Captain Kane Williamson struck a composed unbeaten century as New Zealand edged past South Africa by four wickets in a thrilling last-over finish.
Pakistan will not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semi-final berth.
KKR struggled for stability in the last edition in the UAE, while a change of captaincy at the halfway stage did not help them either.
The threat of rain looms large over the contest between the tournament's only two unbeaten teams.
How the IPL teams have shaped up after the auction.
It will be a test of Virat Kohli's tactical acumen against the ice-cool demeanour of Eoin Morgan when perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bangalore clash with former champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL Eliminator in Sharjah on Monday.
With the series on the line, captain Hardik Pandya is unlikely to make changes despite clamour for inclusion of Prithvi Shaw.
The Rajasthan Royal bowlers fended off the RCB batters in the Eliminator in Ahmedabad.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 54.
Once again, RCB are looking on course to finish without a trophy after losing six out of their first seven games.
It rained fours and sixes in Bengaluru as a total of 549 runs were scored -- the highest aggregate in a T20 match.
'RCB will make decision regarding captaincy after mega auction'
New Zealand Cricket officials have commissioned international security consultant and expert Reg Dickason to visit Pakistan later this week to carry out a thorough security and COVID-19 assessment before advising them whether they should send their team to Pakistan.
Senior New Zealand opener Martin Guptill was ruled out of the three-match series after failing to recover from a back injury.
Neesham replaced Doug Bracewell in the team while leg-spinner Ish Sodhi made way for Astle.
The New Zealand government tightened border restrictions and stating that all those entering the country from Australia would be subjected to a mandatory 14-day self-isolation period. The new restrictions, which come into from Sunday midnight, would have led to the New Zealand team being quarantined if it stayed back to complete the assignment.
Hardik Pandya is touted as a possible captaincy option for Mumbai Indians in the future.
Pushed into a tight corner, Royal Challengers Bengaluru rose above their frailties to notch four wins on the trot and stay alive in the race to play-offs. However, a volatile Delhi Capitals offer them a different challenge in their penultimate IPL league match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The major highlights from the deadline day as teams announced their retention list for IPL 2024.
Narine's figures of 4-21 helped KKR take an upper hand. Anything under 140 in the IPL is always good for the chasing team, and KKR eventually won with two balls to spare.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team comes into the match with two wins on the bounce and, like always, will be tough to beat at their 'den'.
Jimmy Neesham's scintillating performance with bat and a gutsy cameo by Mitchell Santner overshadowed Kieron Pollard's heroics
KKR bowling Bharat Arun said they have to improve their batting and bowling in the first six overs of Powerplay.
Rohit Sharma did practically everything right in the T20 WC: He batted brilliantly, he captained even more capably, but he failed to top the most valuable player table. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024.
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
Trent Boult, Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham, Adam Milne and Scott Kuggeleijn, coaches and former players James Pamment and Shane Bond, Mike Hesson were the first to land in Auckland
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 48.
New Zealand face England-beaters Afghanistan aiming to keep their unbeaten run intact
Stationed at mid off, Du Plessis 'flew' with his right hand stretched out to pluck it out of the air. The 39 year old timed his jump to perfection as he was 2.3 metres off the ground when he grabbed the ball.
With this win, the Kiwis are at the top of the points table with two points while Australia are at the bottom with zero points. It was a memorable day for New Zealand as they outclassed the defending champions and their arch-rivals in every department.
PHOTOS of the IPL 2023 match between Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday
Former champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to strike a perfect balance under the astute leadership of Eoin Morgan when they open their IPL campaign against a consistent Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on Sunday.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson struck a quick-fire half-century as his team registered a comfortable six-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first T20 of the three-match series at the McLean Park here on Tuesday. Opting to bat first, Bangladesh made a slow start to their innings, losing opener Tamim Iqbal (11) and Imrul Kayes (duck) cheaply. Although Mahmudullah did provide his side with some resistance with his 52-run knock, Bangladesh were restricted to a score of 141 runs in their stipulated 20 overs.
Three wins from three is a major confidence boost for New Zealand - but the next game against India is simply massive, says Daniel Vettori.
Towering fast bowler Kyle Jamieson will make his international debut for New Zealand against India in the second one-day match in Auckland on Saturday. The 2.03m (6'8") tall Jamieson was called into the national squad for the final two Tests against Australia but did not play and was not in the side for the opening one-day match against India in Hamilton on Wednesday.
Full list of players released, retained and traded by all ten teams in the IPL.
New Zealand will enter the World Cup feeling optimistic of finally winning it after four and half decades of trying.
Suryakumar Yadav is only the second Indian to hit two hundreds in a calendar year.
Tim David's late cameo was instrumental in the Mumbai Indians' thrilling victory against the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 match at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
