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.
South Africa will need their bowlers to step up to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
Babar Azam, whose cover drives have some similarities with Kohli, has enjoyed a conistent run in Tests since 2018 matching the likes of Kohli, Australia's run machine Steve Smith, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and England's Joe Root.
New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill has been dropped for the Test series against Pakistan and the uncapped Jeet Raval is poised to make his debut.
New Zealand, who made 249 in the first innings, were undone by the Sri Lankan spinners in their second spell as well.
Australia defeated New Zealand by eight wickets to win their maiden Twenty20 World Cup title on Sunday.
'It was still touch and go when I went out there to bat; to get through that hard period and Kane's been a fantastic captain and ambassador for the game and our country.'
Will India retain the same playing XI?
Jasprit Bumrah's appointment as India's stand-in Test captain is a 'courageous decision' based on his 'tactical nous', and his leadership duel with England skipper Ben Stokes is providing a fascinating sidelight to an entertaining game in Birmingham, said the legendary Ian Chappell.
Sachin Tendulkar led the cricketing fraternity in lauding the fighting spirit of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.
Rohit Sharma has been included in Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai's 15-member squad for the warm-up game against the visiting New Zealand side at New Delhi from September 16-18.
The top-order has struggled immensely to contribute runs. In the opener, the Kiwis seemed down and out at 131-6, before number seven Michael Bracewell played a blinder to almost take them over the line.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes, born in New Zealand, played a crucial role in England's World Cup victory and he starred for the hosts in the final match against New Zealand.
New Zealand will be banking on injured pace bowlers Trent Boult (hand), Matt Henry (thumb) and Lockie Ferguson (calf) coming back into contention for the Tests
Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum feels the Black Caps were 'a little bit timid' against Australia in the T20 World Cup final, saying they brought a gun to the fight, except they 'didn't fire the bullets'.
It's a 'shame' that Sunrisers Hyderabad could not make the IPL final believes batsman Kane Williamson but asserted that the side can take pride in its remarkable fightback to make the play-offs after the early struggle in the tournament.
New Zealand comfortably beat India by six wickets in a World Cup warm-up match at The Oval in London on Saturday after restricting the Virat Kohli-led side to 179.
Colin Munro blasted New Zealand's fastest Twenty20 half century to surpass a mark set by Martin Guptill earlier in the innings as the hosts swept their two-match series against Sri Lanka with a nine-wicket win in Auckland on Sunday.
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings clash against Gujarat Titans in a repeat of last season's final in the IPL 2024 match in Chennai on Tuesday.
A desperate Indian team will pray for a rain-free third and final ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday in its bid to finish on an even keel in a series that neither had context nor any major takeaways.
A turner in Pune exposed the soft underbelly of Indian batters' technique against slow bowling but as per the current team's philosophy, it has decided to take the bull by its horns by asking for a turner where the ball might turn at right angles from first hour.
Supremely positive, aggressive and efficient, the Black Caps amply justified their status as the world's third-ranked Test side in a 1-1 draw with their hosts which fluctuated from the first ball to the last. New Zealand are a team to be reckoned with.
Blessed with a glut of superb all-rounders in B Sai Sudarshan, Abhinav Manohar and Vijay Shankar, as well as bowlers like Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan who can smoke the opposition bowling when the situation demands, Gujarat look set to put on another big show for their fans this season.
With spin expected to have an impact on the outcome of the opening Test starting in Kanpur on Thursday, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is hoping that the lessons learnt during the World Twenty20 in India will help his side's spinners counter the hosts. New Zealand had reached the semi-finals of World T20 and Mitchel Santner (4/11 in 4 overs) had recorded the best figures for a Kiwi spinner in Twenty20s en route to their knock out stage appearance. Those figures had come for a winning cause against India in Nagpur and he was well supported by Ish Sodhi, who took three wickets in that match. These two spinners -- Santner and Sodhi -- will challenge the Indian batting line-up in this Test series.
Factbox on World Cup match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval.
Kiwi Ross Taylor's mammoth 290 in the WACA Test against Australia, propelled him to the top-10 list
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said though his team played well in the ODI and T20 series and put up a good fight but were not good enough in both the deciding rubbers.
Dhoni was picked as captain of ODI and Twenty20 teams of the decade, while Virat Kohli was named the leader in Tests.
Pakistan will not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semi-final berth.
Persistent rain forced the abandonment of the first day's play of the first cricket Test between New Zealand and Pakistan at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday. Play had been expected to begin at 1100 (2200 GMT), but heavy rain overnight ensured it did not begin as scheduled. While groundstaff, who had said earlier they would need two hours to prepare the venue once rain stopped, worked to prepare the ground during brief interludes of fine weather throughout the day, umpires decided at their second pitch inspection at 1600 there was no chance of any play.
The function was attended by Hon Grant Robertson, Minister for Sports and Recreation of New Zealand, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive David White and Event Brand Ambassador Corey Anderson among others.
Will India drop Rohit for the Sydney Test and put Kohli on notice? Or will the team management grant the senior pros a final chance to redeem themselves?
Debutant Rachin Ravindra and number 11 batsman Ajaz Patel survived intense pressure to help New Zealand draw the opening Test against India in Kanpur on Monday.
New Zealand had it all under control in the third T20, with two runs needed off four balls and six wickets in hand to overhaul India's total, but they faltered.
The Indian batting line-up's soft underbelly lay exposed in slightly favourable bowling conditions as New Zealand gave the two-time champions a rude wake-up call, easing to a six-wicket victory in the World Cup warm-up match at the Oval, in London, on Saturday.
While others have faded somewhat recently, Kohli has been burning brightly, and pulling ahead of his peers.
World number one India suffered a seven-wicket defeat in less than three days as New Zealand completed a 2-0 series sweep in the second Test, in Christchurch, on Monday. India were all out for 124 in their second innings to set New Zealand an easy target of 132 to win the match. The hosts cruised to victory, with openers Tom Latham (52) and Tom Blundell (55) both hitting half-centuries.
Carlos Brathwaite struck a brilliant century but West Indies still lost to New Zealand by five runs in a thrilling finish, in the World Cup match, in Manchester, on Saturday.
The romance of finishing his career by leading New Zealand into one last battle against Australia on home soil persuaded Brendon McCullum to bow out of international cricket before next year's World Twenty20.
Injured New Zealand pace bowlers Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson are "tracking nicely" as the side begin their preparations for the Test series against India, according to captain Kane Williamson. Both missed the Twenty20 and One-Day International series against India but Williamson said there are hopes they could be available for the first match against the world's top ranked Test team that starts on February 21 in Wellington.
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