The calm, assured manner in which New Zealand chased down South Africa's imposing total on Tuesday to advance to their first cricket World Cup final is a hallmark of a team that has developed into a cohesive unit over the last two years.
Debutants Gujarat Lions became the first team to confirm a play-off berth with a thumping six-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League in Kanpur, on Saturday.
Martin Guptill struck his third Test century while Kane Williamson fell just short his 13th as New Zealand blunted Sri Lanka's inexperienced bowling attack to set themselves up for a big total in the first Test in Dunedin on Thursday.
Clearly he didn't get the length of contract extension offer that he was after so it hasn't been ideal, but I don't subscribe to the fact that it was individuals that were key to making the decision, said selection chief, George Bailey.
'His drive to see the team succeed and his passion for the game are what you look for in a leader. He's ready for the role and will only continue to grow'
He was part of the 4x100m relay team that still holds the national record, and post-retirement, he oversaw the Black Caps for eight years.
Injury-prone South African fast bowler Dale Steyn is set to play in the Euro T20 Slam league after being signed up as one of the marquee players along with New Zealand's Martin Guptill for the tournament's first edition, beginning August 30.
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.
In a match dominated by bowlers, it was Lasith Malinga who ran away with the honours despite being at the losing end.
Kane Williamson finished the day 97 not out - approaching his 21st Test century - with Ross Taylor 31 not out and the home team 243-2 .
A resurgent New Zealand have landed in Australia with high hopes of upsetting Steven Smith's rebuilding side in a three-match series capped by Test cricket's first day-night clash.
Joe Root's purposeful half-century lifted England to a 56-run victory over New Zealand in a one-off Twenty20.
Kane Williamson will get another chance to prove his leadership credentials after being named New Zealand captain for limited overs series.
Fast bowler Adam Milne won the battle for the final pace bowling spot in New Zealand's cricket World Cup squad named on Thursday.
'Rather than worrying too much about results, it's about trying to stick to a brand of cricket that we want to be proud of playing. I guess that's something that came out in the 2015 World Cup and it's flowed on from there.'
Their bowling once again failed to live up to expectations while the fielding was also below-par as Royal Challengers Bangalore continued their poor run in IPL-11 with a six-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
His contract bars him from being associated with any private league.
A look at the Kolkata Knight Riders's IPL record over the years.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils, in Delhi.
Though Chennai Super Kings is home to four international captains this Indian Premier League, New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum insists that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the sole leader of the pack, saying he has lots to learn from his India counterpart in his first year with the franchise.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns has denied allegations that he is the name identified as 'Player X' by current captain Brendon McCullum and former batsman Lou Vincent, following a report that 'the net is closing' around a big name in the game.
New Zealand will return home for some serious soul searching and to discuss how they can finally win a limited-overs competition or next year's World Cup could end the same way as so many others, said captain Brendon McCullum.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum sounded upbeat about an unchanged team - from the side that beat the West Indies recently - for the first Test of the two-match series against India starting in Auckland on Thursday.
He became the first New Zealand batsman to score a triple hundred and skipper Brendon McCullum has admitted that the epic innings will be etched in his memory for the rest of his life.
The cricketing cliche of taking each ball on its merit and then switching off to deal with the next was never more appropriate on Monday as Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling batted New Zealand into a strong position in the second Test against India.
'With this wicket, the best method of attack against the Indian side is to roll out another seamer'
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and New Zealand, at Auckland, on Thursday.
New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson was confirmed in his team's playing side for their series-deciding third and final Test against West Indies in Hamilton starting on Thursday.
BJ Watling will be retiring from international cricket after the tour of England.
New Zealand all-rounder Nathan McCullum said his team will aim for a 4-0 result in the ongoing ODI series by going full throttle in the inconsequential fifth and final match in Wellington on Friday.
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.
Morgan paid tribute to Brendon McCullum, saying the former New Zealand captain had made a deep impact on his leadership style.
Hetmyer smacked three sixes and eight fours in his entertaining knock, helping his side chase down a modest target of 128.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has slammed Shaun Marsh's topsy-turvy batting statistic in Test format by comparing it with former fast bowler Glenn McGrath's poor batting records.
As if a pitch that can barely be distinguished from the outfield was not enough for New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum to worry about ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka, it turns out his top batsman may have a broken finger.
Rohit achieved the feat in style, clobbering leg-spinner Ish Sodhi over the fine-leg boundary for a six during India's chase of 159 runs in the second Twenty20 International against New Zealand in Auckland
Karthik will be surrounded by cricketing brains all around him with the 2019 England World Cup winning skipper as his deputy, and New Zealand great Brendon McCullum as the head coach.
Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar has suggested that Rajkot, the new team in the Indian Premier League, should have an Indian captain, saying it makes sense to have somebody who knows the local players well at the helm.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 is all set to resume on Sunday with Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) locking horns against each other.
Martin Guptill became the highest run scorer in One-Day International cricket this year as he guided New Zealand to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first game of their five match series in Christchurch, on Saturday.
