Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after 37 World Cup 2023 games.
'The two fast bowlers that did play were outstanding. Bowling long overs was an unbelievable effort. We know this Indian side is a very strong one.'
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav's sensational hat-trick and Prithvi Shaw's quick-fire half century (77) set up a four-wicket win for India 'A' against New Zealand 'A' in the second unofficial ODI.
Full list of players released, retained and traded by all ten teams in the IPL.
Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner, Rachin Ravindra and Hamish Rutherford were released from the initial 20 player squad.
Mustafizur Rahman's three-wicket haul and Mushfiqur Rahim's unbeaten 16-run knock helped Bangladesh defeat New Zealand by seven wickets in the first T20I of the five-match series here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.
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.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel picked up five wickets to help India grab a handy 49-run first-innings lead on Day 3 of the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday.
Bangladesh looked to be closing in on a shock victory over world Test champions New Zealand after Ebadot Hossain's three-wicket burst in the final session of the fourth day reduced the hosts to 147-5 in the opening Test.
New Zealand are well aware that it is extremely tough to bounce back after collapsing for 62 in the first innings, but young all-rounder Rachin Ravindra promised his team would put up a fight on Day 4 of the second Test against India, in Mumbai.
The squad will then be trimmed to 15 for the ICC World Test Championship final against India at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton starting on June 18, as per ICC regulations.
India failed to bowl out New Zealand on a deteriorating track on the fifth and final day of the first Test but skipper Ajinkya Rahane praised his players saying they tried their best and couldn't have done 'anything different'.
Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel claimed a career-best 4-16 as New Zealand kept alive its Twenty20 series against Bangladesh after a thumping 52-run victory in the third game, in Dhaka, on Sunday.
A brilliant 49-ball 65 not out from New Zealand captain Tom Latham was in vain as Bangladesh clinched a thrilling four-run victory in the second Twenty20 international and took a 2-0 series lead, on Friday.
The match ended after New Zealand scored 133 for 4 in their second innings.
The 31-year-old Williamson also sat out the two-Test home series against Bangladesh last month due to the niggling elbow issue.
Williamson's elbow injury kept him out of a Test match in India in December and home series against South Africa and Bangladesh.
Rahul Dravid gave Green Park's groundstaff, led by Shiv Kumar, Rs 35,000 for preparing a sporting pitch for the first Test against New Zealand.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin struck three early blows to put the hosts on course for a series-clinching victory against New Zealand in the second and final Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel became only the third bowler in Test cricket to take 10 wickets in an innings, during Day 2 of the second and final Test against India in Mumbai on Saturday.
Mukesh got wickets with the new (4.3 overs), semi-new (35.3 overs) and old ball (57.4 overs)
Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme made themselves unavailable for selection due to the prospect of further time in bio-secure bubbles and Managed Isolation.
India's head coach Rahul Dravid dismissed the suggestion that the timing of their declaration may have cost them victory in the drawn opening Test against New Zealand.
With 3,248 runs to his name, Martin Guptill is atop the leading T20I scorers' list, ahead of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have scored 3,227 and 3,086 runs respectively.
The young all-rounder picked up three of the last four NZ 'A' wickets to fall for fine figures of 4 for 11 to finish as the best Indian bowler.
Earlier, on a pitch offering pace and bounce for the bowlers, Thakur struck the first blow by castling Chad Bowes (10) with NZ 'A' at 14 in the third over. In his next over, he had Dane Cleaver (4) caught by Sen.
Mahmudul Hasan and Najmul Hossain struck half-centuries to fuel Bangladesh's strong reply to New Zealand's first innings total of 328 in the opening Test in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
Skipper Williamson cleared to play; spinner Patel included in 15-man squad
Shreyas Iyer sparkled with a half-century on debut, while Ravindra Jadeja also hit an unbeaten fifty to keep New Zealand at bay on Day 1 of the first Test in Kanpur on Thursday.
New Zealand are confident they can pull off an upset win against hosts India in the second and final Test in Mumbai to complete a historic series victory, the team's leading spinner Ajaz Patel said.
Captain Tom Latham smashed an unbeaten 186 as New Zealand bounced back from their shock defeat in Mount Maunganui to amass 349-1 on the opening day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh on Sunday.
Spin great Anil Kumble congratulated New Zealand's Ajaz Patel, who matched the Indian's feat of taking all 10 wickets in an innings in Test cricket.
Devon Conway celebrated his return from injury with a sparkling 122 on Saturday to propel New Zealand to 258/5 against Bangladesh on the opening day of the first Test in Mount Maunganui.
Shubman Gill's run-a-ball 83 was the only high point for India 'A' as New Zealand 'A' grabbed the opening day honours in their first unofficial Test, in Christchurch, on Thursday. The Indians were all out for 216 in their first innings before the hosts responded strongly as they reached 105 for two at the close of play.
India got off to a horror start in their practice match as youngsters Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill failed with the bat on Day 1 of the three-day game against New Zealand XI at Seddon Park, in Hamilton, on Friday. All the batsmen were dismissed by fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn as India were reduced to 5/3 in the seventh over.
Bangladesh's first win in any format of the game in New Zealand gave them a 1-0 lead in the two-match series
New Zealand's Indian-origin spinner Rachin Ravindra, who played a pivotal role in helping his side draw the first Test against India, said he was quite nervous about how the game would pan out as far as his bowling was concerned.
India will hope the return of regular captain Virat Kohli proves to be the difference for the hosts against New Zealand when the world's two top-ranked Test sides clash in the second and final match at the Wankhede Stadium from Friday.
India head coach Rahul Dravid on Monday commended his spinners for putting up a great show on 'quite an unresponsive' fifth day pitch with outside edges not coming into play in the drawn first Test against New Zealand.
It was the biggest margin of victory by runs for India in a home match, eclipsing their 337-run win against South Africa in a Delhi Test in 2015.
