Indian Cricket Team Updates

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 ...

For the third consecutive time in the series, MS Dhoni won the toss, and for the third consecutive time he opted to field first. In fact, in two ODIs against South Africa also – where he won the toss – Dhoni had opted to field first. The result summary: 4 losses, one tie. (Also Read:  Report: New Zealand vs India, 3rd ODI ) Varun Aaron had last played for India against West Indies at Visakhapatnam on 02-12-2011. He missed 56 matches during that period. MS Dhoni was playing his 250th international match as captain. The break-up of his matches: 51 Tests, 157 ODIs and 42 T20Is. Dhoni became the first Indian and only the fifth player to do so, after Australia’s Ricky Ponting (324), New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming (303), South Africa’s Graeme Smith (283) and Australia’s Allan Border (271). Martin Guptill (111) made his fifth ODI ton – his first against India. Kane Williamson (65) made his third consecutive 50 in the series. He became the first New Zealand player to m...

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...

The dismissal of Kane Williamson gave MS Dhoni his 200th dismissal as ‘keeper-cum-captain. He became the first to effect 200 dismissals in the dual role. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara is distant second with 69 dismissals. (Also Read:  Report: New Zealand vs India, 2nd ODI ) Brendon McCullum registered his third duck in NZ’s ODIs as captain. With this he equaled John Wright and Daniel Vettori’s tally of ducks as captain. Now only Stephen Fleming (14) is ahead of McCullum. Corey Anderson’s strike-rate of 258.82 (44 runs off 17 balls) is the second highest by any batsman against India in an innings of 10 balls or more, after Australia’s Glenn Maxwell, who made 60 off 22 balls (SR 272.72) at Bangalore last year. Tim Southee became the 15th New Zealand bowler to claim 100 ODI wickets when he dismissed Rohit Sharma. By taking 76 matches, Southee became the sixth quickest Kiwi bowler to reach this landmark. Virat Kohli (78) became the first Indian batsman to score 50-plus scores in his...

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...

This was the 89th ODI between India and New Zealand. India have won 46, while New Zealand have emerged victorious on 38 occasions. Five matches have ended in no result. (Also Read:  Report: New Zealand vs India, 1st ODI ) This was the 30th ODI between India and New Zealand in New Zealand. India have won 10, while New Zealand 18. Two matches ended in no result. Kane Williamson (71) became the sixth New Zealand batsman to score a 50 in his 50th match, after Geoff Howarth, Bruce Edgar, Chris Cairns, Bryan Young and Hamish Marshall.  Ross Taylor (55), while on 15, completed his 4000 ODI runs. He became the ninth New Zealand batsman to do so. Only Nathan Astle (120) has taken fewer innings than Taylor (121) to reach this milestone. MS Dhoni’s catch of Ross Taylor earned him his 300th dismissal in ODIs. He became the first Indian and only the fourth wicketkeeper in ODIs to accomplish this feat, after Adam Gilchrist (472), Mark Boucher (424) and Kumar Sangakk...

Chasing 293, India lost the first game of the five-match ODI series by 24 runs to New Zealand. A sparkling 123 by Virat Kohli went in vain as Mitchell McClenaghan-led attack bowled India out for 268 at the McLean Park in Napier. Besides the left-arm pacer’s four timely wickets, it was excellent fielding by Brendon McCullums’s men that helped the hosts to victory. (Also Read:  Stats Highlights: NZ vs Ind, 1st ODI ) Earlier, inserted to bat first, Jesse Ryder revealed his dangerous streak by hitting Bhuvneshwar Kumar over square-leg for a six. However, before the opener could take the attack to the visitors, Mohammad Shami sent him back to the dressing room. 10 runs later, the pacer removed Martin Guptill to leave NZ on 32 for two.  Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor then did the hard yards and laid the foundation on which Corey Anderson built later to set India a competitive target.  Williamson and Taylor carefully stitched a 121-run partnership to help the ...

What First ODI of the five-match series between New Zealand and India When Sunday, January 19, 2014, (14:00 local | 01:00 GMT | 06:30 IST) Where McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand The Teams India Although their South African sojourn didn’t end victoriously, the experience will help the young Team India to embark on their New Zealand tour with a significant increase in confidence. The batsmen will be more certain in their plans against the seaming and bouncing ball and the fast bowlers should now have a better idea of how to utilize the favourable conditions. While the batting group is similar to what travelled to South Africa, there are some additions on the bowling front in form of Ishwar Pandey and Varun Aaron. However, it will be interesting to see if either of them is thrust into action straight away. In Stuart Binny India have in their squad a seam bowling allrounder, a breed MS Dhoni has yearned to have at his disposal. He now will be faced with a decision of whet...