England are an ageing side alright, but few will dare to bet against Jos Buttler's men successfully defending their World Cup title in a few weeks time.
New Zealand's campaign has hit a disheartening flatline after their early domination and the Kiwis will have to rediscover their bowling mojo for a World Cup reboot when they face knocked-out Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on Thursday.
PHOTOS from the ICC World Cup opener played between England and New Zealand at Ahmedabad on Thursday
The match ended after New Zealand scored 133 for 4 in their second innings.
The most interesting aspect of the contest is the form of batters from both sides which has been the reason of their success so far.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for Friday's second T20I against New Zealand?
Babar Azam scored his 18th century as Pakistan trounced New Zealand by 102 runs in the fourth One-Day International at the National stadium in Karachi on Friday. His 107 off 117 balls fired Pakistan to 334 for 6. In reply, New Zealand were shot out for 232 all out, their lowest total of the series.
Sans Hardik, it's starting all over again for dominant India
Mukesh got wickets with the new (4.3 overs), semi-new (35.3 overs) and old ball (57.4 overs)
Images from the first T20 International between India and New Zealand, in Ranchi, on Friday.
Australia clawed back to 2-1 in the five-match series following defeats in Christchurch and Dunedin.
Rajneesh Gupta lists the New Zealand players's T20 Internationals records updated after the game against England in the T20 World Cup.
Images from the third T20 International between India and New Zealand, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Sunday.
India were caught in a spin web on the Ranchi pitch as they lost the series opener by 21 runs on Friday.
India will be expecting more runs from the middle order and discipline in the death overs as they look for a series sealing win against New Zealand in the second ODI in Raipur on Saturday.
Netherlands' Teja Nidamanuru, Aryan Dutt and Vikram Singh might have a few drops of tears in their eyes when they step onto the field for their opening World Cup match against Pakistan on Friday.
Images from the third T20 International between New Zealand and India, at McLean Park in Napier, on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the ICC World Cup match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Rahul Dravid's reign as head coach and Rohit Sharma's as T20I captain got off to a winning start as India defeated New Zealand by five wickets in a thrilling finish in Jaipur on Wednesday.
India were expected to try out a bunch of players after another World Cup debacle but if the team combination for the second T20 was any indication, they seemed reluctant to start with a clean slate.
India are set for a T20 appetizer ahead of their marquee Test series against Australia when they face the touring New Zealand in a three-match series, beginning in Ranchi, on Friday.
New Zealand, on the other hand, will be eager to grab a consolation win to boost their morale.
Ishan Kishan had to sit out of the Sri Lanka series despite scoring the fastest double hundred in the history of ODIs against Bangladesh.
Images from the second T20 International between India and New Zealand, in Ranchi, on Friday.
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
A win for New Zealand against Afghanistan would end India's hopes of advancing to the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup.
Trent Boult grabbed two wickets on successive balls to help New Zealand to a 12-run win over England in their Twenty20 tri-series match at Wellington Regional Stadium on Tuesday.
India defeated New Zealand by five wickets in the first T20 International in Jaipur on Wednesday, but captain Rohit Sharma was quick to admit that his team was made to sweat for victory.
With the ball difficult to grip, the pacers had a tough time but once the spinners started operating India started to peg things back a little.
Half-centuries by opener Mohammed Shahzad and Shafiullah steered Afghanistan to a convincing seven-wicket victory over Hong Kong in a Group B match to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the ICC World Twenty20, in Chittagong, on Tuesday.
This is by now means a complete list of rock n rollers who died young. Death and popular music have an unhealthy fascination for each other.
India will look to clinch the series albeit with a more impactful batting performance from the middle-order in the second T20 International in Ranchi on Friday.
Pakistan will have 'revenge' on their mind for a recent off-field snub when they take on New Zealand in the T20 World Cup in Sharjah on Tuesday.
Their opponents New Zealand, who effectively knocked India out of the World Cup, have reached Jaipur on a chartered flight from Dubai with little time to reflect on their loss to Australia in the title clash.
Bairstow, who scored 138 in the fourth game in Dunedin, smashed a 58-ball century with eight boundaries and six sixes as he combined with Alex Hales (61) in a 155-run opening stand in perfect batting conditions.
Australia beat New Zealand by five wickets in their tri-series clash at Eden Park on Friday.
Having already won the series, Rohit and Dravid will now like to maintain a fine balance between winning and also trying out all their available resources to see how each and every individual is placed.
The player draft for the much-awaited Global T20 Canada 2023 was held in a hybrid-form in Mumbai.
Hong Kong overcame a disastrous start to beat Papua New Guinea by 29 runs at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and secure a historic berth in the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor's health would not be risked for the series-deciding one day international on Saturday as the team looks ahead to two Tests against England, coach Mike Hesson has said.
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