West Indies fast-bowling sensation Shamar Joseph has jumped a massive 42 spots up the ICC Men’s Test rankings this week to sit joint 50th on the list.

Joseph, whose breathtaking performances in the recently-concluded two Test series against Australia earned him the Player of the series award, was instrumental in the regional side's historic second Test win against the World Champions. He took five wickets for 94 runs in the first encounter, which Australia won by 10 wickets and seven wickets for 68 runs in West Indies' famous eight-run win.

The 24-year-old Joseph and his pace partners all secured ranking upgrades, as Kemar Roach moved two places up to 17th and Alzarri Joseph inched four places up to 33rd. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson remains the Number one batsman ahead of England’s Joe Root and Australian Steve Smith, while the bowling list is headed by Indian Ravi Ashwin followed by South African Kagiso Rabada and Australia's captain Pat Cummins.

All-rounders Jason Holder, ranked at seventh, and 10th-ranked Kyle Mayers, the highest rated West Indies players on the all-rounders’ list, did not play against Australia in the recent series. India’s Ravi Jadeja heads that list.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fellow opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul placed West Indies on a steady foundation, but they are still left with much to do, after Virat Kohli registered a 29th Test century to put India in full command at the end of day two action at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday.

Brathwaite ended the day unbeaten on 37, with the Caribbean side at 86-1 in their first innings, still 352 runs behind the visitors, after losing Chanderpaul for 33 shortly before close in this, the 100th Test between the two teams. India lead the two-test series 1-0.

India resumed from their overnight score of 288-4 and though West Indies bowled with some amount of purpose, they couldn’t stop the opponents from posting a daunting 438 all out, just prior to the tea interval.

Kohli scored 121, his first hundred away from home in five years, while Ravendra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, both added half-centuries to what is massive total, give the feeble nature of West Indies batting.

Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican snared two of the last four wickets to end with 3-89 from 39 overs. He had support from veteran pacer Kemar Roach, who had 3-104 from 22 overs, and Jason Holder, who had 2-57 from 21 overs, as West Indies took the last four Indian wickets for a mere 43 runs.

West Indies started their reply in a solid manner, as Chanderpaul and Brathwaite withstood early pressure from India’s seamers, and later capitalised on the hard, easy-paced surface.

The openers hardly played a stroke wrong and had the bowling at their mercy until Jadeja, bowling his left-arm spin, had Chanderpaul caught at backward point, from an ill-advised lofted drive.

It brought Jamaican debutant Kirk McKenzie to the middle and the young left-handed batsman displayed confidence throughout his half-hour knock which included a lofted drive over long-off for six off Ashwin’s off-spin. He will resume on 14 alongside his captain on Saturday’s third day in which they will be targeting at least 239 to avoid being asked to follow-on.

Earlier, Kohli raised a well-deserved century, partnering with Jadeja in a 159-run fifth wicket stand that pushed India past the 350-run mark.

Kohli’s 76th milestone knock came from 180 balls and included 11 boundaries.

Jadeja reached his 50 from 105 balls, before West Indies grabbed a breakthrough when Kohli was run out by Alzarri Joseph.

Further success came for the hosts five overs later when Roach got Jadeja caught behind for 61 after reviewing a negative verdict from South African umpire Marais Erasmus.

West Indies maintained steady bowling in tough conditions after the visitors continued from their lunchtime total of 373 for six, and it paid dividends, though Ashwin defied them to carve out 56.

Holder had Ishan Kishan caught behind for 25, and after being frustrated by Jaydev Unadkat and Ashwin, they eventually made inroads when Warrican had the former stumped.

The spinner then accounted for Mohammed Siraj for a duck, before Roach brought the innings to a close when he had the last laugh in against Ashwin, who smashed three boundaries off in the same over in is 75-ball 50.

Ravichandran Ashwin has aired his irritation with umpire calls in the Indian Premier League after Rajasthan Royals' three-run win over Chennai Super Kings.

Jos Buttler's unbeaten half-century in the first innings was enough to help the Royals hold off a dramatic late CSK rally led by MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja.

But the decision was made by umpires Virender Sharma and Vinod Seshan to change the ball in the 12th over of the hosts' losing chase.

Though the officials are within the laws of the game to do so, Ashwin acknowledged he was frustrated by the move after the Royals did not ask for it to be swapped.

"I'm quite surprised the umpires changed the ball for dew on their own," he said. "It's never happened before and I'm quite surprised.

"Some of the decisions in this year's IPL on the field have left me a little flummoxed, to be honest. It left me flummoxed in a good or bad way because what you need is a little bit of balance.

"We're going as a bowling team and we're not asking for the ball to be changed. But the ball was changed on the umpire's accord. I did ask the umpire, but he said we can change it.

"So I hope every time there's dew they can change it every single time going forward in this IPL. You can do whatever you want, but you need to be standard."

Ashwin is not the first player to criticise the decision-making process by umpires, with Punjab Kings' Sam Curran voicing his displeasure over ball changes.

The Royals are currently top of the IPL standings, having picked up three wins from their first four games this season.

Australia put themselves in a strong position in the fourth Test against India after Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green's impressive partnership and a late surge from Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy saw them post 480 in their first innings.

Resuming day two on 255-4, Khawaja (180) and Green (114) piled more runs on to frustrate the hosts with a fifth-wicket partnership of 208, while Australia's tail also wagged.

Ravichandran Ashwin produced figures of 6-91 to stop the tourists from doing even more damage, before Rohit Sharma (17 not out) and Shubman Gill (18 not out) made a promising start to India's reply, ending the day 36-0, still trailing by 444 runs.

Khawaja and Green continued their impressive partnership from day one, with the latter hitting his maiden Test century before a sweep attempt saw him glove one from Ashwin to Srikar Bharat.

Ashwin soon found his groove as he removed Alex Carey for a duck and Mitchell Starc for six, while Khawaja was finally out lbw after a review off the first ball after the tea interval from Axar Patel.

Lyon (34) and Murphy (41) were in the mood to play some shots though, and had plenty of joy as they struck 11 fours between them in a ninth-wicket partnership of 70, before both fell to Ashwin.

The surface in Ahmedabad has been kinder to batters than others in the series, and Rohit and Gill had few problems seeing off Australia's bowling attack in their 10 overs before close.

Gill launched the first six of the match in the final over of the day off Lyon, but India still have plenty to do to get close to the Baggy Green's first innings total.

Khawaja shows patience is a virtue

Khawaja had already reached three figures on day one, but continued his impressively mature innings alongside Green on Friday, lasting 422 balls in all, the most faced of any Australian batter in an innings in India in Test history.

After the day ended, Green said: "Ussie helped me so much out there. It is really special."

Ashwin overtakes Kumble in Australia battles

It must be a strange feeling for a bowler to post numbers as impressive as 6-91 but see the opponents still score almost 500 runs.

It may be consolation for Ashwin that his 113 wickets in total means he has surpassed Anil Kumble (111 wickets) and equalled Lyon to become the joint-leading wicket-taker in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Nathan Lyon took eight wickets on a dramatic day two of the third Test to leave Australia needing 76 runs to beat India and keep the series alive.

Sixteen wickets fell on a captivating second day at Holkar Cricket Stadium, where the tourists collapsed to 197 all in reply to India's 109.

Ravichandran Ashwin (3-44) and Umesh Yadav (3-12) took Australia's last six wickets for only 11 runs to seemingly leave the game in the balance.

With sharp turn and variable bounce to contend with, Cheteshwar Pujara made 59 but India were skittled out for 163 in their second innings in Indore, Lyon claiming a magnificent 8-64 to leave Australia facing only a small run chase to make it 2-1.

Ashwin ended a stand of 40 by removing Peter Handscomb (19) after Australia resumed on 156-4 and Umesh trapped Cameron Green leg before in the next over.

Umesh cleaned up Mitchell Starc and Todd Murphy as the tourists folded after the drinks break, with Ashwin on the money as he struck Alex Carey in front, before bowling Lyon to end the innings in a flash.

Starting their second innings with a deficit of 88, India lost openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma bowled and lbw respectively to the excellent Lyon.

Virat Kohli followed for only 13 after being struck on the pad in front of middle stump attempting to pull a Matthew Kuhnemann delivery that kept low and India were 78-4 when Lyon sent Ravindra Jadeja trudging off.

Shreyas Iyer made a brisk 25 before falling to Mitchell Starc and Lyon continued to apply the pressure, seeing the back of Srikar Bharat and Ashwin.

Pujara stood firm for a battling half-century but his knock was ended when Steve Smith produced a brilliant diving catch at leg slip for the relentless Lyon, who dismissed Umesh and Mohammed Siraj without scoring to clean up the India innings.

Ashwin into the top three

The 36-year-old Ashwin took his incredible tally of international wickets to 689 in his 269th match to become India's third-highest wicket-taker across all formats.

He surpassed the great Kapil Dev's haul of 687 in all formats for India, making the most of the conditions after Jadeja (4-78) had taken all four wickets for India on day one.

Only Anil Kumble (953) and Harbhajan Singh (707) have claimed more scalps for India in all formats combined.

Lyon Australia's spin king

It was Kuhnemann who starred for the tourists by claiming his maiden five-wicket haul in only his second Test on day one, but fellow spinner Lyon was the main man on Thursday.

He bowled with great guile and control, helping himself taking his 23rd haul in the longest format after picking up three wickets on day one.

Lyon now has more wickets against India across all formats than any other Australia bowler after moving past Brett Lee's total of 111, having claimed his second eight-wicket haul in India.

Rohit Sharma explained how India's bowling "masters" made sure not to panic before an Australia collapse gave them a comprehensive victory in the second Test.

Australia looked to have the edge at the start of day three, resuming on 61-1 after holding a one-run lead at the innings break.

India captain Rohit feared the hosts would struggle batting last on a difficult Delhi pitch, but instead it was Australia who bowed to the conditions.

The tourists were all out for 113 by lunch, with Ravindra Jadeja enjoying career-best bowling figures of 7-42.

Ravichandran Ashwin chipped in with three vital wickets, too, and Rohit credited the pair for turning the match in India's favour ahead of a routine chase.

"It is a fantastic result for us, looking at how things were yesterday," the skipper said. "How we came back and finished the job was a great effort from the bowlers.

"Even though the deficit was just one run, I felt we were very much behind – we had to bat last.

"On a pitch like that, you have to come out and try to do different things. We knew they were going to come and play shots. For us, it was about not panicking, and we had to hit those areas rather than panicking.

"I've seen them bowl enough and take wickets in these kind of conditions. We had discussed some things in the morning that we had to do, and that worked for us.

"Look, every game you play here there is some moisture, and what I noticed in three days is it has a lot to offer in the first session.

"Then the pitch gets slower and slower and there is not enough bite in the pitch – it's something we focused on.

"I had a good chat with the bowlers and they are masters of these conditions. It was important for us to stay calm and let the mistakes happen."

Jadeja and Ashwin had also crucially contributed with the bat in India's first innings, scoring 26 and 37 respectively.

Rohit added: "When you play Test cricket, there are a lot of [big] moments, but I thought the partnerships between Virat [Kohli] and Jadeja and Axar [Patel] and Ash [were big] – to get that hundred partnership [114 between Axar and Ashwin] was never going to be easy.

"Even then, we knew we had to bowl well and restrict them to as low as possible."

Australia captain Pat Cummins, whose side now trail 2-0 in the series, said: "I thought 260 was a decent score on the first-day wicket and the guys bounced back well.

"I think they batted well – one or two partnerships – and it was evenly matched at the innings break.

"[Australia's batting] was disappointing – the pressure was right on them, but we will have to review what we could have done differently.

"It's a similar story to Nagpur. Some of it is down to planning, and it wasn't easy when Ashwin and Jadeja were bowling.

"I think both defeats [hurt] – this one particularly when we were ahead of the game."

Ravichandran Ashwin put on a spin clinic as India thrashed Australia by an innings and 132 runs inside three days to win the first Test in Nagpur.

The hosts started the day with a lead of 144, not realising that would have been more than enough already, but added a further 79 as they were eventually all out for 400, in front by 223.

Victory for India was never in doubt, with the only debate around how soon the contest would be over.

Ashwin (5-37) then tore through the Australian top order with some unstoppable spin bowling, with the tourists skittled in their second innings for just 91.

After Saturday's action began, Ravindra Jadeja reached 70 before being bowled by Todd Murphy, while Axar Patel was finally sent back for 84 by Pat Cummins as India built a healthy lead.

Mohammed Shami added 37 from 47 balls before India set about trying to keep Australia from matching their efforts with the bat, and Ashwin set the tone as he got rid of Usman Khawaja for just five.

Jadeja trapped Marnus Labuschagne (17) lbw, while David Warner – who only scored two from his first 37 balls – hit back-to-back fours before also being dismissed via lbw by Ashwin for 10.

It was the start of an lbw bonanza for Ashwin, who repeated the trick to dismiss Matt Renshaw (2), Peter Handscomb (6) and Alex Carey (10) to claim five-for inside his first 10 overs bowled.

Not to miss out on the fun, Jadeja found the edge of Cummins to send the Australia captain back to the pavilion for just a single run, before Axar forced Murphy (2) to slice to Rohit Sharma for a simple catch.

Shami tidied things up, bowling Nathan Lyon (8) before trapping Scott Boland (0) lbw as India celebrated a surprisingly easy victory, leaving a partner-less Steve Smith not out on 25.

Ashwin stars again

It felt at times like Ashwin had a personal vendetta against any and all Australian legs that came along, spinning the ball into them with such regularity you were left wondering if you were watching another replay.

Having now taken 320 wickets on Indian soil, he has leapfrogged Shane Warne (319 wickets) to become the outright fifth leading wicket-taker in Test cricket in his home country.

Removal of Head decapitates Australian batting

The second innings capitulation was the second-lowest total from Australia against India in Test history (after 83 in Melbourne, 1981).

It will lead to questions again around the decision to leave out Travis Head despite his 525 runs at an average of 87.5 in his previous five Test matches, with his replacement, Renshaw, managing a total of two runs from his two innings.

Ravindra Jadeja marked his comeback with a five-wicket haul as Australia were bowled out cheaply by India on day one of the Test series at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.

Much of the talk ahead of the match in Nagpur was over the condition of the pitch and Jadeja took centre stage with the ball, where the tourists collapsed to 177 all out after Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat.

Jadeja, playing his first international since August after undergoing knee surgery, took 5-47 and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-42) reached the 450 Test-wicket milestone in fewer matches than any other India bowler as Australia folded from 84-2.

India were 77-1 at stumps in reply as part of a great start to their quest to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit Sharma unbeaten on 56 as both sides bid to secure a place in the World Test Championship final at The Oval in June.

Australia were reduced to 2-2 with Mohammed Siraj trapping Usman Khawaja leg before wicket with an outswinger before Mohammed Shami sent David Warner's off stump flying.

Marnus Labuschagne (49) and Steve Smith (37) put on 82 for the third wicket, but Jadeja had the number three stumped and was on a hat-trick after getting Matt Renshaw lbw early in the afternoon session.

Spinning all-rounder Jadeja struck a huge blow by bowling Smith through the gate, but Peter Handscomb – preferred to Travis Head – and Alex Carey briefly steadied the ship with a stand of 53.

Ashwin then came to the fore to join the 450 club, cleaning up Carey (36) and sending Cummins on his way before Jadeja got rid of debutant Todd Murphy without scoring and Handscomb (31).

Tweaker Ashwin saw the back of Scott Boland to end Australia's innings in the 64th over, and although Murphy had KL Rahul caught and bowled late in the day, Rohit was still there at stumps along with nightwatchman Ashwin.

Jadeja has his day in the sun

As he prepared to make his comeback this week, Jadeja said he "hadn't felt the sun for about five months" during his recovery.

Australia felt the heat as the left-armer shone on day one of the four-match series, claiming his 11th five-wicket Test haul.

This was his fourth five-wicket Test haul against Australia, the most he has claimed against any nation. Since the 34-year-old's debut in December 2012, only Stuart Broad (six) and Ashwin (five) have picked up more against Australia.

Ashwin second-fastest to 450

It was another day to remember for Ashwin, who took his tally of wickets in the longest format to 450 in his 89th match.

That beat the previous India record held by Anil Kumble, who reached that incredible tally in 93 contests. Only Muttiah Muralitharan got to the landmark in fewer matches, the Sri Lanka spinner achieving the feat in his 80th Test.

Cheteshwar Pujara has been rewarded with a return to the India squad for the rearranged fifth Test against England in July after a fine spell in the County Championship.

India, led by Virat Kohli, were 2-1 up in the five-match Test series in England before the tourists were unable to field a team due to coronavirus-related concerns in September.

The one-off Test starts at Edgbaston on July 1, following a four-day warm-up game against Leicestershire on June 24, and India have named their 17-man red-ball squad.

Pujara was dropped for the home Test series against Sri Lanka but has been reinstated after managing 720 runs in eight innings for Sussex – including four centuries – in County Championship Division Two.

Ravindra Jadeja is also part of the touring party despite pulling out of the ongoing Indian Premier League due to a rib injury, while Hanuma Vihari and Shubman Gill retained their spots.

Rohit Sharma will lead the Test side after Kohli, who remains in the squad, stepped down as captain following the 2-1 series defeat to South Africa earlier this year.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will lead the bowling attack, which includes Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and the uncapped Prasidh Krishna.

Ajinkya Rahane was not available for selection after sustaining a hamstring injury, while openers Mayank Agarwal and Priyank Panchal were the other two left out from the Sri Lanka series.

Meanwhile, Rohit, Kohli and Bumrah were all rested for the home five-match T20I series against South Africa, which starts on June 9.

KL Rahul will skipper the white-ball side in Sharma's absence, with fast bowler Umran Malik handed a maiden call-up after impressing in the IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The experienced Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik return to the international limited-overs squad, while spin duo Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal make their comebacks after taking the IPL by storm.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda and Shreyas Iyer all retain their spots, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar heading a bowling attack that includes Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh.

India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain) Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.

India’s T20I squad: KL Rahul (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain)(wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

Rishabh Pant scored a record-breaking half-century and Jasprit Bumrah did more damage as India totally dominated day two of the second Test at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Bumrah (5-24) claimed his first five-wicket Test haul on home soil as India took only 35 balls to reduce the tourists from 86-6 to 109 all out in the opening session in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma's home side then made 303-9 declared in their second innings of the day-night Test, setting Sri Lanka a highly improbable 447 to draw the series.

Pant (50) bludgeoned a 28-ball half-century - the fastest of all time for India in the longest format - and Shreyas Iyer (67) scored his second fifty of the match, with Rohit striking 46 at the top of the order.

Sri Lanka were 28-1 at stumps after Bumrah removed Lahiru Thirimanne without scoring with the pink ball under the lights as India closed in on a 2-0 whitewash.

Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin (2-30) wasted no time in wrapping up the tourists' first innings at the start of the day, after they resumed in big trouble in reply to India's 252 all out.

Mayank Agarwal (22) then missed out again with the bat for India, but captain Rohit and Hanuma Vihari (35) put on 56 for the second wicket.

It was Pant who produced the fireworks, taking the Sri Lanka attack to all parts, with Virat Kohli (13) falling to Praveen Jayawickrama (4-78) and Ravindra Jadeja bowled by Vishwa Fernando for 22 as India were in a rush to pile on the runs.

Jayawickrama, who was able to return to the field after limping off, had Pant caught and bowled and Iyer ticked along nicely before Lasith Embuldeniya (3-87) trapped him leg before.

Thirimanne fell to Bumrah in the first over of Sri Lanka's second innings after Rohit declared, but Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis prevented further damage from being done.

Home comforts for brilliant Bumrah

Bumrah had struck three times on day one to put Sri Lanka in the mire and the paceman finally claimed a maiden five-wicket Test haul in his homeland on Sunday.

The relentless quick had taken five wickets seven times on tour and added the eighth such harvest of his career by getting Embuldeniya and Niroshan Dickwella caught behind.

Bumrah later struck again by generating sharp swing to see the back of Thirimanne.

Pant cuts loose

The stage was set for wicketkeeper-batsman Pant to cut loose, and he did not disappoint the India fans.

The explosive left-hander struck two sixes and seven fours as he broke a record that was held by the great Kapil Dev, who blasted a 30-ball half-century against Pakistan back in 1982.

Iyer gave another exhibition of his class in the middle order in an 87-ball knock.

Ravindra Jadeja's remarkable performance in the first Test against Sri Lanka moved to another level on day three as India swiftly wrapped up their fifth-biggest win in the format.

India had led by 466 runs at the close of play on the second day, with Jadeja scoring an unbeaten 175 as the hosts declared on 574-8.

And Sri Lanka never threatened to make the all-rounder bat again – chiefly due to his brilliance with the ball.

The tourists, resuming on 108-4, were all out for 174 and forced to follow-on as Jadeja took 5-41.

An inspired Jadeja then claimed 4-46 in Sri Lanka's second innings, which concluded on 178 in the third session – India's victory by an innings and 222 runs illustrating the gulf between the teams.

Jadeja had already removed Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne on day two and soon accounted for Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando and Lahiru Kumara in a sublime spell.

Pathum Nissanka made 61 not out as his team-mates departed one by one.

And there was precious little improvement when Sri Lanka returned to the crease for their second innings, with Dickwella this time the man lacking support as he made an unbeaten 51.

There was no 10-wicket haul for Jadeja, as Ravichandran Ashwin (4-47) took the final wicket of Kumara with Sri Lanka all out in 60 overs.

Jadeja just too good with bat and ball

Having scored the highest total by an Indian number seven and then snared an early wicket, Jadeja must have thought day two was just about as good as it was going to get. He was wrong.

Jadeja took eight of the 16 wickets on Sunday, with four of them going for ducks to secure sensational match figures of 9-87.

Ashwin achievement overshadowed

Such was Jadeja's dominance, there was little chance of him sharing the spotlight. But this was a special day for Ashwin, too, even before his dismissal of Kumara clinched victory.

His previous wicket, of Charith Asalanka for 20, was his 435th in Test cricket, taking him clear of Kapil Dev into second on India's all-time list. Only Anil Kumble (619) is ahead of Ashwin.

India have cruised to a 372-run victory after swiftly bowling out New Zealand on day four to claim their two-game Test series 1-0.

Jayant Yadav claimed four wickets within nine legal deliveries after the Black Caps resumed at 140-5 chasing an improbable 540 on the fourth day in Mumbai, eventually dismissing the visitors for 167.

Indian opener Mayank Agarwal was named Player of the Match after his first innings 150 set up the win, backing that up with a second innings half-century.

New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel had taken a sensational 10-wicket haul in the first innings but the Black Caps struggled for runs, making only 229 for the game.

The margin was India's biggest win by runs in Test history, along with New Zealand's most significant runs defeat. It was also India's 14th consecutive Test series triumph at home.

Ashwin reaches 300 Test scalps at home

Ravichandran Ashwin fittingly claimed the final wicket to secure victory for India, with overnight batsman Henry Nicholls (44) stumped by Wriddhiman Saha, securing eight scalps for the game, with 34-4 in the second innings.

The 35-year-old off-spinner was India's most fruitful bowler for the game but also brought up his 300th wicket on home soil with Nicholls' dismissal. The wicket also was Ashwin's 50th for the calendar year.

Ashwin had feasted on New Zealand's tail-end in the first innings, but claimed four of the top five in the second.

Agarwal exceeds history maker

The exceptional nature of Agarwal's game was underlined by the fact he won Player of the Match honours ahead of someone who took the third 10-wicket haul in Test cricket history.

Agarwal made 212 runs for the game, 17 shy of New Zealand's entire total and his contribution did not stop there, taking the catch for tail-ender Will Somerville's wicket on the fourth day, the ninth to fall.

India have cruised to a 372-run victory after swiftly bowling out New Zealand on day four to claim their two-game Test series 1-0.

Jayant Yadav claimed four wickets within nine legal deliveries after the Black Caps resumed at 140-5 chasing an improbable 540 on the fourth day in Mumbai, eventually dismissing the visitors for 167.

Indian opener Mayank Agarwal was named Player of the Match after his first innings 150 set up the win, backing that up with a second innings half-century.

New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel had taken a sensational 10-wicket haul in the first innings but the Black Caps struggled for runs, making only 229 for the game.

The margin was India's biggest win by runs in Test history, along with New Zealand's most significant runs defeat. It was also India's 14th consecutive Test series triumph at home.

Ashwin reaches 300 Test scalps at home

Ravichandran Ashwin fittingly claimed the final wicket to secure victory for India, with overnight batsman Henry Nicholls (44) stumped by Wriddhiman Saha, securing eight scalps for the game, with 34-4 in the second innings.

The 35-year-old off-spinner was India's most fruitful bowler for the game but also brought up his 300th wicket on home soil with Nicholls' dismissal. The wicket also was Ashwin's 50th for the calendar year.

Ashwin had feasted on New Zealand's tail-end in the first innings, but claimed four of the top five in the second.

Agarwal exceeds history maker

The exceptional nature of Agarwal's game was underlined by the fact he won Player of the Match honours ahead of someone who took the third 10-wicket haul in Test cricket history.

Agarwal made 212 runs for the game, 17 shy of New Zealand's entire total and his contribution did not stop there, taking the catch for tail-ender Will Somerville's wicket on the fourth day, the ninth to fall.

Ravichandran Ashwin struck three times as India closed in on a series victory after Ajaz Patel claimed New Zealand's second-best Test match figures on day three at the Wankhede Stadium.

India declared on 276-7 in Mumbai on Sunday to set the Black Caps a highly improbable 540 to win, and the tourists are facing a crushing defeat in the second and final Test of the series after closing on 140-5.

Patel became only the third bowler to take all 10 wickets in a Test innings on day two and the New Zealand spinner finished with incredible match figures of 14-225, surpassing Ian Botham's 13-106 in Mumbai in 1989 as the best taken against India.

It was very much India's day once again, though, after Mayank Agarwal top scored with 62, having made a magnificent century in the first innings.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill made 47 apiece, while captain Virat Kohli chipped in with 36 before Axar Patel smashed an unbeaten 41 off 26 deliveries.

Ashwin (3-27) came to the fore yet again on a challenging surface after Kohli declared late in the afternoon session, removing openers Tom Latham and Will Young before sending Ross Taylor on his way.

Daryl Mitchell (60) played with great assurance as New Zealand moved beyond their embarrassing first-innings total off 62 all out until he holed out off the bowling of Axar and Tom Blundell was run out for a duck.

Henry Nicholls batted with admirable patience and was still there on 36 at stumps, but India are on the brink of gaining a measure of revenge for their defeat in the inaugural World Test Championship final.

Patel only second to Hadlee

Spinner Patel shot to prominence with his astonishing display with the ball in his city of birth on Saturday.

The 33-year-old tweaker's one-man show continued when he dismissed Agarwal and Pujara before Rachin Ravindra (3-56) became the first Black Caps bowler other than Patel to take a wicket in the match, Gill the man to become his first Test victim.

Only Richard Hadlee has claimed better match figures for New Zealand than Patel, when the legendary all-rounder took 15-123 against Australia in November 1985.

Ashwin ending memorable year on a high note

It has been an outstanding year for Ashwin, who followed up his devastating first-innings exploits by reaching the 50-wicket landmark for 2021.

The wily Ashwin took 4-8 on day two and the New Zealand batsmen struggled to read him once again, Latham pinned lbw before Young was caught at short leg and Taylor's positive approach did not pay off when he was taken by Pujara.

Mitchell and Nicholls made a fight out it in a stand of 73, but Ashwin looks poised to take yet another five-wicket haul with two days remaining.

Kolkata Knight Riders secured their place in the Indian Premier League final with a last-gasp three-wicket win over the Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2.

Eoin Morgan's side limited the Capitals to 135-5 from their 20-over allocation as Varun Chakravarthy (2-26) was ably supported by Lockie Ferguson (1-26) and Shivam Mavi (1-27).

Shikhar Dhawan (36) and Shreyas Iyer (30 not out) were the pick of the batsmen but the Capitals were left facing an uphill battle, knowing Kolkata had won on all five occasions they have chased following the United Arab Emirates-based resumption.

Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer then got the Knight Riders off to a flyer, forming a 96-run opening partnership as the former raced to a 38-ball half-century before falling to Kagiso Rabada (2-23).

The Capitals, who are the only side to qualify for the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, managed to remove Nitish Rana (13) and Gill through Anrich Nortje (2-31) and Avesh Khan (1-22) respectively to leave the score at 125 after 16.4 overs.

Rabada knocked over experienced campaigner Dinesh Karthik (0) to further hamper the chase and when Morgan (0) followed in the same manner to Nortje, seven runs were required off Ravichandran Ashwin's final over.

Ashwin (2-27) conceded just one off his first two balls, removing Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine with his following two, before Rahul Tripathi (12 not out) smashed a maximum to collect the Knight Riders' seventh win in their last nine matches with just one ball to spare.

The win means Morgan's team will meet MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in Friday's final as the Capitals fell before the showpiece once more.

Classy Chakravarthy

Chakravarthy may have overstepped and offered Shimron Heytmer a lifeline on just two, however, the Kolkata bowler escaped without too much punishment as the West Indian mustered just 15 more runs.

The 30-year-old was the only Knight Riders bowler to not concede a single maximum, delivering seven dot balls in an economical spell through the middle overs.

Nervy Narine

Narine was the man of the hour against the Royal Challengers Bangalore as he took 4-21 and blasted a 15-ball 26, but he failed to back up that heroic performance.

The KKR off-spinner went wicketless in his four-over allocation, conceding 27 runs before falling for a first-ball duck as he looked to launch his side to victory.