Ross Taylor and BJ Watling shared an unbeaten sixth-wicket stand of 220 as New Zealand went to tea in complete command on 543 for five and a lead of 379 on day three of the first Test against Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Matt Henry produced a career-best seven for 23 in a spectacular display of pace bowling as New Zealand skittled out South Africa for 95 in two sessions to take charge of the opening Test in Christchurch on Thursday.
While multiple-time world champions and Champions Trophy winners Australia are always a tough nut to crack, New Zealand will enter the game at Edgbaston with renewed confidence after their six-wicket warm-up win over Sri Lanka at the same venue.
50 overs cricket is a batsman's game, or so the conventional wisdom goes. But the Champions Trophy is being played in England, which means a different ball game :)
Premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be in focus alongside speedster Mohammed Shami when defending champions India take on New Zealand on Sunday in their opening warm-up game ahead of the Champions Trophy in London.
Rajasthan Royals inched closer to securing a play-offs berth with a convincing 24-run win over LSG in Mumbai.
Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh drove Australia to within 74 runs of a series-winning victory at the dinner-break in the third and final Test in Adelaide on Sunday after New Zealand's pacemen captured three early wickets.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after 45 World Cup 2023 games.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com comes up with a pretty strong playing eleven from the long list of big names warming the benches this IPL season.
Fans offered prayers at 'Sangam' in Varanasi and also laid a 'chaadar' at the dargah
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable performances of IPL 2024
In the bowling chart, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult (722) held on to his top spot, followed by Bumrah (719).
New Zealand, on Monday, recalled temperamental all-rounder Corey Anderson for the five-match ODI series against India next month and he will play as a specialist batsman.
Opener Tamim Iqbal survived two dropped catches to hit an entertaining 95 as Bangladesh reached 228 for five wickets before rain stopped play after tea on the opening day of the second and final Test against New Zealand.
India captain Virat Kohli consolidated his position at the top of the table, while openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan moved up in the latest ICC T20I Player Rankings.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2024 after Game 31.
Resurgent KKR face struggling RR, aim to break into top-4
Bumrah is considered to be a key player for India.
The former India pace spearhead is happy how the team has shaped up in the four games so far, winning two convincingly and losing one to RCB in Super Over and other against CSK in the final over of the match.
Delhi Daredevils will have to learn from the mistakes made in the previous game against table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad
Ishan Kishan has made a massive jump to enter the top 10 among T20 batters.
'In T20, you only have to bowl 24 balls, which works in our favour, but it's also important to trust your instincts as to which variations can work in which situations.'
Mumbai Indians skipper Kieron Pollard rued the fact that team's batting let them down as the defending champions crashed out of the qualifying round of the Champions League T20 in Raipur.
Facing an early exit after their sixth loss in eight games, bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils, under new skipper Shreyas Iyer, will have to treat each upcoming IPL game as a virtual knock-out, starting with their clash against Rajasthan Royals, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 3rd Test played between England and New Zealand at Headingley on Sunday.
Mumbai get the money-spinning tournament rolling in Chennai on Friday, just four months after claiming their second successive title, with a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by India captain Virat Kohli.
Delhi Daredevils find themselves in an 'oh-so-familiar' situation as they seek home comfort against a Chris Gayle-inspired Kings XI Punjab
Agarkar said Team India has always found out ways to emerge victorious even in crunch situations.
Kohli (871 points) and his deputy Rohit Sharma (855 points, ranked two) are out of action for some time due to COVID-19 forced break
Did Rashid's cameo outshine all the other knocks?
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of World Cup 2023 after the first 12 games.
Kumar Sangakkara became the fastest player to reach 12,000 Test runs and will look to rebuild Sri Lanka's innings after they were left teetering at 78 for five at the end of the first day of the second Test against New Zealand.
An under pressure India will face their stiffest test in recent times when they try to bounce back in the three-match ODI series against a refreshed New Zealand in the must-win second game in Pune, on Wednesday.
In the bowlers' list, Bumrah is sitting at the top with 774 points.
Premier New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson showed his prowess in shortest format as his smashing innings powered Northern Knights to a convincing seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka's Southern Express in a rain-curtailed opening game of the Champions League T20 in Raipur.
The pitch at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium was nothing like we've witnessed at other venues this season of the IPL. It was a two-paced pitch and batting wasn't the easiest.
The IPL is likely to start in the second week of April and its knockout matches may stretch till early June, potentially clashing with New Zealand's first Test in England
India's KL Rahul dropped a place to sixth but Virat Kohli retained his eighth place in the latest ICC men's T20 International rankings issued on Wednesday.
Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor mastered a lifeless England attack to lift New Zealand to 303 for two at the close on the second day of the first Test at Lord's on Friday.
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.
