A first T20 series victory in New Zealand will be the icing on the cake for the Men in Blue, who have far exceeded expectations during their three-month sojourn in this part of the world.
Joe Root scored his fastest Test century while Ollie Pope struck a superb 145, as England launched a stirring fightback to reach 473/5 at the close of play on the third day of the second Test against New Zealand on Sunday.
With final figures of 3-19 including a maiden wicket, Avesh had the all-important scalp of in-form Andre Russell.
Rookie opener Sarel Erwee savoured a maiden century as South Africa dominated day one of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch to be 238 for three at the close on Friday.
Australia clawed back to 2-1 in the five-match series following defeats in Christchurch and Dunedin.
Hobart Hurricanes produced a commanding performance to beat Northern Knights by 86 runs in a Group B match in Raipur to keep their hopes afloat in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20.
Rahul Dravid's reign as head coach and Rohit Sharma's as T20I captain got off to a winning start as India defeated New Zealand by five wickets in a thrilling finish in Jaipur on Wednesday.
Check out the Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2014.
Black Caps can only improve by lifting the title in Melbourne next month.
We had to fight really hard to reverse momentum, says Kane Williamson
IMAGES from the second One-Day International between India and New Zealand in New Delhi, on Thursday.
"Really happy with the way things went till now, would have loved to have a full game here and as Siraj said the weather is not in our hands," he said.
Captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya were among the five Indian team members who skipped the optional practice session ahead of the series decider against New Zealand, in Kanpur, on Sunday.
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.
The opener's efforts in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup helped Australia win the tournament for the first time.
New Zealand, who made 249 in the first innings, were undone by the Sri Lankan spinners in their second spell as well.
Brimming with confidence after a clean-sweep in the Test series, India will look to carry on their dominance over New Zealand when the two teams lock horns in the first cricket One-day International of the five-match series, in Dharamsala on Sunday.
'When it comes to cricket, I try to entertain as much as possible whether it's for good or for bad..., thankfully, it was on the good end of things.'
Captain Kane Williamson led from the front with a superb century before his bowlers held their nerves in a close finish to help New Zealand edge past India by six runs in the second One-Day International in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Weakened by the departure of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Saturday.
With a new cricket director, coach and chairman, England return to the field of play in the first Test against New Zealand on Thursday following an extraordinary period of upheaval.
'His elbow is still niggling him a wee bit'
Tim Southee and Matt Henry removed both England openers as New Zealand reduced the tourists to 39-2 and took control of the second Test by the close of play on the second day at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Saturday.
SKY overtook Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan to become just the second Indian player to hold the top T20I batter ranking.
Batting first, Board President's XI made 295 for 9 in 50 overs and then bowled out the tourists for 265 in 47.4 overs.
Shubman Gill had a good net session on Thursday and it is expected that he would be asked to open the innings alongside Mayank Agarwal if Prithvi Shaw is unable to make it for the second Test against New Zealand, starting in Christchurch on Saturday.
Alex Marshall, ICC's general manager of its anti-corruption unit, met Interpol officials in Lyon last week to seek closer working relations, it added.
Ajinkya Rahane wants to take on the New Zealand pace battery with more intent in the second Test. He has a foolproof strategy, which includes countering the awkward angles which became a nightmare for Indian batsmen during the first Test at the Basin Reserve.
New Zealand strike bowler Tim Southee will miss the upcoming One-Day International series against Australia but Blackcaps coach Mike Hesson is optimistic the seamer would recover from a foot injury in time for the subsequent Test series.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players of the India-New Zealand ODI series.
An unwell Trent Boult skipped the New Zealand cricket team's training session at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Monday, staying away from the squad as a precautionary measure. The left-arm pacer is among eight players including Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner, who are attending the first half of the camp that started on Sunday.
India retained their number one spot and captain Virat Kohli remained static at second in the ICC rankings. India have 116 rating points, six more than New Zealand with third-placed Australia accumulating 108 points.
Indian openers have not replicated the kind of starts the Indian batting has grown accustomed to from its top-order.
New Zealand defended a total of 273 by restricting India to 251 in 48.3 overs taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
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.
Australia's Steve Smith is back on top of the list of batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after India captain Virat Kohli could manage only 21 runs in his two innings in the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington, which his side lost by 10 wickets to concede a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. This is the eighth time that Smith is on top of the rankings after first occupying the top position in June 2015.
An all-weather bowling attack and batsmen's improved ability against pacers in overseas conditions have made India a formidable unit across formats, believes former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson. He opined that India already have plans in place if Mahendra Singh Dhoni didn't return after this year's IPL as speculated.
Virat Kohli's World record 50th ODI hundred, a scintillating century by Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami's brilliant pace bowling powered the hosts past New Zealand in the first semi-final with a 70-run victory at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Rohit Sharma belted two sixes off the final two deliveries of a Super Over to give India victory in a thrilling finish in the third Twenty20 international against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday and clinch the series with two games to spare. Images from the third T20 between India and New Zealand, at Hamilton, on Wednesday.
New Zealand picked two uncapped players in all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and pacer Blair Tickner for the three-match T20 International series against India.
