Pakistan's Abdul Rehman produced a sustained, tight spell of left-arm spin bowling to take three wickets for 51 runs as New Zealand scrambled to 260 for seven at the close of play on the first day of the first Test at Seddon Park on Friday.
New Zealand named a virtually unchanged squad for the upcoming ODI series against India, with the selectors keeping faith in players who drew the recent five-match home assignment against the West Indies.
India's Shreyas Iyer smashed a century on his test debut but Tim Southee's lion-hearted bowling and New Zealand's top order left the opening test between the teams evenly poised on Friday.
New Zealand built a lead of 238 with three second innings wickets remaining on Monday heading into a delicately poised final day of the second Test against England in Nottingham.
New Zealand had produced 'almost the perfect performance' to destroy England in a World Cup match that lasted less than 50 overs on Friday.
'He is definitely much more mature and he knows the value of his place in the Indian team, 2-3 years of not being there.' 'He will now look to take care of his body much more. He has developed from a youngster to a responsible person now.' 'He knows what he needs to do, to succeed at the highest level.'
With unbeaten New Zealand having already qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals, attention is focussing on the side's four players who have not appeared so far at the tournament.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 3rd Test played between England and New Zealand at Headingley on Friday.
New Zealand's cricket selectors took a gamble on injury-prone Jacob Oram being fully fit for June's Twenty20 World Cup in England when they named their squad Tuesday. Oram did not take part in the recent three-Test series against India because of an Achilles injury, which has restricted his involvement at international level.
New Zealand face a daunting fourth innings run chase as Australia climbed into the box seat in the second Test being played in Hamilton on Monday.
Australia registered a tense 12-run win over New Zealand in the second one-day international at Auckland.
Images from the first One-Day International between New Zealand and India, in Auckland, on Friday.
KKR are placed at the sixth spot with 12 points and they will not only have to win but do it with a big margin
Losing seamer Kyle Mills and all-rounder Jacob Oram to injury does not make New Zealand underdogs heading into the third Test against England, according to captain Daniel Vettori. Mills and Oram, arguably New Zealand's two best bowlers in the series, were ruled out of the match at Napier's McLean Park with calf and hip injuries respectively.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and elected to bowl in the third and final Test in Wellington, on Friday. For India, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who missed the last match due to injury, came back into the playing eleven to replace Dinesh Karthik.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and elected to field in the third one-day international against India at Lancaster Park, Christchurch on Sunday. McCullum has replaced regular captain Daniel Vettori, who has left the team to be present at the birth of his first child in Auckland.
Fast bowler Ian Buttler's impressive showing in the just-concluded Twenty20 internationals earned him a place in New Zealand's One-day team, after a hiatus of five years, for the first three games of the five-match series against India, starting March 3. Apart from Buttler, Kyle Mills also made a comeback to the ODI squad after a two-week injury lay-off to augment an already lethal Kiwi pace battery, led by Iain O'Brien, Butler and Tim Southee.
Images from the World CUp match between New Zealand and Kenya, at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, on Saturday.
The RCB leg-spinner snapped four wickets as Kolkata Knight Riders were bowled out for 128.
Full list of players released, retained and traded by all ten teams in the IPL.
Two more failures in two home games could effectively mean end of the road for Ajinkya Rahane, who is leading India in the first Test in Kanpur, starting on Thursday.
New Zealand are more excited than tense at the prospect of winning their maiden ODI series in India, in Kanpur, on Sunday, said pacer Tim Southee.
New Zealand were in trouble at 37 for 3 at stumps in reply to England's declared first innings total of 325 for 9 at Bay Oval, with seven wickets tumbling in a frantic evening session.
There is an uncanny resemblance between Wade and Jackson's 'gravity-defying tilt'.
England spinner Monty Panesar claimed six wickets to wrap up the deciding third Test against New Zealand just after lunch on the fifth day on Wednesday. New Zealand, chasing an improbable 553 to win, were bowled out for 431 in their second innings to give England victory by 121 runs and a 2-1 triumph in the series, their first overseas success since South Africa in 2005.
Kevin Pietersen scored a fine century as England ended Day 1 in the third Test against New Zealand on 240 for 7. New Zealand debutant pace bowler Tim Southee had made a dream start, taking two wickets in his first spell as England slumped to 58 for four at lunch and 150 for six at tea.
New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram has been ruled out of the third Test against England with a hip injury and replaced by Grant Elliott, captain Daniel Vettori said on Friday. South African-born Elliott will make his Test debut in the match at McLean Park, alongside teenage pace bowler Tim Southee who has been called in to replace fellow seamer Kyle Mills.
With nine defeats from 11 matches, the Sunrisers are languishing at the bottom, while KKR, in fourth place with 10 points from 12 matches, still have hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stage.
South Africa slid to 105 for six on the third day of the second and final test against New Zealand on Monday but were still firmly in command at Centurion, holding a 372-run lead. After bowling the Kiwis out for 214, the hosts did not enforce the follow-on as the pitch is getting more and more difficult for the batsmen. New Zealand's bowlers took six wickets in the last session of the day with only stand-in opener Quinton de Kock (50) offering any resistance as Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, captain Faf du Plessis and Stiaan van Zyl went cheaply.
Skipper Williamson cleared to play; spinner Patel included in 15-man squad
Earlier, opting to bowl, the Indian bowlers led by debutant Harshal Patel (2/25) put on a brilliant display as the hosts restricted New Zealand to just 153/6.
A Daryl Mitchell century and a brilliant 72 from Matt Henry helped New Zealand to an unlikely first-innings lead of 18 runs before the home bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 83/3 at the end of the third day.
Kyle Jamieson took his second five-wicket haul as New Zealand ripped through the West Indies batting lineup to leave them in dire straits on 124-8 at the close of play of the second day of the second Test at the Basin Reserve on Saturday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 48.
New Zealand Cricket officials have commissioned international security consultant and expert Reg Dickason to visit Pakistan later this week to carry out a thorough security and COVID-19 assessment before advising them whether they should send their team to Pakistan.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson feels that one can "learn a lot" by watching his contemporary Virat Kohli's stellar performances in the ongoing ICC World T20.
Majestic cricket milestones mark T20 World Cup journey
New Zealand paceman Southee ruled out; Proteas 'keeper De Kock doubtful starter
After New Zealand thrashed India by ten wickets in the first Test in Wellington on Monday, former cricketer VVS Laxman said the visitors were outplayed in all departments. This was New Zealand's 100th Test match win, while on the other hand World No 1 India suffered their first defeat in the ICC World Test Championship.
IPL 2021 had many moments that made the tournament more special and fans asking for more.
