the three-match ODI series against New Zealand was not lost on Dhawan
Operating like a well-oiled unit, Chennai Super Kings will start as overwhelming favourites when they clash with struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Lucknow Super Giants picked up their first-ever win over the Gujarat Titans.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is too familiar with the fickleness of cricket's shortest format to take his team's red-hot form for granted going into Wednesday's World Twenty20 semi-final against England. The Kiwis cruised into the last four as the only unbeaten team in the tournament to book a clash with England who seem to be peaking at the right time. "I know that going into tomorrow, it's a big, exciting match but our feet are firmly on the ground and we going to be running to perform our plans as best as we can," the bearded 25-year-old told reporters at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Williamson has displayed the tactical flexibility required to win a major tournament by sacrificing pace and gambling with three spinners, a ploy that paid off in the tournament opener against hosts India.
New pace sensation Mayank Yadav will be closely followed by all and sundry after his match-winning performances as Lucknow Super Giants eye a hat-trick of wins when they take on an inconsistent Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League match in Lucknow on Sunday.
Pandya also heaped praise on Afghanistan's Rashid, who was named the Player of the Match for bagging two wickets and hitting a four and six in his unbeaten 10-run display which played a crucial role in Gujarat's win.
New Zealand's three-pronged attack could spell trouble for India on a spiced-up track and Will Somerville, who played a gutsy knock in Kanpur, might have to sit out.
Chappell also threw some light on the 'Sandpaper Gate' scandal of 2018 as the former Aussie captain said that he had huge 'sympathy' for Australian batter Steve Smith.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the third Test between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday
Punjab Kings batters to face different challenge against Gujarat Titans
Rains took some sheen off Kane Williamson's record batting display of scoring the fastest ever century in Champions League Twenty20 as New Zealand side Northern Knights beat Cape Cobras of South Africa by 33 runs under Duckworth-Lewis method in Raipur.
He became the second-fastest cricketer in the world to reach 200 Test wickets but Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin says the thought of creating records never crossed his mind since he is 'happy competing with himself'.
