It will be a test of wits between two new captains in Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya when defending champions Chennai Super Kings clash with debutants Gujarat Titans in the IPL match in Pune on Sunday.
South Africa will need their bowlers to step up to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
All-rounder Corey Anderson has been ruled out of New Zealand's tour of Australia with a back injury and been replaced by Mitchell Santner, the team said on Monday.
While Robin Uthappa had scored a fifty in one of the games, the likes of Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu have failed to capitalise on their starts.
Chennai Super Kings have so far failed to display the stuff that won them the IPL last season, and new skipper Ravindra Jadeja must seek improvement on multiple fronts against Punjab Kings when they meet at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
BJ Watling scored the first Test century on Bay Oval as New Zealand established a 41-run lead against England on Saturday, reaching 394-6 at the close of the third day of the first Test in Mt. Maunganui.
Boult took 6-33 as Australia, who only needed to square the series to retain the trophy, were dismissed for 257 on the final ball of the 47th over as they chased New Zealand's 281 for nine.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between India and New Zealand, in Dubai, on Sunday.
CSK would be looking to continue the momentum.
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.
Operating like a well-oiled unit, Chennai Super Kings will start as overwhelming favourites when they clash with struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Neil Wagner claimed a five-wicket haul from a fiery spell of fast bowling as New Zealand reduced hosts Zimbabwe to 120 for eight at tea on day one of the first Test at Queen's Sports Club on Thursday.
'376 was always tough (to chase) but the bowlers fought throughout and that's something we can take to Indore. Hopefully, we can play some fear-free cricket to put India under pressure'
For Pakistan, Rauf clinched three wickets while Afridi grabbed two scalps.
An ill Tim Southee and superb debut from Kyle Jamieson helped New Zealand to a tense 22-run victory over India in their second one day international at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday and clinch the three-match series with a game to spare. India were dismissed for 251 in 48.3 overs with Ravindra Jadeja (55) producing a superb rearguard fightback after he came to the crease with his side in trouble at 96-5 and almost won the game in partnership with fast bowler Navdeep Saini (45). New Zealand had scored 273-8 in their innings with Ross Taylor following up his century in the first match in Hamilton with 73 not out.
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.
Former wicketkeeper Brad Haddin says Australia missed the experience and skills of senior spinner Nathan Lyon during their unsuccessful World T20 campaign in India. Lyon was kept out in favour of young spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, while allrounder Glenn Maxwell also chipped in with his part-timers. Rookie leg-spinner Zampa was a revelation for the Aussies, claiming five wickets in four matches in the tournament. But Australia's other spin options were used sparingly throughout the tournament; Agar bowled just one over in his only match against New Zealand, which went for 18, while Maxwell sent down eight overs in four matches, taking two wickets and conceding 7.6 runs an over. Australia suffered defeats to New Zealand and hosts India to be knocked out in the group stage and on wickets the supported spin bowling, Haddin says Lyon was sorely missed.
New Zealand are hoping to give a better account of themselves when they take on the Indian Board President's XI in the final warm-up game on Thursday before the first One-Day International, in Mumbai on October 22.
On the ICC ODI Team Rankings, No.1 ranked Australia has moved up from 118 points to 120 points, while New Zealand has dropped behind India in fourth position. New Zealand had started the series on 112 points, but the 3-0 defeat has meant it has dropped to 109 points.
Only Indians Sachin Tendulkar (nine in 1998) and Sourav Ganguly (seven in 2000) have hit more centuries in one year.
Mumbai Indians have been in ominous form and the varied bowling attack could prove a challenge for the CSK batters, who are low on confidence.
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.
Injured New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor will test his fitness ahead of next month's World Twenty20 tournament in India when he plays in an 'Island of Origin' match next week.
Fans of the ace cricketer, who recently turned 38, took to Twitter to appeal to their idol to keep his chin high while praising his efforts in turning tables in favour of the Men in Blue.
Images from the first T20 International between India and New Zealand, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
A resurgent New Zealand beat England by 13 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method in a high-scoring second One-day international, marred by a late rain interruption, at The Oval on Friday to level the five-match series at 1-1.
The hosts ended the day on 144-4 and Henry Nicholls (26) and BJ Watling (six) will resume in Mt. Maunganui on Saturday to try and eat into their 209-run deficit after England were dismissed for 353 after lunch on Friday.
Gujarat Titans are currently at the top of the IPL table with 18 points from 12 games and a win on Sunday will more or less secure them a top-2 finish. That would mean an extra chance of making it to the final.
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's devastating five-wicket haul after a late batting blitzkrieg put India firmly in command as they reduced a hapless New Zealand to 128 for 7 on the rain-hit second day of the second cricket Test, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
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.
Malik has been the find of the season as he outsmarted the top batters of the world with his brutal pace.
A 75-run partnership for the second wicket between stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma and Vijay Shankar put India in a strong position but their middle-order failed to capitalise and the tourists finished with 208 for six in 20 overs.
Photos from Day 2 of the 3rd Test played at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday
India win fifth ODI to seal 4-1 series victory in New Zealand
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was 'fired up' by the way the last-over no-ball was handled and walked on to the field to get some clarity over the whole incident, Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said.
By picking all 10 wickets, Ajaz Patel joined Jim Laker and Anil Kumble.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has returned to side after recovering from eye surgery in late November and will rejoin the Test team for their two-match series against Bangladesh. Taylor had surgery to remove a pterygium, or growth, on his left eye that had affected his vision after the second Test victory against Pakistan in Hamilton. "It's great to have Ross back," New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said in a statement on Thursday. "He has a phenomenal record that speaks for itself and he's coming off a terrific hundred in his last Test.
The players of which country had the best IPL 2023? Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji find out.
The only selection issue facing New Zealand as they head into the second match against India at Christchurch is likely to be whether pace bowler Kyle Jamieson, so impressive on his Test debut at the Basin Reserve, bats higher in the order. Jamieson made a big impression in the hosts' 10-wicket victory in the opener of the two-Test series, capturing 4-39 in the first innings and then scoring 44 in a rearguard action.
India's marauding cricket team will be aiming to reclaim the No 1 spot in ICC rankings when it takes on an unsettled New Zealand in the second Test starting, in Kolkata, on Friday.
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