Kane Williamson's assured unbeaten 70 guided New Zealand to a comfortable four-wicket win over Pakistan in the second One-Day International in Sharjah on Friday to level the series at 1-1.
Virat Kohli struck a record 50th hundred and fast bowler Mohammed Shami's seven-wicket haul proved equally crucial as India overpowered New Zealand by 70 runs.
England are an ageing side alright, but few will dare to bet against Jos Buttler's men successfully defending their World Cup title in a few weeks time.
From England's fiery all-rounder Ben Stokes to India's rising star Shubman Gill, and the ever-reliable Babar Azam from Pakistan, these cricketing maestros are ready to redefine the game.
Hardik Pandya will be aiming to build on the rich legacy of his predecessor Rohit Sharma when he begins his Mumbai Indians captaincy stint in the IPL 2024 match against Gujarat Titans, a team that the star all-rounder himself marshalled over last two seasons, in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Williamson has a chance to topple Kohli at the top of the rankings.
Southee, who with fellow stalwart Kane Williamson was playing his 100th Test, said he thought the contest had been a great advert for the longest form of the game.
Kane Williamson scored his second Test century and guided New Zealand to an unexpected draw as the hosts made 200 for six at the end of the third and final Test against South Africa at the Basin Reserve on Tuesday.
He is among the best in the world but New Zealand captain and batting mainstay Kane Williamson prefers to be modest and says he has "learnt watching Virat Kohli", terming the Indian swashbuckler a "great player". "Virat's a great player and his ability to dominate attacks through all three formats is very special. "Certainly that I admire, I love watching him play and learn from a player like that," the current World No.3 in the ICC Test rankings told reporters during a media interaction in New Delhi on Tuesday.
With spin expected to have an impact on the outcome of the opening Test starting in Kanpur on Thursday, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is hoping that the lessons learnt during the World Twenty20 in India will help his side's spinners counter the hosts. New Zealand had reached the semi-finals of World T20 and Mitchel Santner (4/11 in 4 overs) had recorded the best figures for a Kiwi spinner in Twenty20s en route to their knock out stage appearance. Those figures had come for a winning cause against India in Nagpur and he was well supported by Ish Sodhi, who took three wickets in that match. These two spinners -- Santner and Sodhi -- will challenge the Indian batting line-up in this Test series.
Joe Root continued with his purple patch during the first Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston, bringing up his 30th Test century.
A depleted Gujarat Titans bowling attack will have to raise its game by quite a few notches to stop a marauding Sunrisers Hyderabad, fresh from its record total against Mumbai Indians, in the upcoming afternoon IPL match in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test played between New Zealand and Australia in Wellington on Friday.
Opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy made 86 and collaborated in two half-century partnerships to help Bangladesh finish day one of the first Test against New Zealand on 310-9 in Sylhet on Tuesday.
Kane Williamson hit a brilliant 123 as New Zealand staved off Pakistan's spirited challenge to eke out a series-levelling seven-run victory in the fourth one-day international in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
India were also heavily fancied to beat New Zealand at the same stage of the 2019 edition, only to lose by 18 runs at Old Trafford.
Virat Kohli advanced four slots to ninth position after scores of 38 and 76 in the first Test against South Africa.
A modest New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has said his team was "fortunate" to be playing on similar wickets after pulling off a dramatic victory over Australia in the ICC World Twenty20 in Dharamsala on Friday.
Former Pakistan player and cricket expert Sikander Bakht made a shocking claim about Indian skipper Rohit Sharma's toss technique.
England lost opener Zak Crawley but held firm in the final hour of a pulsating day four in the second Test against New Zealand.
Victory left New Zealand on 10 points and in pole position to bag the last semi-final spot and join India, South Africa and Australia. Pakistan will now need to beat England by a massive margin to leapfrog New Zealand on net run rate.
New Zealand have never beaten South Africa in a Test series in nearly a century of trying and will rarely have a better chance to break that drought than in two matches against a severely depleted side starting on Sunday.
Axar Patel claimed 2/23 and 2/16 in India's identical six-wicket wins over Afghanistan in the first two T20Is.
Pant was appointed as the Delhi Capitals skipper following the injury to regular captain Shreyas Iyer,
Rookie batsman Kane Williamson and pacer Hamish Bennett were the new faces in New Zealand's 15-member Test squad announced on Sunday for a three Test match series against India next month.
Gambhir expressed his confidence in Babar Azam's potential
New Zealand made 152 for 1 in their first innings, when play was called off early because of rain, on Day 2 of the first cricket Test against India in Kanpur on Friday.
With less than 100 days to go to the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson feels that cricketing powerhouse India will be amongst the favourites to lift the trophy.
Sans Hardik, it's starting all over again for dominant India
Kyle Jamieson also returns to the squad after back surgery in February in a pace attack which includes captain Tim Southee and Matt Henry, who has recovered from injury.
'India in their home conditions are a different beast and they have started unsurprisingly strongly - I see them as favourites to win the competition at this stage, no matter what happens in Dharmsala (on Sunday),' writes Ross Taylor in his column for ICC Media Zone.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson said his team were 20 to 25 runs short when they slipped to a seven-wicket defeat in Wednesday's World Twenty20 semi-final against England.
New Zealand cricket captain Tim Southee said they were outplayed by an "ever-improving" Bangladesh in the opening Test in Sylhet and refused to blame the defeat on any fatigue from their one-day World Cup campaign in India last month.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for the World Cup match against New Zealand?
Kane Williamson produced some brilliant placement under pressure to guide New Zealand to a five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in their second Twenty20 international at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Tuesday.
Kane Williamson scored his fifth century in eight Tests in 2015 to guide New Zealand to a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka before lunch on the fourth day of the second Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Monday.
India opener Shubman Gill's reign at the top of the ODI batters' list was short-lived as he was replaced by former Pakistani skipper Babar Azam in the ICC Player Rankings issued on Wednesday.
McCullum was 143 not out at the close of play, his eighth Test century, while Williamson was dismissed after tea for 113, his fifth hundred, as the Kiwis finished the opening day on a strong 329 for four in 90 overs.
India found themselves in real danger of losing the first Test against New Zealand, in Ahmedabad after a top-order collapse left them reeling at 82 for six in their second innings on Sunday.
Chennai Super Kings created history as they became the first player to use the Impact Player card as Tushar Deshpande replaced Ambati Rayudu in the playing XI.
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