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'.
Images from the first T20 International between India and New Zealand, in Jaipur, on Wednesday.
Images from the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson on Thursday said his team will need to make the most of the second new ball when play resumes on the second morning of the first Test against India.
The hosts ended the day on 144-4 and Henry Nicholls (26) and BJ Watling (six) will resume in Mt. Maunganui on Saturday to try and eat into their 209-run deficit after England were dismissed for 353 after lunch on Friday.
South Africa turned the tables on New Zealand with a 198-run victory in the second Test in Christchurch on Tuesday, crushing the hosts' hopes of a breakthrough series win over the Proteas.
Struggling KKR seek change of fortunes against RCB
Mumbai Indians seek to maintain momentum against Kings XI Punjab.
Mumbai Indians will look to continue their rampaging run when they take on the formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Factbox on the fastest half centuries in Test cricket after Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq reached the mark in 21 balls against Australia in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
With DC having lost all five games so far this season, a rejig of the top order against KKR at the Ferozeshah Kotla in a bid to revive their fortunes could be on the cards.
Pakistan will be desperately looking to ensure the painful defeat to India becomes a distant past when they run into an in-form New Zealand in Mohali on Tuesday with an aim to bounce back into the World Twenty20 and pacify their bitter fans back home. Pakistan are coming into the Group 2 Super 10 game having suffered their 11th defeat to the arch-rivals in ICC's world events. The 2009 champions entered the tournament after an early elimination in the Asia Cup. On the other hand, the New Zealanders are on a roll with two massive wins over hosts India and Australia, making them one of the strong contenders to lift the coveted trophy on April 3. Another win and they will be in the knockout stages of the mega-event. New Zealand have emerged as the team to beat after the stunned tournament favourites India first up, before getting the better of traditional rivals Australia in a trans-Tasman battle.
Kyle Jamieson has the ability to become one of the leading all-rounders in world cricket in days to come, reckons legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
England, chasing 455 to pull off the highest successful run chase in Test history, reached 44 for no wicket at the close on a rain-hit fourth day of the second and final match of the series against New Zealand on Monday.
The Indian team is still searching for the right middle-order combination with the World Cup just a few months away.
New Zealand made as many as six changes for the ongoing second Test, some forced and some rotated ahead of the World Test Championship final against India in Southampton from June 18.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson doffed his cap to pacer Mohammed Shami and the India team after his side was outplayed in the World Cup semi-final.
New Zealand bundled out Pakistan on 297 in 83.5 overs.
Hardly challenged in a dominating run this season, India once again start as overwhelming favourites when they take on an inconsistent-but-gritty New Zealand in a three-match One-Day International series, starting in Mumbai, on Sunday.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers calmly guided his side to a tense four-wicket victory over New Zealand with one ball to spare in a rain-affected first one-day international in Hamilton on Sunday.
Pakistan were 30-1 at stumps on Day 2, still 401 runs behind New Zealand's 431 in the first innings.
Picking up where he left off in the first Test in Brisbane, the opener scored 244 not out for his third century in three innings as the hosts dominated New Zealand's bowlers as ruthlessly as they had in the 208-run victory at the Gabba.
Batsman Neil Broom has also been offered a contract after he was recalled to the national side following a lengthy absence to replace Ross Taylor while he recovered from eye surgery.
Bangladesh's first win in any format of the game in New Zealand gave them a 1-0 lead in the two-match series
Kolkata Knight Riders resemble a sinking ship ahead of a rather inconsequential IPL-15 match against bottom-placed Mumbai Indians who, even if already out of reckoning, will have their tails up in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
Fresh off New Zealand's most successful Test year, captain Brendon McCullum is urging his team to start 2015 in the same fashion when they face Sri Lanka in the second game of their two-match series on Saturday.
According to Krunal Pandya it was the middle overs that proved costly during India's 80-run loss to New Zealand in the first T20 International.
New Zealand were bowled out for 249 in the first session but Sri Lanka struggled to get going during Patel's spells and finished on 227-7, trailing by 22 runs.
Glenn Phillips scored a half century off 33 balls as New Zealand thrashed the West Indies by 90 runs in the second Twenty20 International to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
England face unbeaten New Zealand in the first semi-final of 2016 World T20 at New Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla Stadium on March 30. While England have been champions in 2010, New Zealand will be eyeing their first World T20 title. Following is a factbox of the two teams:
IMAGES from Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test played between Australia and New Zealand at the MCG on Friday.
On a roll after five wins on the trot, table toppers Mumbai Indians will look to continue their domination when they clash with struggling Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League game, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
It will be a battle of youngsters with the likes of Nitish Rana, Hardik Pandya on one side and the new star in the horizon Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan with his variations on the other side.
Iyer's teammate pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar jumped three spots to 17th on the bowler rankings, while former captain Virat Kohli, who was rested for the Sri Lanka T20Is, fell out of the top 10 - he dropped five places to 15th.
An unbeaten Joe Root century and a bowling masterclass by James Anderson put England in complete control of the second Test on Saturday.
India were expected to try out a bunch of players after another World Cup debacle but if the team combination for the second T20 was any indication, they seemed reluctant to start with a clean slate.
'As a cricketer, in the last few years, we lost out on a few games which we could have potentially played. Yes, if we could sneak in a few matches, it would be great.'
The squad for the two Tests against India is set to be named on February 17, with the opening match starting four days later in Wellington on February 21.
Royal Challengers Bangalore head coach Daniel Vettori said their star player AB de Villiers is fit for Saturday's Indian Premier League match against Chennai Super Kings.
Put in to bat, India's rejigged top order wilted in no time and the 2007 champions crawled to 110-7 in 20 overs in the Super 12 match. The below-par total was unlikely to test New Zealand's batting might and so it proved.
