India will expect a better approach from skipper Shikhar Dhawan and young Shubman Gill in the Powerplay overs when the team clashes with New Zealand in a do-or-die second One-Day International, in Hamilton, on Sunday.
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.
A determined New Zealand bounced back in fine style on the third day to gain the upperhand in the World Test Championship final.
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.
Injured New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor will test his fitness ahead of next month's World Twenty20 tournament in India when he plays in an 'Island of Origin' match next week.
New Zealand's drubbing of India was hailed as one of their best in Black Caps' history by the media. New Zealand head into their next match in Christchurch, starting Saturday, with the chance of claiming a rare Test series sweep over India.
The opener's efforts in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup helped Australia win the tournament for the first time.
Trent Boult and Neil Wagner quickly wrapped up Sri Lanka's second innings on Sunday as New Zealand clinched the series 1-0 with a dominant 423-run victory in the second Test.
Watling, who was initially a top-order batsman and part-time wicketkeeper when he first made the New Zealand side in 2009, moved one behind Adam Parore's national record as the hosts bowled Bangladesh out for 234 early in the final session.
Veteran batsman Ross Taylor bagged the prestigious New Zealand Cricketer of the Year award on Friday, winning the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the third time for excelling across formats. He scored 1389 runs in the last season in all formats and was an integral member of the New Zealand team which reached the World Cup final in July.
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.
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'.
England beat New Zealand in a thrilling Super Over finish to their rain-reduced Twenty20 cricket international Sunday to clinch a 3-2 victory in the five-match series. The teams were tied when England replied with 146-7 to New Zealand's 146-5 in a match shortened by heavy rain to 11 overs per side.
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.
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
Mohammed Siraj was given the responsibility to take RCB home and he repaid Skipper Kohli's trust.
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.
Most of the Test squad and staff had been transferred to hotel quarantine where they will warm up for the two-Test series against England
Their confidence severely dented after two comprehensive defeats, last edition's runners-up side Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to get their inconsistent campaign back on track when they face Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match in Mumbai on Monday.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Virat Kohli's top-ranked team, with 360 points in its kitty, is certainly the favourite on paper but the Black Caps under Kane Williamson are experts at wearing down opposition with their patience
Australia's ongoing tour of Pakistan ends on April 5 while KKR's fifth match of the season is scheduled for April 10.
Fast-bowling great Richard Hadlee expects swing bowlers to dominate the final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) between India and New Zealand in Southampton next month.
Bangladesh's first win in any format of the game in New Zealand gave them a 1-0 lead in the two-match series
Rohit Sharma-led squad will be hoping it has enough left in the tank to record a maiden T20 series win in New Zealand
'Williamson, Jamieson rested from T20s as Tests key priority.'
After England collapsed from 288 for five to 302 all out, New Zealand initially struggled in reply before Williamson and Taylor took the game away from the hosts with a clinical 206-run third-wicket stand.
'His elbow is still niggling him a wee bit'
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.
IMAGES from the Day-Night Test, the first played between New Zealand and England at Auckland on Thursday
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was on Thursday hit by a bug, compounding the visiting team's misery, but opener Tom Latham sounded optimistic about the batsman's availability in the second Test against India beginning in Kolkata on Friday.
Images from Day 6 of the ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand, at The Hampshire Bowl, in Southampton, on Wednesday.
Dawid Malan smashed a 48-ball century and skipper Eoin Morgan made a blistering 91 to help secure a series-levelling 76-run victory in the fourth Twenty20 international against New Zealand.
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.
Captain Kane Williamson returns to the side after missing the second Test
Recalled batsman Neil Broom scored his maiden one-day century and took two crucial catches as New Zealand completed a 67-run victory over Bangladesh in the second one-day international at Saxton Oval in Nelson on Thursday.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad on Monday
Captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor combined to put New Zealand in a strong position in the first Test before India struck back late on Saturday to remove both just as their partnership threatened to take the match away from the tourists. Images from Day 2 of the first Test between New Zealand and India in Wellington on Saturday.
New Zealand had produced 'almost the perfect performance' to destroy England in a World Cup match that lasted less than 50 overs on Friday.
Rediff.com's Manu Shankar spoke with former Essex player and fast bowling coach Ian Pont to assess England's disastrous start in the ICC's 50-over-a-side extravaganza.
