Kane Williamson was looming as the difference between a comfortable Australian win in the second Test against New Zealand and a match situation that could tip the scales either way, according to both sides.
Joe Burns and Steve Smith capitalised on perfect batting conditions to score centuries as Australia reduced New Zealand's lead to just seven runs at the end of day two of the second test on Sunday. Neil Wagner dismissed both batsmen in identical fashion in the final half-hour to give his side some late reward for a day of toil under a cloudless Christchurch sky. Burns, who had been dismissed early in his innings only to have the decision overturned on review, was well caught low down by Martin Guptill at square leg for 170, his highest test score and third century. Smith also fell to a short ball in Wagner's next over for 138, his 14th test century, caught by the same fielder. Adam Voges was on two with nightwatchman Nathan Lyon on four as the visitors ended the day 363 for four, having all but mowed down New Zealand's first innings 370.
New Zealand will not be shelving the aggressive game that has taken them through the pool stage.
The Suresh Raina-led side suffered consecutive defeats against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders and title holder Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening two matches.
Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils, desperate for a victory under their belt, will try to outdo each other in Saturday's Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru.
Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan grabbed six wickets to put Bangladesh on top on the second day of the first Test against New Zealand in Chittagong on Saturday. The Kiwis, replying to Bangladesh's first innings 245, were reduced to 155 for nine at the close with captain Daniel Vettori 48 not out.
Gujarat Lions would look to better their debut season's success and aim for a winning start against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match, in Rajkot on Friday.
He is the only Indian to make the list that includes three South Africans including record-breaking captain AB de Villiers. Check out the team...
A keen contest is on the cards as Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals cross swords in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Colin Munro and Anton Devcich hit half-centuries, and Tim Southee grabbed three wickets, as New Zealand ended their Bangladesh tour with a 15-run victory in the Twenty20 match in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja hammered home the advantage their bowlers had established when they took Australia to 147-3, a deficit of just 36 runs, at the close of the opening day's play in the first Test against New Zealand on Friday.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first Indian wicketkeeper and the fourth overall to effect 300 dismissals in One Day Internationals when he caught Ross Taylor, off the bowling of Mohammed Shami, in the opening ODI against New Zealand in Napier on Sunday.
New Zealand have never appeared so well-united as they do currently. 'Individually and collectively, under Brendon McCullum's astute leadership, they seem a formidable lot.'
Tom Latham and Luke Ronchi lifted a New Zealand side bristling with attacking intent to 297 for eight at the close on a rain-disrupted first day of the second Test against England at Headingley on Friday.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming has pointed out that six final appearances from the eight seasons speak of his side's consistency, and their loss to Mumbai Indians in the final of the Indian Premier League is not down to the mind.
Kane Williamson and BJ Watling produced a world record sixth wicket partnership of 365 runs to guide New Zealand to 524 for five before captain Brendon McCullum declared their second innings closed after tea on the fourth day of the second Test.
Skipper David Warner produced a majestic 93 as he single-handedly led Sunrisers Hyderabad into the IPL final after securing a four-wicket win over Gujarat Lions in the Qualifier 2 at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi. Chasing a tricky 163, Sunrisers overhauled the target with four balls to spare as Warner anchored the chase with his responsible 58-ball knock, embellished with 11 four and three sixes.
Chasing a challenging 188 set by KKR, Raina led from the front with a blistering 46-ball 84-run knock to set the platform for the much-needed win for Gujarat Lions.
New Zealand humiliated Bangladesh by 10 wickets in the third one-day international at Queenstown on Monday to complete a 3-0 series clean sweep.
Rain forced the first Test between New Zealand and West Indies to be abandoned as a draw after tea on the fifth and final day at University Oval in Dunedin on Saturday.
Jonny Bairstow bludgeoned a brilliant 83 not out in Durham to lead England to a three-wicket win over New Zealand on the Duckworth-Lewis method on Saturday, earning a 3-2 victory in the five-match series of one-dayers.
Classy centuries from captain Eoin Morgan and Joe Root propelled England to a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand.
Brendon McCullum led New Zealand to a crushing 10 wicket win over England in a rain-interrupted limited-overs international at Hamilton on Tuesday, giving the Kiwis a 2-0 lead in their five-match series. Set a target of 165 from 36 overs to win, New Zealand cruised to victory at the start of the 19th over. McCullum finished unbeaten on 80 from only 47 balls.
Jos Buttler and Joe Root thrashed brilliant centuries in England's highest One-Day International score on the way to a 210-run rout of New Zealand in the first game of the series at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni went about his job, leading Chennai Super Kings to a five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday, we noticed a new face in the CSK fan club.
The trans-Tasman rivalry is fierce across all sports.
Tom Latham struck his maiden Test century but New Zealand crumbled to 262 all out, conceding a 304-run first-innings lead as well as control of the first Test to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The BCCI's multi-million dollar Indian Premier League also signed up into its growing fold Younis Khan, Mohd Asif and New Zealand's Brendon McCullum.
'Overwhelmingly, Test cricket came out as the format that interests fans the most, regardless of country supported or age'
Images from Day 2 in the first Test between New Zealand and India, at Auckland, on Friday.
It will be a battle of tactics as a formidable Chennai Super Kings, led by the wily Mahendra Singh Dhoni, square off against a confident Royal Challengers Bangalore under an aggressive Virat Kohli in the second qualifier of the Indian Premier League, in Ranchi on Friday.
Jamie How and Brendon McCullum shared a record partnership as New Zealand beat South Africa by seven wickets to level the one-day series on Friday. How and McCullum shared 154, New Zealand's biggest second-wicket stand against South Africa. The previous record was an unbroken 140 set by Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle in Johannesburg in 2002-03.
Watling, who was initially a top-order batsman and part-time wicketkeeper when he first made the New Zealand side in 2009, moved one behind Adam Parore's national record as the hosts bowled Bangladesh out for 234 early in the final session.
Jesse Ryder's blistering return to form may not be enough to get him rushed back into the international game, according to New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum.
Glenn Maxwell and David Miller blasted half-centuries to power Kings XI Punjab to a six-wicket victory against Chennai Super Kings in a high scoring encounter in Indian Premier League, in Abu Dhabi.
India ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will join compatriot Virender Sehwag and a host of other international cricketers for a charity match at the Kia Oval on September 17.
Hosts England lock horns with New Zealand at the Riverside with both sides knowing that victory would secure their passage.
New Zealand beat the West Indies by four wickets in the second Twenty20 international at Wellington on Wednesday to win the series 2-0 and add to their 2-0 success in the Tests.
Kane Williamson, who scored a brilliant 113, was effusive in praise of his captain and fellow-centurion Brendon McCullum (143 not out) while admitting the pitch was conducive for batting after the morning session, on Day 1 of the first Test against India.
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will fight for survival when they lock horns in the Indian Premier League in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
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