Pakistan will be desperately looking to ensure the painful defeat to India becomes a distant past when they run into an in-form New Zealand in Mohali on Tuesday with an aim to bounce back into the World Twenty20 and pacify their bitter fans back home. Pakistan are coming into the Group 2 Super 10 game having suffered their 11th defeat to the arch-rivals in ICC's world events. The 2009 champions entered the tournament after an early elimination in the Asia Cup. On the other hand, the New Zealanders are on a roll with two massive wins over hosts India and Australia, making them one of the strong contenders to lift the coveted trophy on April 3. Another win and they will be in the knockout stages of the mega-event. New Zealand have emerged as the team to beat after the stunned tournament favourites India first up, before getting the better of traditional rivals Australia in a trans-Tasman battle.
Going by the nature of the pitch on eve of the three-day game, senior player Ross Taylor said he does not expect the ball to turn much at Kotla, but is aware it won't be the case in the three-Test series, starting in Kanpur on September 22.
Images from the World Cup final between England and New Zealand, at Lord's on Sunday.
Neesham, a batting all-rounder, rocked the Afghanistan innings by his incisive bowling and in the process returned with his career-best figures of 5/31 from his 10 overs. His earlier best was 4/42.
India's wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma have made significant gains and climbed up latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen.
Virat Kohli's top-ranked team, with 360 points in its kitty, is certainly the favourite on paper but the Black Caps under Kane Williamson are experts at wearing down opposition with their patience
India suffered its worst One-Day International series defeat in New Zealand, losing 0-4, after being trounced by 87 runs in the inconsequential fifth and final match in Wellington on Friday.
Trent Boult produced an economical spell of bowling to take three wickets and help New Zealand to a tense three-run win over Sri Lanka in their first Twenty20 international on Thursday.
India's fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar said that the team has not lived up to the fielding standards which was witnessed during the ICC World Cup last year. In the ongoing tour of New Zealand, the Indian team has dropped quite a few catches and has not been able to capitalise on the run-out opportunities.
The Delhi Daredevils team management, comprising of skipper Kevin Pietersen and coach Gary Kirsten, will have some selection dilemma ahead of the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), if Ross Taylor is to be believed.
India did to us what we have done to the other teams around the world, New Zealand stand-in skipper Tom Latham said on Monday after the humbling defeat in the second Test in Mumbai.
New Zealand picked two uncapped players in all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and pacer Blair Tickner for the three-match T20 International series against India.
India win fifth ODI to seal 4-1 series victory in New Zealand
Latham, who struck a brisk 108 off 97 balls in New Zealand's 33-run win over Board President's XI in the second practice game in Mumbai on Thursday, said the visitors are relying on video footage to study the Indian spinners.
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.
New Zealand started the day shakily but recovered to post 229-7 at the close thanks to Williamson's 89 off 176 deliveries on a spinning track at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
New Zealand comfortably beat India by six wickets in a World Cup warm-up match at The Oval in London on Saturday after restricting the Virat Kohli-led side to 179.
Kane Williamson staged a fight-back along with opener Tom Latham (36), and Ross Taylor (26) as New Zealand reached 140 for 2 (42 overs) at close of play on Day 2 of the 2nd Test at the WACA in Perth on Saturday.
A look at the key players to watch out for in Thursday's match between India and New Zealand.
Kane Williamson coolly struck a straight six to give New Zealand a one wicket victory over Australia in a dramatic battle between the World Cup hosts at Eden Park on Saturday.
The series already in their pocket and the number one ranking cemented, a dominant India go into the third Test against New Zealand in Indore on Saturday, aiming yet another clean sweep of a Test rubber at home. The hosts had blanked Australia 4-0 in 2012-13 and the West Indies in the next season. They nearly repeated the feat against South Africa last year and this impressive history in recent past makes India favourites in the first-ever Test being hosted by this city which has a long tradition in the game.
'Bowl the ball reasonably quick on the surface and make the batsmen commit a mistake' 'It always tends to spin here more, which is a good thing for me as a spinner. But yeah the Indians are very good players of spin, and we have to work really hard'
Images from the World Cup match between Australia and New Zealand at Lord's on Saturday.
India's bowlers highlighted the balance of their side as they set up an easy seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international at Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. KL Rahul (57 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (44) then marshalled the run chase as they helped their side to reach 135-3 with 15 balls to spare, chasing New Zealand's 132-5.
Brimming with confidence after a clean-sweep in the Test series, India will look to carry on their dominance over New Zealand when the two teams lock horns in the first cricket One-day International of the five-match series, in Dharamsala on Sunday.
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.
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.
What cost India a place in the World Cup final?
All rounder Jimmy Neesham has been given the first opportunity to settle questions at the top of New Zealand's order ahead of next year's cricket World Cup when he opens the batting with Martin Guptill against South Africa on Tuesday.
Hosts England lock horns with New Zealand at the Riverside with both sides knowing that victory would secure their passage.
Williamson's departure for 59 helped reduce New Zealand to 142 for three at the break -- 361 runs in arrears -- but a rain storm wiped out the final session and ensured the match would go into a fifth day.
New Zealand have never appeared so well-united as they do currently. 'Individually and collectively, under Brendon McCullum's astute leadership, they seem a formidable lot.'
New Zealand will play three ODIs, starting with the opening match in Mumbai on October 22. It will be followed by three Twenty20s.
Shikhar Dhawan's injury has unintentionally forced India to go for a tactical rejig despite convincing victories in the first two games against South Africa and Australia.
India lost the No 1 ODI ranking after a 15-run defeat in a rain-truncated second One-Day International against New Zealand, in Hamilton, on Wednesday. The victory gave the Kiwis a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Tamim Iqbal became his country's top run-scorer in one-day cricket as Bangladesh beat New Zealand by 40 runs in the second ODI to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, in Dhaka, on Thursday night.
A splendid six-wicket effort from premier strike bowler Ravichandran Ashwin saw India maintain their stranglehold on New Zealand and remain firmly on course for a 3-0 series whitewash at the end of third day's play in the final Test match in Indore.
McCullum was 143 not out at the close of play, his eighth Test century, while Williamson was dismissed after tea for 113, his fifth hundred, as the Kiwis finished the opening day on a strong 329 for four in 90 overs.
Kohli said despite defeat, they have got some positives too from the lost series and they can make changes to the playing XI for the third match.
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.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances