Sean Williams scored a maiden Test century in vain as New Zealand clinched a comprehensive innings and 117-run victory over hosts Zimbabwe on day four of the first Test in Bulawayo, on Sunday.
Pakistan will not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semi-final berth.
England beat New Zealand by four runs in their third one-day international on Saturday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players of the India-New Zealand ODI series.
Statistical highlights of the World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 2 match between India and New Zealand in Nagpur on Tuesday.
However, Rajasthan would be a bit more desperate than Delhi as they are languishing at the second last position in the points table with just three wins from nine outings.
Some of their bowling and fielding frailties exposed in the series-opener, India will aim for quick course correction when they take on a resurgent New Zealand in a must-win second ODI, in Auckland, on Saturday. India find themselves in a familiar situation after the loss in Hamilton. But the visitors have come from behind against the West Indies and Australia to win their last two ODI series and Virat Kohli's men will aim to do the same against the Kiwis.
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.
CSK will be brimming with confidence having defeated the Royals earlier in the season
Virat Kohli inflicted more Super Overs misery on New Zealand as he helped India to a second successive victory in sudden death to win the fourth Twenty20 international in Wellington on Friday. Images from the fourth T20 International between New Zealand and India in Wellington on Friday.
'India have played very good cricket for a long time now in your conditions (sic). They are tough to beat. We have taken it to the decider in the last two series. Both teams will want to win (tomorrow).'
New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi feels the key to make a comeback into the T20 series against India is to slow down the home team's momentum.
Every person was tested 72 hours before they travelled in order to ensure that all members of the party were travelling virus free.
Ahmed Shehzad struck his third Test century as Pakistan completely dominated the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi to reach 269 for one and stay on course for a mammoth first-innings total on Sunday.
Trent Boult took the prized wicket of AB de Villiers then bowled Dwaine Pretorious in the penultimate over as New Zealand secured a series-levelling six-run victory in the second One-day international against South Africa on Wednesday.
Scoring some quick runs in the middle overs is one area India need to work on ahead of the World Cup
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.
Three consecutive defeats have more or less sealed their fate and for things to turn around for the Royals, every aspect of their game needs to improve and click for them.
Kings XI Punjab will be looking to get their campaign back on track after a couple of defeats when they lock horns with bottom-placed Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League in Indore on Sunday.
The Royals are aware of the challenges facing them at the Sawai Mansingh Stadum, a few days after Sunrisers Hyderabad got the better of Kings XI Punjab to grab the second position in the standings.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar feels India got a taste of their own medicine in Tuesday's World Twenty20 loss to New Zealand and should be prepared to handle quality spin if they want to dish out rank turners for their opponents.
New Zealand beat India by 19 runs in the fourth one-day international to level the five-match series at 2-2 as the hosts suffered a mid-innings collapse at Ranchi on Wednesday. - Scorecard: Chasing 261 for a series clinching win, India were all out for 241 with eight balls to spare. Opener Ajinkya Rahane's fluent 57 put India on course for the chase and the right-handed batsman added 79 for the second wicket with the in-form Virat Kohli (45).
The focus will be on K L Rahul and Vijay Shankar, contenders for the number four slot, in the World Cup warm up match against New Zealand, in London, on Saturday.
Trent Boult produced an economical spell of bowling to take three wickets and help New Zealand to a tense three-run win over Sri Lanka in their first Twenty20 international on Thursday.
India's bowlers highlighted the balance of their side as they set up an easy seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international at Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. KL Rahul (57 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (44) then marshalled the run chase as they helped their side to reach 135-3 with 15 balls to spare, chasing New Zealand's 132-5.
It remains to be seen whether India stick to their combination of three specialist pacers and two spinners combination or bring in an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav to partner Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja.
Out-of-favour India opener Gautam Gambhir feels spinners will decide the fate of the upcoming three-match Test series between India and New Zealand, starting in Kanpur on September 22.
New Zealand will bank heavily on reverse swing to emerge from the trial by spin that awaits them in the test series in India, coach Mike Hesson said on Tuesday. Last time they hosted a team, India rolled out turning tracks and flexed their spin muscles to crush South Africa 3-0 in the four-test series last year. Kane Williamson and his men can look forward to a similar treatment in the three-test series beginning in Kanpur on Sept. 22 but Hesson sounded upbeat.
Australia cruised to a 19-run victory in a rain-affected Twenty20 tri-series final with New Zealand to claim the world number one ranking in the shortest form of the game for the first time.
Fast running out of time, a struggling Rajasthan Royals will hope to complete the double against Mumbai Indians in a return-leg IPL fixture and revive their campaign in Jaipur Saturday.
Mumbai Indians lock horns with an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match in which home skipper Rohit Sharma's return from injury will also be awaited, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Kane Williamson hit a fourth Test hundred to put New Zealand on top on the first day of their opening Test against Bangladesh on Wednesday. The visitors, who chose to bat after winning the toss, reached 280 for five at stumps with the last two wickets falling in the last two overs of the day on a slow and low surface in Chittagong.
Younis Khan and Azhar Ali featured in a century-plus stand to prop up Pakistan but New Zealand claimed three wickets in the final session to stay ahead in the second Test in Dubai on Wednesday.
Corey Anderson smashed 10 sixes in his unbeaten 94 as New Zealand completed a 3-0 sweep of their Twenty20 series against Bangladesh with a 27-run win in the final match at Mount Maunganui on Sunday.
List of players released by IPL teams ahead of next month's auction for 2020 season:
Trent Boult top the most valuable players list with Mohammed Shami hold on to second position
India are yet to finalise their middle-order ahead of the World Cup but are unlikely to tinker much with the playing eleven for Friday's second ODI in Mount Maunganui.
An unassailable lead has opened up the window for experimentation but there will be no letup in India's intensity when they face a heartbroken New Zealand team in the fourth T20 International, in Wellington, on Friday. Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are waiting for opportunities, with the former expected to get a look-in. Pant's call-up would depend on which batsman is left out, and whether KL Rahul will continue to keep wickets.
India won the twin T20 Internationals in Auckland by margins of six and seven wickets respectively to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
Amit Mishra produced a magical spell to send New Zealand crashing for a lowly 79 as India won by a massive margin of 190 runs to clinch the five-match series 3-2, in the fifth and final One-Day International in Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.