With six half-centuries and a hundred, and an average of 48-plus in 16 ODIs, Shreyas Iyer has had a good time in the India's middle-order.
New Zealand and Bangladesh enter their final group match of the ICC Champions Trophy, in Cardiff, on Friday, with the knowledge that even a win may not be enough to see either of them into the semi-finals.
Kane Williamson will get another chance to prove his leadership credentials after being named New Zealand captain for limited overs series.
Kane Williamson believes the late Martin Crowe remains the greatest batsmen New Zealand has ever produced despite surpassing the former captain as his country's highest Test century maker on Friday.
All-rounder Colin de Grandhomme took six for 41 in the best haul for a New Zealand cricketer on debut as the hosts dismissed Pakistan for 133 before tea on the second day of the first test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday. The 30-year-old seamer, a surprise selection in the squad, also became the eighth New Zealander to take a five-wicket haul on debut. New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Jeet Raval, who is also on debut, will begin New Zealand's reply after tea was taken early.
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.
In a tight season for India, the first T20 comes only five days after their last ODI against Australia at home.
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.
Having surprised India in the second One-day International, New Zealand pacer Tim Southee, on Saturday, said the strength of the side lies in the fact that they don't get 'too far ahead of ourselves' nor 'too down of ourselves' when the results are not going in their favour.
Factbox on New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who will retire from international cricket after the second Test against Australia, starting in Christchurch from Thursday.
Talented youngster Shai Hope smashed his way to a blistering 101 while Andre Russell scored a quickfire 54 down the order to set up a 91-run win for World Cup dark horses West Indies in their warm-up game against New Zealand.
The series already in their pocket and the number one ranking cemented, a dominant India go into the third Test against New Zealand in Indore on Saturday, aiming yet another clean sweep of a Test rubber at home. The hosts had blanked Australia 4-0 in 2012-13 and the West Indies in the next season. They nearly repeated the feat against South Africa last year and this impressive history in recent past makes India favourites in the first-ever Test being hosted by this city which has a long tradition in the game.
Australia's Marnus Labuschange struck another half century to pile on the runs and the misery over New Zealand on Day 3 of the day-night Test in Perth on Saturday. Earlier, Starc picked a five-wicket haul.
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.
Shakib Al Hasan stroked the highest individual score for Bangladesh and combined with Mushfiqur Rahim in a record partnership on the second day of the first Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve on Friday.
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.
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.
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.
Virat Kohli (fourth), Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ninth) have also maintained their respective positions in the ICC ODI batting chart.
Eyeing a historic bilateral One-Day International cricket series win in India, New Zealand senior batsman Ross Taylor said the Kiwis are hungry for victory.
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).
Bangladesh put in a disciplined performance in the field to restrict New Zealand to 145-8 in a World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
What differentiates Kane Wiliamson from a lot of batsmen in this day and age is his sole focus is winning the game and he tailors his batting towards that, writes former New Zealand captain in his column.
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.
Check out the statistical highlights on Day 2 of the second Test between India and New Zealand.
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.
Bruised and battered by India after being bundled out for a meagre 79 while chasing 270 in the series-deciding fifth and final ODI here, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson termed the performance of his batting department as "frustrating". Williamson said the Kiwi batsmen did not justify to lose eight wickets for just 16 runs. "That's what's so frustrating, because we failed as a batting unit. The spinners of the Indian side bowled very well but I don't think it is justified to lose 8 wickets for 16 runs. We need to look at some of our plans. There was turn in the pitch in some other games too but we were able to handle it better then," Williamson said after their massive 190-run defeat in the fifth and final ODI in Vizag.
The Indian cricket team has a chance to go up a rung and be third in the ICC rankings if it beats England in the upcoming five-Test series starting July 9.
With six lbw dismissals cluttering up their scorecard, New Zealand clearly did not put their best foot forward in the first test against India on Saturday. India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja frequently beat the bats and hit the pads of the New Zealand batsmen, the hosts coming close to equalling the record of seven lbw dismissals in a test innings. "They were trying to play the sweep shot and we knew if an odd ball keeps low or an odd ball spins, there were always changes of an edge or an lbw," Jadeja, whose five-wicket haul included four leg befores, told reporters.
The 24-year-old wicketkeeper injured the index finger on his right hand while fielding in South Africa's eight-wicket win in the second Test in Wellington and underwent scans earlier this week.
Statistical highlights on day 2 of the first cricket Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur on Friday.
With home advantage comes home expectation as Eoin Morgan leads arguably the strongest England side in the history of the tournament which has seen a co-host triumph in the last two editions.
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.
For New Zealand, the tournament is still a great success. They had never played in a World Cup final before, reaching the semi-finals six times but losing on each occasion, and were unbeaten going into the final.
New Zealand and South Africa played their hearts out in the first semi-final of the ICC World Cup at the Eden Park in Auckland on Tuesday, but it was the Black Caps who emerged triumphant by four wickets.
The Delhi Daredevils team management, comprising of skipper Kevin Pietersen and coach Gary Kirsten, will have some selection dilemma ahead of the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), if Ross Taylor is to be believed.
Kane Williamson became the second New Zealand batsman to score 1000 Test runs in a calendar year as the hosts built an imposing 308-run lead over Sri Lanka at the close of the third day's play of the first Test in Dunedin.
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.
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