New Zealand held their nerve under the floodlights to beat Bangladesh by two wickets in a dramatic low-scoring Cricket World Cup match at The Oval on Wednesday.
South Africa were 224 for six at the close of play in a chilly Dunedin with a lead of 191 runs entering the final day on a pitch that is turning but offering little assistance for the pace bowlers and is proving difficult to score from.
The Kiwis will have greater concern over their lack of finishing after squandering two last over winning positions in two consecutive games, and the series along with.
Jayawardene credited MI and New Zealand's bowling coach Shane Bond for perfectly planning and executing India's downfall in the last match.
Batsmen from Papua New Guinea, Oman and UAE leap to find place in top-50
A batsman of Russell's calibre may just prove to be the difference between the two sides.
It will interesting to see how the pitch behaves on Sunday.
Kane Williamson's gamble to compromise on speed and pick three specialist spinners paid off as New Zealand humbled hosts India by 47 runs in a spin-dominated Super 10 contest of the World Twenty20 in Nagpur, on Tuesday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will be leading the defending champions for the 10th year, would be used as a floater if required
Colin Munro blasted a quickfire half-century as New Zealand pipped India by four runs in a high-scoring thriller to win the three-match T20 International 2-1, in Hamilton, on Sunday.
The ball was old, the stage set and expectations high but India's Rohit Sharma again spurned the opportunity to assert his long-form credentials in the first test against New Zealand on Thursday. Often hailed as the next big thing to come out of Mumbai since Sachin Tendulkar, the 29-year-old is an automatic choice in the limited-overs side and the only batsman to score two one-day international double centuries.
Virat Kohli will be facing the most defining test of his captaincy career as he expects his men to be the proverbial 'phoenix rising from the ashes' when India take on a street-smart New Zealand in a do-or-die T20 World Cup Super 12 match in Dubai on Sunday.
Wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha's battling half-century helped India reach 316 before the hosts were dismissed in their first innings against New Zealand on the second morning of the second test at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
At the halfway point, after winning just two games out of seven, CSK are looking set to miss the play-offs for the first time in their history. Harish Kotian tells Captain M S Dhoni and Coach Stephen Fleming how to get CSK back to its winning ways.
Delhi's strong batting line up of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, Steven Smith and Pant himself will look to fire on all cylinders right from the opening game.
New Zealand's pacemen struck back with two late wickets under the floodlights at Adelaide Oval but Australia's bowlers basked in the sun as the inaugural day-night Test opened on Friday.
It remains to be seen whether India stick to their combination of three specialist pacers and two spinners combination or bring in an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav to partner Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja.
Bangladesh put in a disciplined performance in the field to restrict New Zealand to 145-8 in a World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne obstinately defied New Zealand's bowlers for much of the second day of the first Test at University Oval in Dunedin on Friday though the hosts still have the upper hand.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar feels India got a taste of their own medicine in Tuesday's World Twenty20 loss to New Zealand and should be prepared to handle quality spin if they want to dish out rank turners for their opponents.
After a comfortable outing in the tournament-opener against Bangladesh, title favourites England are set to face a much stiffer test against New Zealand in a crucial ICC Champions Trophy Group A fixture in Cardiff, on Tuesday.
A win for either side will help it consolidate its position at the top and also seal a spot in Qualifier 1.
Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be in focus alongside speedster Mohammed Shami when defending champions India take on New Zealand on Sunday in their opening warm-up game ahead of the Champions Trophy in London.
Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santer may have not picked up a wicket in New Zealand's thumping win over India but his tidy spell helped immensely in putting pressure on the opposition batters, said teammmate Ish Sodhi.
Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted at number seven against , promoting the likes of Sam Curran, Jadhav and Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of himself but the ploy backfired badly
Trent Boult took the prized wicket of AB de Villiers then bowled Dwaine Pretorious in the penultimate over as New Zealand secured a series-levelling six-run victory in the second One-day international against South Africa on Wednesday.
Australia's Marnus Labuschange struck another half century to pile on the runs and the misery over New Zealand on Day 3 of the day-night Test in Perth on Saturday. Earlier, Starc picked a five-wicket haul.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers calmly guided his side to a tense four-wicket victory over New Zealand with one ball to spare in a rain-affected first one-day international in Hamilton on Sunday.
The home team's bowlers will be wary of Chris Gayle's power-hitting.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's astute captaincy will be Chennai Super Kings' biggest weapon against a clinical Kolkata Knight Riders, whose troika of top-notch spinners promise to hold the aces in the high-octane Indian Premier League final in Dubai on Friday.
New Zealand's bowlers steadily chipped away at the West Indies lineup to record a ruthless 240-run victory shortly before tea on the fourth day of the second Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Tuesday to wrap up a 2-0 series sweep.
Tom Latham led New Zealand out on the field in Sydney on Friday in the absence of unwell Kane Williamson. Australia won the toss and decided to bat first. IMAGES from Day 1 of the 3rd Test between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney on Friday
Sharma (62) combined with captain Kohli (60) in a 113-run partnership to set up their successful chase before Ambati Rayudu (40) completed the formalities with Dinesh Karthik, who was 38 not out, as India romped home with seven overs to spare.
A hobbling Kane Williamson guided New Zealand to 142 for five at the close of play on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Hamilton, with the hosts needing another 47 runs to seal a 2-0 series sweep.
Rohit Sharma-led squad will be hoping it has enough left in the tank to record a maiden T20 series win in New Zealand
Mumbai Indians lock horns with an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match in which home skipper Rohit Sharma's return from injury will also be awaited, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur, on Friday.
A thrilling victory over England in the second match of their One-day series was tempered for New Zealand with the news that all-rounder Corey Anderson would be sent home.
Out-of-favour India opener Gautam Gambhir feels spinners will decide the fate of the upcoming three-match Test series between India and New Zealand, starting in Kanpur on September 22.
New Zealand will bank heavily on reverse swing to emerge from the trial by spin that awaits them in the test series in India, coach Mike Hesson said on Tuesday. Last time they hosted a team, India rolled out turning tracks and flexed their spin muscles to crush South Africa 3-0 in the four-test series last year. Kane Williamson and his men can look forward to a similar treatment in the three-test series beginning in Kanpur on Sept. 22 but Hesson sounded upbeat.
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