Debutant Shreyas Iyer was guts, aggression and flair rolled into one during an unbeaten knock of 75, which was nothing short of a baptism by fire, as India ended on 258 for four on the first day of the opening Test against New Zealand in Kanpur on Thursday.
An unwell Trent Boult skipped the New Zealand cricket team's training session at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Monday, staying away from the squad as a precautionary measure. The left-arm pacer is among eight players including Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner, who are attending the first half of the camp that started on Sunday.
'For me, I've played against Kane when I was about 14-years-old and now to be playing Test cricket with him as well. He's a very special player and probably will easily go down as New Zealand's greatest.'
The ICC Awards will comprise a total of 13 individual recognitions in all, as well as five Team of the Year announcements for each format across both men's and women's cricket.
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.
Martin Guptill will play in his seventh T20 World Cup and Devon Conway will keep wickets in addition to his batting duties at the tournament
Mayank scored 150 and 62 in the first and second innings respectively of the second Test against New Zealand before India defeated the Kiwis on Monday, December 6.
Ajinkya Rahane is, more than anyone else, keen on getting big runs under his belt and it's a matter of just one game before the India vice-captain regains his form, head coach Rahul Dravid said on Monday.
India's Shreyas Iyer once again dazzled on his debut Test, hitting his second 50-plus score of the match to put his team in charge of the opening Test against New Zealand on Sunday.
Images from the opening match of the 14th Indian Premier League, between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Chennai, on Friday.
Images from the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
A win for New Zealand against Afghanistan would end India's hopes of advancing to the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup.
Williamson agreed that getting Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara out early did set it up nicely for them.
The Indian batsmen will get a liberal dose of "chin music" in the second Test at the seamer-friendly Hagley Oval, senior New Zealand pacer Neil Wagner declared on Wednesday, harping on the visitors' struggles when faced with pace and bounce. With India troubled by short balls bowled from round the wicket, the 33-year-old Wagner promised that they will employ the same strategy during the second match starting Saturday.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said forgetting about results and getting the simple things right helped his side recover from the 3-0 drubbing by Australia to beat India, the world's top ranked Test side, by 10 wickets on Monday.
Doull said New Zealand were definitely benefited by the two games against England ahead of the marquee clash.
Punjab Kings kept their prospects of making the play-offs alive after a a five-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai on Friday. They are placed fifth with 12 points, after five wins and seven defeats. Victory in Sunday's outing will certainly enhance their chances.
New Zealand pacer Trent Boult is hopeful that achieving game fitness rather than bowling in the nets will put him in 'good stead' in the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final against India.
Peter Siddle has been brought into Australia's squad while uncapped fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been called into the New Zealand squad.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive David White said Seifert had returned seven negative tests in the 10 days leading up to his pre-departure protocols, and was confident he would be receiving the best of care from his franchise.
Devon Conway's struck 63 to help the hosts score 173/7 in their 20 overs.
Hanuma Vihari says poor shot selection led to India getting bowled out for a below-par 242 against New Zealand on a "fair pitch", in the second Test, in Christchurch, on Saturday.
"Maxi has taken to this team like a duck to water. AB loves the team and they were the difference today," Kohli said, at the post-match presentation.
New Zealand pacer Tim Southee said their World Test Championship triumph will take at least a couple of weeks to sink in.
Williamson and Co earn high praise from former captain Brendon McCullum.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill thwarted New Zealand's plans with a gutsy batting display in tough conditions.
New Zealand were almost rendered a bowler short as Southee was hit by a stomach bug and bowled through the pain to get his side across the line.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continued to be the best-placed Indians in the batting chart, while off-spinner Ravichandra Ashwin held on to second spot among bowlers in the latest ICC Test Player ranking, release on Wednesday.
The onus would be on their famed batting line-up of Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell to start firing once again and put pressure on the KKR batsmen.
Assured of a play-off berth, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to quickly recover from their loss in the previous game and finish the league phase on a high when they take on table-toppers Delhi Capitals in their final IPL round-robin game in Dubai on Friday.
Enduring a forgettable outing in the first half of this year's IPL, two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look for reversal of fortunes when they resume their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second phase of T20 league in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
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.
Images from the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals, in Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has reclaimed the No.1 position in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's Test Player Rankings after leading his side to the ICC World Test Championship title in Southampton last week.
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat defending champions Mumbai Indians by two wickets in a last-ball thriller in the Indian Premier League opener, in Chennai, on Friday.
England finished day two on 111-2 and trail New Zealand by 267 runs in the first innings of the first Test after Devon Conway's double ton took the game away from the home side on Thursday.
England and Australia are slated to lock horns against each other in the Ashes later this year. England would be squaring off against New Zealand and India in the longest format before the Ashes.
Ricky Ponting said it's a 'small issue' as compared to the chaotic situation outside the IPL bubble due to the lethal second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
The in-form Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore takes on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in a top-of-the-table IPL showdown in Mumbai on Sunday with two points and momentum at stake.
On the other hand, the Royals have managed to win only one of their three fixtures. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in their previous match to slip down to the sixth spot. Sanju Samson and his men will be eyeing a second win.
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