New Zealand survived Ravindra Jadeja's late onslaught to stun India by 18 runs in a low-scoring thriller on Wednesday and reach the ICC World Cup final for the second time in a row.
De Grandhomme fell before the end but Williamson reached his century with a six in the final over and guided New Zealand to their fourth win of the tournament with three balls to spare.
'If you have Nicholls and Tom Latham in the middle order they can hopefully score freely off these spinners as they can sweep and reverse sweep'
Virat Kohli produced another breathtaking effort as his superbly crafted unbeaten 154 enabled India to cruise to an easy seven-wicket victory in the third ODI against New Zealand, in Mohali, on Sunday.
Virat Kohli held centrestage with a delightful unbeaten 85 after a collective bowling effort as India cruised to an easy six-wicket victory over New Zealand taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series in Dharamsala on Sunday. After bowling out New Zealand for 190 in 43.5 overs, India reached the target in a mere 33.1 overs in a match that turned out to be thoroughly one-sided.
Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori could make a surprise return to the Test arena as coach Mike Hesson considers taking three spinners into the deciding clash with Pakistan in Sharjah which starts on Wednesday.
Uncapped batsman Henry Nicholls has been called into New Zealand's one-day squad for the start of the five-match series against Sri Lanka, while pace duo Trent Boult and Tim Southee have been rested.
Virat Kohli hit an unbeaten 154 to make short work of a seemingly steep target as India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the third one-day international in Mohali to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series on Sunday.
Chris Jordan's all-around brilliance could not prevent New Zealand from securing a series-levelling 21-run victory over England in the second Twenty20 International of the five-match series on Sunday.
Cricket Australia on Monday introduced three new rule innovations (Power Surge, X-Factor Player, and Bash Boost) that will be implemented in the upcoming edition of BBL.
Allan Jones is visually challenged since birth but he still turns up to take his designated seat whenever there is a Test match at the Basin Reverse.
Kane Williamson will get another chance to prove his leadership credentials after being named New Zealand captain for limited overs series.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers became the fastest man to score 9,000 one-day international runs as he led his side to a 159-run victory over New Zealand in the third one-day international on Saturday.
JP Duminy hit a timely unbeaten 52 after skipper Dinesh Karthik set the foundation with a fighting 56-run knock as Delhi Daredevils edged out Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in a thrilling IPL Twenty20 cricket match on Saturday.
India might have taken an upper hand after the first day's play in the third Test, but New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham feels that his team can bounce back by grabbing some quick wickets on Sunday.
The Indian batting line-up's soft underbelly lay exposed in slightly favourable bowling conditions as New Zealand gave the two-time champions a rude wake-up call, easing to a six-wicket victory in the World Cup warm-up match at the Oval, in London, on Saturday.
CSK's Harbhajan Singh and Mumbai Indians' Lasith Malinga were among the other big names to be released by their respective sides ahead of next month's auction.
Indian openers have not replicated the kind of starts the Indian batting has grown accustomed to from its top-order.
New Zealand defended a total of 273 by restricting India to 251 in 48.3 overs taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
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.
Only Indians Sachin Tendulkar (nine in 1998) and Sourav Ganguly (seven in 2000) have hit more centuries in one year.
The duo had 15 seconds to challenge the decision but with no indications from Williamson, Taylor walked back to the pavilion.
Talking about the final game of the ODI series, New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham, who is back after recovering from a hamstring injury, said he expects the ball to do a bit at the Westpac Stadium, like it did in Hamilton where India were bowled out for 92 before suffering an eight-wicket loss.
Explosive all-rounder Ben Stokes and relentless run accumulator Steve Smith could not be more different in their approaches to the game but both roared back from personally adversity to bestride an extraordinary cricketing year. Virat Kohli and his men top the confused and confusing World Test Championship table with seven wins in as many matches, including their first pink-ball Test against Bangladesh last month. That victory marked their 12th consecutive Test series win at home.
Kane Williamson inched towards his ninth Test century as he and BJ Watling staved off Sri Lanka's push for victory at the close of play on the third day of the second Test at the Basin Reserve on Monday.
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.
They'll back themselves to be consistent throughout the tournament so irrespective of how individual games or moments go, they'll back themselves to be able to deliver in the next game as well. It's a World Cup, if you put yourself under pressure then you make things difficult, but now with three wins they've been able to afford themselves some luxuries, former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori writes in a column for ICC.
Neesham, a batting all-rounder, rocked the Afghanistan innings by his incisive bowling and in the process returned with his career-best figures of 5/31 from his 10 overs. His earlier best was 4/42.
New Zealand will enter the World Cup feeling optimistic of finally winning it after four and half decades of trying.
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.
A thrilling victory over England in the second match of their One-day series was tempered for New Zealand with the news that all-rounder Corey Anderson would be sent home.
It will be a selection dilemma for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Anil Kumble as a fit-again Suresh Raina is back in the nets having recovered from a bout of viral fever that kept him out of first ODI in Dharamsala. With Kedar Jadhav picking up two wickets with his handy part-time off breaks, the same skill set of both the players is definitely going to be a factor as the team management decides to pick the XI for the second ODI against New Zealand on Thursday.
Stung by an improved New Zealand the other night, a wary India would like to quickly get their house in order when they square off with Kane Williamson's boys in the third ODI in Mohali on Sunday. While the six-run defeat in Delhi has given India plenty to ponder about, it has also renewed interest in the contest which had been dominated by the home team prior to Thursday, stretching from the one-sided Test series to the first ODI in Dharamsala. From the New Zealand point of view, a victory was all that they needed after a string of deflating defeats. As a result of their first win on Indian soil in 13 years, one can expect a certain spring in the stride of the visitors when they take the field at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
New Zealand paceman Southee ruled out; Proteas 'keeper De Kock doubtful starter
With the three-match T20I series ahead and also the World Cup round the corner, India will have to address this weakness to ensure that their much-vaunted batting doesn't crumble on an odd day when the condition aids swing bowling in England.
Dean Elgar made the most of being dropped early in his innings to score his seventh Test century and anchor South Africa's 229 for four at the close of play on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand in Dunedin on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva safely guided their side to 84 without loss in their second innings at the close of the second day's play in the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday after being forced to follow-on.
We've tried Dinesh Karthik, we've tried Jadeja, we've tried Vijay Shankar, three guys have been tried and they've not proved useful so maybe we can find a good youngster for No 5, says former India batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
A stunning spell of a fast bowling from Matt Henry ripped through the Indian top order and set New Zealand on their way to a second successive ICC World Cup final with an 18-run victory over India.
Sarfraz Ahmed struck a defiant century before Pakistan's spinners wrecked New Zealand's top and middle order to leave the second Test in Dubai nicely poised on Thursday. New Zealand had reduced Pakistan to 287 for eight and appeared on course for a healthy first innings lead, but Sarfraz (112) added 81 runs for the last wicket with Rahat Ali to dash their hopes.
