Half-centuries from Ross Taylor and Scott Styris guided New Zealand to a thumping 200 run-victory over India in the opening match of the one-day tri-series in Dambulla on Tuesday.
India recorded their biggest defeat to New Zealand in terms of runs, surpassing the 108-run loss at Dunedin on March 1, 1990.
New Zealand sought to put behind their dismal record of losing 14 of their last 17 ODIs coming into the World Cup, saying that they are still a strong side capable of winning the coveted trophy.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has indicated they will exercise their right to select Ross Taylor in their 15-man Champions League squad, which would prove to be an unexpected windfall for New Zealand Cricket.
New Zealand's stand-in skipper Ross Taylor was disappointed after the Black Caps crashed to their seventh consecutive One-day International defeats in Guwahati, but hoped to get their act together before the forthcoming World Cup in February.
Ross Taylor smashed a quickfire unbeaten 47 as Rajasthan Royals thumped Pune Warriors by six wickets in a thrilling encounter to jump to the top of the table in Indian Premier League in Jaipur on Sunday.
Half-centuries from Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid carried Royal Challengers Bangalore to a crushing seven-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in Bangalore, on Saturday. Dravid had put Bangalore in control with his quickfire knock of 52 from 35 balls, while Uthappa finished it off in style with a cracking innings of 52 from a mere 22 deliveries, having hit three boundaries and five sixes.
Hard-hitting New Zealander Ross Taylor on Saturday admitted Rajasthan Royals has not been up to the mark but said they would look to exploit the home conditions to bring their IPL campaign back on track on Sunday.
India stormed back into the second and final Test on the back of some fine seam bowling on Sunday, tearing through New Zealand's top order to leave the hosts rocking on 142 for five at lunch on day two at Hagley Oval. Images from Day 2 of the second Test between New Zealand and India in Christchurch on Sunday.
Royal Challenger Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble held his team's batting failure for the humiliating eight-wicket defeat to South Australia in the Champions League Twenty20 Group B match in Durban.
Senior New Zealand opener Martin Guptill was ruled out of the three-match series after failing to recover from a back injury.
New Zealand opener Ross Taylor admitted that luck was on his side and the dropped catches were possibly his birthday gifts.
Images from the World Cup match between New Zealand and Pakistan being played at Pallekele on Tuesday.
New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor on Monday said the tri-series in Sri Lanka would earn Black Caps some valuable experience of playing in sub-continent conditions before the 2011 World Cup.
Neesham replaced Doug Bracewell in the team while leg-spinner Ish Sodhi made way for Astle.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players of the India-New Zealand ODI series.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor is aware that another cheap dismissal in the second Test against Pakistan could give rise to questions about his eye condition and whether it has affected his performance.
New Zealand, who made 249 in the first innings, were undone by the Sri Lankan spinners in their second spell as well.
Injuries to frontline fast bowlers have forced New Zealand to opt for fresh blood in their pace attack for the three-match ODI series against India starting February 5 in Hamilton. Kyle Jamieson could be in for a potential debut, while Scott Kuggeleijn and Hamish Bennett return to the squad after a long absence. Injury has meant the likes of Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry are unavailable for the series.
Indian openers have not replicated the kind of starts the Indian batting has grown accustomed to from its top-order.
Ross Taylor posted his third hundred in Tests, his first against India. His 151 off 204 balls is his best ever innings in New Zealand. His highest Test score is 154 not out against England at Manchester in May 2008 and his previous highest in New Zealand was 120 at Hamilton in March 2008.
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.
The threat of a second successive ODI series whitewash looming large, New Zealand's star batsman Ross Taylor on Thursday said his side is in a "tough situation" against India and if the hosts continue with their dominant show, they are firm favourites to lift next year's World Cup.
Virat Kohli's sparkling century helped India script a 40-run win against an injury-hit New Zealand in the first One-day International to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series in Guwahati on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore thrashed Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets in Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday to ensure there is no Indian presence in the semi-finals of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20.
Jasprit Bumrah produced a master-class in limited-overs bowling to lead India to a seven-run victory over New Zealand in their fifth Twenty20 international. Images from the fifth T20I at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
Veteran Anil Kumble showed the fire in him was still burning as he rallied Royal Challengers from a disastrous start to a runners-up finish in the second season of the IPL. The ace leg spinner was instrumental in the team's revival while veterans Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis also made notable contributions as it finished behind Deccan Chargers.
Ross Taylor credited Harbhajan Singh for turning the match in India's favour and said that the last hour, during which the off spinner went hammer and tongs with the bat, foiled New Zealand's plans on the third day of the second Test in Hyderabad.
Expressing satisfaction over his side's performance in the first Test at Ahmedabad, key New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor on Wednesday said his team would put up a good show against India in the second match starting in Hyderabad from Friday.
India posted a mammoth first innings score before claiming a couple of wickets to continue their domination against New Zealand, on Day 2 of the first Test, at the Sardar Patel stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Statistics emerging from the Indian Premier League (IPL) reveals that for the New Zealand cricketers, the tournament has been the most lucrative.
Rohit Sharma belted two sixes off the final two deliveries of a Super Over to give India victory in a thrilling finish in the third Twenty20 international against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday and clinch the series with two games to spare. Images from the third T20 between India and New Zealand, at Hamilton, on Wednesday.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has succeeded in signing its six Indian Premier League-contracted players, avoiding a possible rift caused by a scheduling clash with Australia's tour of the country next March.
Former captain Martin Crowe has taken over as New Zealand's batting consultant, giving up his job as a cricket commentator to avoid conflict of interest.
India might be in woeful form right now but New Zealand captain Ross Taylor says the recent poor run would make Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men all the more dangerous when the two sides clash in a do-or-die encounter of the ODI cricket tri-series in Dambulla on Wednesday.
The tri-series match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka was called off without a ball being bowled due to persistent rain in Dambulla, on Thursday. The match will have a fresh start on Friday, which has been kept as a reserve day.
New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor on Wednesday said the no-ball controversy would not affect Sri Lanka in Thursday's clash as much as the fatigue factor after playing two successive games.
New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram has developed a tight hamstring and will be a doubtful starter for Friday's ODI tri-series match against Sri Lanka, Black Caps skipper Ross Taylor said in Dambulla.
Ross Taylor captained New Zealand a second time in the opening match of the tri-series against India at Dambulla. And the Black Caps thrashed their more fancied opponents by a whopping 200 runs.
The see-saw match could have gone either way but Andrew Symonds' back-to-back strike tilted the IPL final in Deccan Chargers' favour, believe rival captains Adam Gilchrist and Anil Kumble. Chasing a modest 144, the Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed cruising for victory when Symonds intervened in the 15th over, claiming the crucial wickets of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli off successive deliveries.
