Indian Cricket Team Updates

Brendon McCullum will lead a full-strength New Zealand squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. The batting line-up boasts of experience in the form of McCullum, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson, while Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott, who last played an ODI in November 2013, will serve as the allrounders. The spin department will be manned by the experienced Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum. New Zealand squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Brendon McCullum (captain) Corey Anderson Trent Boult Grant Elliott Martin Guptill Tom Latham Mitchell McClenaghan Nathan McCullum Kyle Mills Adam Milne Luke Ronchi Tim Southee Ross Taylor Dan Vettori Kane Williamson

7 Number of centuries scored in CLT20 history. Two of them have been made by New Zealand batsmen.  ( Also Read:  MATCH REPORT : M3 - CAPE COBRAS V NORTHERN KNIGHTS ) 31 Number of dot-balls in Northern Knights innings. There has been only one better performance in entire history of CLT20 where a side batted for full 20 overs. Leicestershire had 30 dot-balls in their innings against Ruhuna at Hyderabad in 2011. 48 Number of balls taken by Kane Williamson to reach his century – fastest in CLT20 history. Neil Broom had taken 51 balls to reach three-figure mark while playing for Otago Volts against Perth Scorchers in 2013. 101 Kane Williamson’s score – highest by a Northern Knights’ batsman. Peter McGlashan held the previous record with 94 against Wellington in 2006. 120 Number of matches Kumar Dharmasena has officiated in- most by any umpire in T20 cricket. He went past England’s Jeremy Lloyd’s tally of 119 matches. 140 Runs added by Anton Devcich and Kane Williamson - s...

Kane Williamson’s maiden Twenty20 century – the fastest in the Champions League T20 - was the highlight of the Northern Knights’ resounding victory over Cape Cobras at the Chhattisgarh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur. After posting 206 for 5 – the first 200-plus total of the Oppo CLT20 2014, and before showers brought an abrupt end to the run-chase, the Knights had reduced their opponents to 44 for 2, enough to give them a 33-run win, arrived at by using the Duckworth/Lewis method of calculating targets for interrupted matches.  ( Also Read:  QUICK STATS: M3 – CAPE COBRAS V NORTHERN KNIGHTS ) Williamson, who should have been run out even before he had faced a delivery, ensured he made the most of Lady Luck smiling at him. There were times when he wasn’t too convincing, with the ball beating the outside edge of his bat or finding the edge, but falling in vacant areas or teasing the fielders. When he tried to bludgeon, the timing went awry. But when he chose to cares...

Some high intensity bowling and fielding, followed by some intelligent batting, from the Northern Knights put paid to the Mumbai Indians’ hopes of progressing to the main draw of the Oppo CLT20 2014. After being put in to bat in the final qualifying stage match, the Mumbai Indians managed a modest 132 runs on the board, which the Kiwi side chased down in 17.2 overs, losing only four wickets in the process.  ( Also Read:  MATCH REPORT: Q5 – SOUTHERN EXPRESS V LAHORE LIONS ) The result meant the Northern Knights and the Lahore Lions, who occupied first and second spots in the table at the end of the qualifying stage, progress to the tournament proper. Put into bat, runs were at a premium early on as the Northern Knights new-ball pair of Trent Boult and Tim Southee bowled immaculate lines and lengths and made the MI batsmen work hard for their runs. Michael Hussey attempted to break free but didn’t get enough elevation and was done in by a sharp catch by Scott Kuggeleijn at ...

The Northern Knights from New Zealand trounced the Southern Express from Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the opening match of the Oppo CLT20 2014 Qualifiers. After mid-afternoon showers forced start of the match to be delayed and the contest to be rescheduled to a 10-overs affair, the Northern Knights, put their opponents in after their captain won the toss, restricted them to 92 for 5 and then chased down the runs with three balls remaining in the final over. ( Also Read:  MATCH REPORT: Q2 – MUMBAI INDIANS V LAHORE LIONS ) Needing to chase at just over nine runs an over, the Northern Knights were quick off the blocks, racing to 41 in three overs. Kane Williamson got stuck into Danushka Gunatilake in the third over of the run-chase, hitting two boundaries and a six in an over that realized 19 runs. The other opener, Anton Devcich, perished off the first ball of the fourth over when he miscued a slower delivery from Farvees Maharoof and picked out Dilruwan Perera at short fine leg...

India lost the last game of the one-day series by 87 runs to New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. The New Zealand batting line-up dominated the fifth ODI despite their openers being kept on a tight leash by India’s new-ball bowlers. A solid 152-run stand by Kane Williamson (88) and Ross Taylor (102) helped the hosts seize control of the game after the scratchy start. James Neesham (34* off 19) provided the finishing touch as the Black Caps set India a formidable 304-run target. Led by debutant Matt Henry’s maiden four-wicket haul and Kyle Mills economical spells finishing with 10-1-35-2, the hosts bowled India out for 216 to claim a 4-0 series win.   Earlier, MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first. The pair of Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar started the proceedings on a good note for the visitors until the NZ middle-order came to the party. Shami had started with a maiden first over to finish with an exceptional first spell (5-3-11-0) an...

Stuart Binny became the 200th player to represent India in one-day internationals. He also provided the third instance of a son following his father in representing India in one-day internationals. Here’s the list of father-son duos who represented India in ODIs: Yograj Singh (6) & Yuvraj Singh (293) Sunil Gavaskar (108) & Rohan Gavaskar (11) Roger Binny (72) & Stuart Binny (1)  At 29 years 239 days, Stuart Binny is the oldest to make his ODI debut for India since 2003, when Abhijit Kale made his debut at the age of 29 years 287 days. (Also Read:  Report: New Zealand vs India, 4th ODI ) After electing to field first in 20 consecutive ODIs outside the subcontinent, an Indian captain finally elected to bat first after winning the toss. Virat Kohli opened the innings for the first time since 2008. Incidentally, Kohli played his first five ODI innings as opener only, registering the scores of 12, 37, 25, 54 and 31. MS Dhoni (79*) made his ...

New Zealand sealed the five-match ODI series with a seven-wicket win over India in the fourth game, in Hamilton. A valuable 60 by Kane Williamson and a sparkling ton by Ross Taylor took the hosts to a comfortable victory, after India posted 278. Unbeaten on 49, Brendon McCullum took the team across the line with a six, with 11 balls to spare. Meanwhile, Taylor remained not out on 112. (Also Read:  Stats Highlights: NZ vs Ind, 4th ODI ) Earlier, India made a few changes going into the must-win match at the Seddon Park. First was the line-up – Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina made way for Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny. And MS Dhoni opted to bat first after winning the toss. Virat Kohli opened the batting for India, but this time round, India's most consistent performer in recent times was back in the dressing room early. He was followed by Ajinkya Rahane. Tim Southee and Kyle Mills kept a strangle hold on the batsmen from the word go. Mills and Jimmy Neesham replaced Corey ...

With two runs required to win off the last ball, Ravindra Jadeja worked a Corey Anderson delivery to mid-off to take a single and tie the game, keeping the five-match ODI series alive. The all-rounder remained not out on 66. With India on 79 for four, while chasing 315, MS Dhoni led India's fight back. Ravichandran Ashwin joined in with a 46-ball 65, while Jadeja played a brave knock to tie the game. With two matches remaining, NZ lead the series 2-0.  (Also Read:  Stats Highlights: NZ vs Ind, 3rd ODI ) After the centurion Martin Guptill-led batting line-up set India a competitive target, Anderson helped keep the visitors in check with a five-wicket haul. However, Jadeja’s quick-fire innings, after Ashwin’s blitzkrieg, averted defeat.  Earlier, the Guptill-Kane Williamson pair put the hosts in a commanding position with a 153-run second-wicket partnership at Auckland. After getting off to a slow start, Guptill exploded after reaching his 50. In company of Kane...

Chasing the Duckworth-Lewis set 293-run target after New Zealand posted 271, India went down fighting in the second ODI. They ended up losing by 15 runs at Seddon Park. (Also Read:  Stats Highlights: NZ vs Ind, 2nd ODI ) A Corey Anderson blitzkrieg and Kane Williamson’s solid knock helped NZ to 271 for seven in a rain-curtailed 42 overs-a-side match. Anderson’s fireworks complemented by Ross Taylor and a late onslaught by Luke Ronchi helped add 101 runs off 52 balls. But with the revised target, India had a tough ask ahead of them.  After Virat Kohli set the pace with a 65-ball 78, MS Dhoni worked hard to scale the target with a 44-ball 56. But with the run-rate steadily increasing, India lost the battle completely after the departure of the skipper.  Earlier, Jesse Ryder was back in the pavilion after a short burst, while Martin Guptill bided his time at the crease after NZ were asked to bat first. Williamson, who replaced him, gave the home team a sol...