They dampened the local spirits by knocking out India but a resurrected West Indies cricket team will bring its own brand of joie-de-vivre to the ICC World Twenty20 summit clash when they take on a transformed England in what promises to be a battle of power-hitting at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Ross Taylor's first Test double century helped New Zealand to 609 for nine declared before his bowlers reduced West Indies to 67 for two as the hosts took firm control on day two of the first Test in Dunedin on Wednesday.
At stumps, India were comfortably placed at 157 for 2, after bundling out the West Indies for a meagre 182 by tea, riding on left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha's five-wicket haul.
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
Chris Gayle blasted a quickfire century to power West Indies to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Friday.
.jpg)
Australia have named swashbuckling batsman Aaron Finch captain of the Twenty20 cricket team, replacing George Bailey, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Monday.
Mumbai Indians rode on Dwayne Smith's quick-fire half-century and his 90-run opening-wicket partnership with Sachin Tendulkar to book a berth in the final of the Champions League Twenty20 after a six-wicket win over Trinidad and Tobago in Delhi on Saturday night. They will play Rajasthan Royals in the title clash on Sunday.
With a strike rate of 115, Shikhar Dhawan is the MVP from the India-West Indies series according to Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma hit hundreds, but it was batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar who stole the limelight with a majestic 74 in his farewell match as India took a firm grip of the second Test against the West Indies, at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Friday. When stumps were drawn on Day 2, the home side had the West Indies tottering at 43 for 3 in the second innings.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
India relied on their bowlers to stage a remarkable recovery scripting a comfortable 48-run win in the second cricket One-day international against the West Indies to level the five-match series 1-1 in New Delhi.
The West Indies put behind an acrimonious pay dispute with their cricket board to spank World champions India by 124 runs in the first One-day international of the five-match series, at the Nehru stadium in Kochi, on Wednesday.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes became the most expensive overseas purchase -- bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping Rs 14.50 crore even as some unheralded Indian domestic players trumped seasoned names to land lucrative deals at the Indian Premier League players' auction.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers from the first Test in Rajkot.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji are back with Rediff.com's World Cup Most Valuable Players ratings.
IPL Action VIII: These players went unsold
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances