The chances of a fightback look bleak with New Zealand already conceding a 215-run lead to India but wicket-keeper BJ Watling on Saturday hoped that the visiting team's fighting spirit would inspire them to challenge the home side. New Zealand collapsed to 262 all out after resuming the day at a comfortable 152 for one and then India extended their lead to 215, ending the day at a commanding 159 for one. New Zealand now have a tough task at hand as they not only have to restrict India as early as possible on Sunday but also bat in the fourth innings on a not-so-friendly pitch.
India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar on Friday said that the several water breaks taken by New Zealand batsmen disturbed the rhythm of his bowlers while insisting that one breakthrough will put the hosts on top in the first cricket Test in Kanpur. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (65 batting) and Tom Latham (56 batting), who frustrated India with their unbeaten 117-run stand, took several water breaks apart from the stipulated drinks intervals. And, Bangar said that the intermittent breaks did disturb the tempo of their spinners.
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.
Stung by an improved New Zealand the other night, a wary India would like to quickly get their house in order when they square off with Kane Williamson's boys in the third ODI in Mohali on Sunday. While the six-run defeat in Delhi has given India plenty to ponder about, it has also renewed interest in the contest which had been dominated by the home team prior to Thursday, stretching from the one-sided Test series to the first ODI in Dharamsala. From the New Zealand point of view, a victory was all that they needed after a string of deflating defeats. As a result of their first win on Indian soil in 13 years, one can expect a certain spring in the stride of the visitors when they take the field at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
A stat pack of India and New Zealand's ODI careers...
Dale Steyn grabbed five wickets to lead South Africa to a convincing 204 run-victory over New Zealand in the second test at Centurion on Tuesday that sealed a 1-0 win in the series. Set an unlikely target of 400 to win the match, New Zealand were bowled out for 195 with a day to spare as South Africa kept in tact their record of never losing a series against the Kiwis.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar says not losing the ability to swing the ball despite adding extra pace to his armoury has made him a much better bowler than what he was two years ago.
He was on the Marquee List. His base price was a meagre Rs 50,000. Yet batting sensation Martin Guptill failed to find a buyer at the IPL auction.
'376 was always tough (to chase) but the bowlers fought throughout and that's something we can take to Indore. Hopefully, we can play some fear-free cricket to put India under pressure'
Virat Kohli and Indian cricket remained an enduring love story and Sourav Ganguly held out promise for a path-breaking reign off the field in a year during which the country finally embraced pink ball Tests. There were the heartbreaks, the biggest one being a World Cup semi-final exit, and not to forget the anxious wait on what Mahendra Singh Dhoni might do next after being on a sabbatical for half the year.
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.
Images from the World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand, at the MCG.
When India lost the Wellington Test by 10 wickets, was it the worst defeat for Virat Kohli's team? Rajneesh Gupta has the answers.
New Zealand's bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets to reduce India to 239 for seven on Day 1 of the second Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Friday. The 24-year-old from Christchurch, who replaced Ish Sodhi, dismissed Shikhar Dhawan (1) and Murali Vijay (9) in the first 50 minutes in his brilliant first spell of 6-2-14-2 as the Kiwis seamers utilised the grassy condition to full effect after Kohli opted to bat.
Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara guided India to 87 for one to leave the first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland delicately poised at the end of a tumultuous third day.
'He is one of the premier off-spinners in the world, but at the end of the day he is another bowler.'
Brushing aside the criticism for not scoring quickly enough, Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said positive intent and not strike rate is what all that matters in Test cricket.
Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha's battling half-century helped India reach 316 before the hosts were dismissed in their first innings against New Zealand on the second morning of the second test at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
India's R Ashwin back in top-10 in ICC's ODI bowling rankings
England's Jonny Bairstow steered his side to a three-wicket victory over New Zealand in the final game in Durham on Saturday.
The New Zealand team administration has received a pat on the back from the Kiwi media for their bold team selection in the opening match of the World T20 opening match against India on Tuesday.
Opener Colin Munro hammered an unbeaten 109 before the Kiwi bowlers straitjacketed the Indian batsmen as New Zealand outplayed the hosts by 40 runs in the second Twenty20 to level the three-match series, in Rajkot on Saturday.
Australia's World Cup winning captain Michael Clarke feels the Indian skipper should fly back from Surrey to play the historic one-off Test in Bengaluru.
Pushed to the bottom of the table following their fifth defeat in six outings, former champions Mumbai Indians will look to keep their chances alive when they face a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad in a crucial Indian Premier League game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat first against Australia in their World Twenty20 Super 10 match at Dharamsala on Friday. The Kiwis are on a high after beating hosts India in their Group Two opener and a second win against their trans-Tasman rivals will put them on course for a place in the semi-finals. After their brave gamble to pick three specialist spinners paid off against India, New Zealand decided to bolster the pace attack, dropping off-spinner Nathan McCullum to accommodate Mitchell McClenaghan. "It's nice to get a win early and hopefully we can make an adjustment again on a new wicket," captain Kane Williamson said. Australia captain Steven Smith said he too would have liked to bat first on a dry wicket at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
Mithali Raj will come out with her autobiography next year which will provide a candid and revealing look into her personal and sporting life.
Virat Kohli held centrestage with a delightful unbeaten 85 after a collective bowling effort as India cruised to an easy six-wicket victory over New Zealand taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series in Dharamsala on Sunday. After bowling out New Zealand for 190 in 43.5 overs, India reached the target in a mere 33.1 overs in a match that turned out to be thoroughly one-sided.
Steyn bowled one of the great final overs in the history of T20 International cricket to earn South Africa their first victory of the ICC World Twenty20 by a nail-biting two runs against New Zealand.
India's bowling coach Bharath Arun made it clear on Tuesday that Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are first choices for Test matches, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are the preferred option for the limited-overs' format.
Thanks to Taylor's 102 and Latham's 108 (both retired out) on a flat Brabourne Stadium track, New Zealand notched up a mammoth 343 for nine in the allotted 50 overs.
Gujarat Lions will have to fight off the fiery pacers of the Sunrisers Hyderabad when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League Qualifier 2, in New Delhi, on Friday.
Ravindra Jadeja very nearly pulled off a sensational victory with some lusty hits but could not take India home in the last over as the third one-dayer against New Zealand ended in a nail-biting tie to keep the visitors afloat in the five-match series in Auckland on Saturday.
India go into the quarter-final against their neighbours as favourites, but will certainly not take them too lightly, not wanting to suffer the same fate as they did in the 2007 edition.
Images from the third One-Day International between New Zealand and India in Mount Maunganui on Monday.
Shami reached the 100-wicket mark in his 56th game
When they could postpone a day's play in the third Test against New Zealand after the sad demise of Australian, Phil Hughes, this was a much bigger tragedy.
The trophy for their two Twenty20 matches in the Dubai, starting Thursday, is being dedicated in memory of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, who died last week after being hit on the head by a bouncer during a domestic match.
New Zealand's pace attack ripped through India's top order to reduce the tourists to 45 for three at tea on the second day of the first Test at Eden Park in Auckland, on Friday after Brendon McCullum's 224 propelled them to an impressive first innings total of 503.
New Zealand named a virtually unchanged squad for the upcoming ODI series against India, with the selectors keeping faith in players who drew the recent five-match home assignment against the West Indies.
India's batting line-up failed to recover from the early blows dealt by New Zealand's concerted bowling effort and wobbled to 239 for seven on day one of the second Test.
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