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.
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.
As Mohammed Shami walked back to the top of his run-up, Virat Kohli geed the fans at the Wankhede Stadium to go full throat with their chants - Shaamii! Shaamii! They obliged merrily.
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.
The 39-year-old Anderson, as he has done on numerous occasions, opened the attack for England and once he delivered the first ball of the contest, the seasoned campaigner became the oldest player to do so since India's Lala Amarnath.
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.
After becoming the youngest New Zealand cricketer to score a century on debut, Kane Williamson on Sunday said the hard grind while preparing to face India's spinners had paid off in the first Test in Ahmedabad.
The team includes four Pakistanis, three Indians, three Englishmen and one Bangladeshi, with Kane Williamson of New Zealand as 12th man.
One can't but sense impending deja vu seeing this picture of Virat Kohli signing an autograph for Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler Umran Malik at the end of Wednesday's game at the Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi.
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.
With his four-wicket tally in the WTC final, Ashwin surpassed Australian pacer Pat Cummins who had 70 wickets to his name from 14 Tests
While only two games produced results in the composite six-match white-ball series in New Zealand owing to rain, Dhawan hoped that the weather will be better in Bangladesh.
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.
India captain Virat Kohli retained his fifth spot, while teammates Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant were joint sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen.
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'.
The pitch sported a healthy green cover, although it looked dry underneath before being put under cover.
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.
The Kiwi bowler said all teams will look to have their World Cup players spending the coming weeks together in order to finalise their preparations for the mega event.
New Zealand set Pakistan a tricky target of 319 and then landed two late blows to boost their hopes of a series-clinching victory in the second Test on Thursday.
New Zealand picked two uncapped players in all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and pacer Blair Tickner for the three-match T20 International series against India.
New Zealand, who abandoned their white-ball tour of Pakistan last year due to security concerns, are looking to end a run of four straight test defeats with Southee as the new captain following the six-year tenure of Kane Williamson.
West Indian legend Curtly Ambrose said he would not want to change anything in Jasprit Bumrah's unorthodox action.
The Australian skipper further said that he is really excited to play against New Zealand in the summit clash and even called them a 'great team'.
Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya admitted that a total of 162 was at least 10 runs short of what would have been a par-score against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which chased down the target by losing only two wickets in the IPL 2022 match.
Three days after stunning defending champions England in New Zealand, the plucky Afghans briefly kindled hopes of another upset when New Zealand's top order suffered a mini-collapse.
Images from the World Cup match between New Zealand and Pakistan, at Birmingham, on Wednesday.
Images from the World Cup final between England and New Zealand, at Lord's on Sunday.
Chapman (57-ball 104 not out) combined with Jimmy Neesham (45) to overhaul the 194-run target and stun Pakistan
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.
Williamson has a chance to topple Kohli at the top of the rankings.
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'.
The game features two of the world's leading batsmen captaining their sides in Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, as well as a pair of strike bowlers at the top of their game in Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult.
Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner are among 10 New Zealand players in the different franchises of the IPL.
Shreyas Iyer said they put great effort in the game but it was a bad day as a 'bowling unit.'
"He has indicated he's available for the World Cup," Stead told reporters.
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.
Sunrisers Hyderabad face a formidable task without batting mainstay David Warner when they square off against Mumbai Indians in a crucial IPL match in Mumbai, on Thursday.
A depleted Gujarat Titans bowling attack will have to raise its game by quite a few notches to stop a marauding Sunrisers Hyderabad, fresh from its record total against Mumbai Indians, in the upcoming afternoon IPL match in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
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