The 5th ODI played between India vs New Zealand, has become quite interesting as New Zealand have been crushed by the Indian bowling attack at a mere 103 runs only. New Zealand could just crawl past the three figure mark at the Chennai ground, as the Indian bowlers managed to smack their wickets at regular intervals.

As the Indian innings began, Kohli and Gambhir, India’s top batsmen for now, had been sent back to the pavilion early with only 10 runs on the board. Later Yuvraj Singh and Parthiv Patel managed to bring India back on track an stabilized the innings. Before New Zealand could inflict any serious damage on India, Yuvraj and Patel managed to keep India floating in the game.

India will be looking to win this match impressively and it will also result to a first ever white wash against New Zealand. India have performed quite well in the series, as this could also be said, as the first step towards an exciting World Cup 2011.

Source: CricInfo

The India vs New Zealand 5th ODI which is being played at Chennai, looks to be a game of saving some respect for New Zealand, but India on the other hand does not look in the favour of letting them do so. The Kiwis lost three wickets at a mere 28 runs, and it looked that India will be trampling them once again. During the whole series, New Zealand has not been able to clinch even a single game, and this last one day is their only hope.

Both Guptil and McCullum have been sent back by the Indian bowlers at very low scores and this was quite disheartening for the boys in the New Zealand dressing room. But later even Taylor was on his way to the pavilion before he could begin the show, as he was caught behind by Patel as Nehra clinched him.

New Zealand has said that they indeed had a tough time during this series, and it will be something they will have to pay attention to during the upcoming subcontinental ICC World Cup 2011. If India wins this match, it will be their first ever white wash against any cricketing team, and yes they will be looking ahead to it.

Source: CricInfo

The India vs New Zealand 2nd ODI in Jaipur turned out to be another thriller, as Gautam Gambhir and his bowlers guided India to a 2-0 lead over the guests. New Zealand had to bat first after Gambhir who was the captain in place of M.S. Dhoni chose to bowl, and the visitors managed to score only 258 odd runs on the score board. The pitch was tricky and India had a task ahead of them, they had to win this game at any cost.

After Gambhir and his men took the field, the captain showed the world that he is capable of taking responsibility too, and impressively scored a ton. He clocked 138 runs from 116 balls, as he toyed around with the Kiwi bowlers.

We cannot blame the New Zealanders for their loss and sad performance, India needs to consider that they played in very extreme conditions compared to their country. The pitch was slow and cracking and this is something directly opposite to what they have back home. Indian bowlers took their wickets at regular intervals and as a matter of fact they failed to perform, giving India only 258 runs to chase. What will be exciting to see is that if India clinches the next match, then we have the series.

Source: CricInfo

In the 2nd ODI being played between India and New Zealand in Jaipur, Gautam Gambhir India’s captain has chosen to bowl first, and now here we ask whether Vettori’s team will be performing well today. Yes this the good news that Daniel Vettori is back and will be leading his team for the 2nd one day international in India.

In the previous match, New Zealand failed to fire and dwindled terribly, despite the fact the tail enders were on the verge to chase the target. The concern here are the top line batsmen which also includes Brendon McCullum, who were not so impressive during the Guwhati match.

New Zealand have commenced their innings and will be looking forward to give India a very strong score to defend. India on the other will need to play exquisitely well as they have stated they want to clinch this series.

The following is the team line up of the both the countries -

India: 1 M Vijay, 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja , 8 Wriddiman Saha (wk), 9 Ashwin, 10 Sreesanth / Munaf Patel, 11 Ashish Nehra

New Zealand: 1 Jamie How, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Grant Elliott / James Franklin, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Andy McKay

Source: CricInfo

The India vs New Zealand test match at Nagpur is officially over and India have won the game by a huge margin, and eventually clinching the series. New Zealand has lost the game by an innings, after India provided them with more than 350 runs on the board in first innings.  The ball had been spinning and turning the way it is supposed to on a subcontinent pitch.

India in their first innings totaled 566 runs on the board and New Zealand had to stand firm against the Indian bowling attack if they wanted to win this game, but sadly this did not happen. The Indian spin attack once again proved to be lethal, and this time they preyed on the New Zealand batting lineup, which collapsed consistently.

Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh were the bowling highlight of the day, as each of them plucked three wickets for themselves. New Zealand commenced the day with 24/1, but in the first session itself it was clear enough to see that the kiwi’s began to wobble.  India has successfully clinched the series 1-0 and once again proved that they are at their best when it comes to be playing in the subcontinent.

Source: CricInfo

In latest news from the India vs New Zealand 3rd test being played at Nagpur, India have successfully given the kiwi’s a huge lead of more than 350 runs. The highlight of the first innings was Rahul Dravid who missed his double century by nine runs and also M.S. Dhoni who stumbled to complete a century by only two runs as he got out on 98 runs.

Dravid added a massive 191 runs to India’s first inning total, and after having lost eight wickets, the team had a score of the 566/8. Dhoni later declared the innings and put the New Zealanders to bat with only 13 overs to spare, but still India managed to pluck one wicket.

T. McIntosh lost his wicket to Harbhajan Singh who got him lbw, and for a moment it looked as India were really up to something. New Zealand will be taking the pitch on the fourth day, and they have a huge total in their sight to cover up before the end of the test. The kiwi batsmen will need to be very firm on the fourth day as it is the most important day that will be deciding the fate of the match.

The 3rd test match of India Vs New Zealand is taking place in Nagpur, and India in its first innings has passed the 200 runs lead mark. Rahul Dravid and M.S. Dhoni are standing firm on the pitch and playing quite impressively against the Kiwi bowlers. Dravid has once again proved that he is the great wall of India, as he scored a fine century when India needed it the most.

The lead which is India is proving New Zealand seems to be very comfortable, and New Zealand on the other hand would need to work twice as hard to give India a suitable target, if they are looking to grab this match.

During the commencement of the third day, New Zealand plucked three quick wickets in the span of only 32 runs, which also included Sachin Tendulkar, who once again failed to march to his century. Rahul took the field and he finally stabilized the batting line when he was joined by the Indian captain MS Dhoni, who together have managed put India on the comfort zone.

India vs New Zealand 3rd Test which is being played in Nagpur, was on the verge of being washed out, but thanks to the next day’s bright sun everyone’s hope just sort of revived. After the toss the Kiwis have decided to bat first on a wet and soggy field. There were good rains the day before the commencement of the third test, as a result the start of the match was delayed by more than two hours.

Both the test teams have made a change in the bowling department, on New Zealand’s bench we have Andy McKay making his debut here at the Nagpur test and India had to force Zaheer Khan out of the team line up after he sustained a strain injury, as a result Ishant Sharma has taken his place.

India is set to take on New Zealand with a four bowler combination squad, but after the toss Dhoni was quite disappointed, as the pitch would be of no help to the spinners, and India has a spearhead attack from the spinners department. After looking at the condition of the field the question here is very imminent, that why dont the grounds men cover the entire field as the Sri Lankans do. For this will actually help a lot in conditions as such.

India vs New Zealand 2nd test match has finally ended in a draw, and thanks to Brendon McCullum’s double ton, which he evidently scored against India in his second innings and gave them a target of 327 runs. McCullum also made a record by scoring the third highest second innings runs against India in India.

New Zealand on the other hand have four consecutive draws and two of them have come against India. They are currently holding the no.8 spot on the test table, and India proudly still remains on the first spot. After witnessing these two matches, it seems that the Kiwi’s still have the potential to stand and rise in the test rankings and prove that they are really good players.

At one time it was felling that the Indian bowlers would be packing New Zealand for a very low score and India could have the edge but nothing as such happened. New after all played an impressive game and showed their potential against the best team in the world.

In context to the India vs New Zealand 2nd test match, Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has unbelievably scored another test century in his career, and this one has come just after scoring his first hundred in Ahmadabad, which was the last test. On the other hand the New Zealand openers are looking really firm on the pitch, as they have crossed their 50 run mark without loosing any wicket.

At the end of day three, Harbhajan was concrete on 85 runs and was gaining to resume his play the next day, and after he scored a century once again it looks that he was quite sure about himself, and what he was about to contribute on the field on the fourth day.

Thanks to his century, India has comfortably provided New Zealand a lead by more than hundred runs, which at one time was looking almost impossible. McIntosh and McCullum are in the center, and batting really well, without playing any sort of loose shots against the Indian bowlers. New Zealand will look to give India a strong target to chase, if they are aiming to win this match or else play comfortably against the bowlers without giving any wicket and head for a draw.