The lack of fight in the run chase was a big disappointment, as mentioned by captain Rohit Sharma in Wellington. Despite having eight batsmen in the eleven, India lost by 80 runs.
India's pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar said the eight-wicket loss to New Zealand is a 'reality check' for the team.
England vice-captain Ben Stokes says a winning start to the four-Test series against would be a perfect gift for Joe Root in his 100th Test.
Mohammed Shami has chalked up some strategy which he wants to effectively implement against top Australians like rival skipper Steve Smith and senior batsman David Warner.
Brett Lee's thunderbolts had taken Rohit Sharma's 'sleep away' when he first started out but among the current lot, Josh Hazlewood is one speedster the India swashbuckler 'doesn't want to face' in Tests.
Bowlers are suffering as pitches have gone very flat around the world. Bowlers just have an opportunity in first six to seven overs than it is a batsmen's game. We are seeing that in this World Cup
Virat Kohli is the "benchmark" and that is why all West Indies players should work as hard as the Indian captain to achieve their goals, believes their assistant coach Roddy Estwick.
After coming up short in the Twenty20 clash, the Indian batsmen need to fire against Australia in the opening ODI on Sunday.
India remained unchanged at number three position in the team list, headed by England and followed by South Africa.
The world's No.3 ODI bowler, leaked 110 runs off nine overs as England racked up a gigantic 397 for six after electing to bat against Afghanistan.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj bagged his maiden 10-wicket haul as India 'A' beat South Africa 'A' by a comprehensive innings and 30 runs after stiff resistance from the middle order on the final day of the first 'Test'.
India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, on Sunday, said it is very difficult to contain the duo of skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma when they are batting in full flow as the hosts chased down a stiff 323-run target with consummate ease.
James Taylor's patient century laid the platform for England to beat Australia by 93 runs in the third One-Day International at Old Trafford in Manchester, on Tuesday, leaving the touring side 2-1 up in the series.
"Dravid's too good a player to be left out," India's newly-appointed Test captain Anil Kumble said.
Sangakkara, Dhoni, McCullum, de Villiers... Cricket has never had so many amazing wicketkeeper-batsmen in the same era...
Former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh on Tuesday questioned India batting coach Vikram Rathour's ability to guide Indian cricketers in the T20 format. Yuvraj, who had retired from international cricket last year, also took a veiled dig at India chief coach Ravi Shastri.
IMAGES from the 1st ODI played in Sydney on Saturday
Opening batsman Quinton de Kock provided the early flourish with the bat with his seventh century while fast bowler Morne Morkel applied the finishing touch with four wickets as South Africa beat India by 18 runs on Sunday to take a 2-1 series lead in Rajkot, on Sunday.
India spinner Kuldeep Yadav said he needs 'more time' to improve as a Test bowler, stressing that playing red-ball cricket is vital for his growth.
Sri Lanka exacted a sweet revenge on India with a crushing nine-wicket victory in the second One-day International at Hambantota on Tuesday, to draw the series level at 1-1.
Sam Curran paced his innings beautifully, playing both spin and pace with ease. He was poised all through his innings and not once did he allow his focus to waver.
The legendary Sachin Tendulkar ended his career with 51 Test tons, but on this day in 2005, he became the first player to break Sunil Gavaskar's record of 35 Test tons.
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.
India are on course for an effortless ODI series whitewash over Zimbabwe but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he is concerned about the lack of opportunities for most of his batsmen in the tour so far. India posted an eight-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the second One-day International to claim an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here. "So far, only three of our top batsmen have got the chance to play. In the batting department we would like to make changes," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Spinner Brad Hogg was adjudged man of the match for his career-best figures of five for 41.
In fact, despite throat pain, the team doctor allowed the player to attend the team meeting and only on July 27 morning was his RT-PCR Test done. The reports came late in the afternoon after which BCCI and SLC decided to jointly postpone the game by a day as eight of his close contacts were also tested.
Manish Pandey is feeling the pressure of holding on to his spot in the Indian ODI team and says the only way he can beat stiff competition is by scoring tons of runs.
India put up yet another dismal batting display, on seam-friendly conditions, to suffer a humiliating 134-run defeat in the second one-dayer against South Africa in Durban on Sunday.
West Indies captain Brian Lara won the toss and elected to field in the first ODI against India in Nagpur.
Speaking of spinners, former England spinner Graeme Swann said Kuldeep Yadav should play in the first Test ahead of either Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja.
The focus will firmly be on Prithvi Shaw and the national selectors keeping a keen eye on Mumbai captain's performance as his team takes on Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, in Delhi, on Sunday.
None other than India skipper Virat Kohli acknowledged Afghanistan's rapid rise in the last four years.
Rohit Sharma says the 81-ball 100 by Ambati Rayudu will remove all doubts that he is the ideal number four in the run-up to next year's World Cup in England.
A miscommunication between Maxwell and Carey sent the latter back to the pavilion as the wicketkeeper-batsman fell short of his crease. India got the crucial wicket after the duo added 52 runs for the sixth wicket.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah found his mojo as India got back to winning ways with a morale-lifting 13-run triumph over Australia in the third and final ODI in Canberra on Wednesday, salvaging some of the lost pride in a 1-2 series defeat.
Former England left-arm spinner Phil Tufnell says India will be better off playing him in the Test series as well, having done the good thing by picking the "rare" talent in the upcoming five-match Test series.
Australian opener David Warner termed as 'bizarre' the experience of playing behind closed doors, which it said was like playing a warm-up game.
India's opening batsmen have come under fire for poor starts in their last two home series against New Zealand and England but captain Virat Kohli says now is the time to give them support, not show them the door.
The Indian players, led by captain Virat Kohli, focussed on next month's Test series against Australia as they practised in simulated long-format match conditions complete with pacers using red and pink balls, in Sydney, on Tuesday.
