Rohit Sharma has urged India to focus on themselves rather than top-ranked New Zealand ahead of another ODI series against the Black Caps.

The first of three matches takes place on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, with India coming off a 3-0 series victory over Sri Lanka, and New Zealand having just earned a 2-1 success against Pakistan.

India contested a weather-spoiled series in New Zealand in November, with only one of three matches producing a result and the home side taking a 1-0 win.

Now they will hope for three full contests, with New Zealand having to cope without the rested Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, while Trent Boult is unavailable due to T20 commitments in the United Arab Emirates.

India suffered a blow on the eve of the opening match as batter Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the series with a back injury. Rajat Patidar was named as his replacement in the squad, while Rohit announced Ishan Kishan would come into the middle order.

KL Rahul is another notable absentee, with his wedding to Bollywood star Athiya Shetty widely reported as being scheduled for the coming days.

Captain Rohit said: "New Zealand are a very good team. They're coming off a good series against Pakistan and obviously they're playing good cricket, so it will be challenging for us to come out and execute what we want to execute.

"We just want to continue from where we left off against Sri Lanka.

"We are not going to concentrate too much on the opposition. We will focus on what we want to achieve and what we want to do as a team. The last series was the perfect example of that. We just went out there, played some fearless cricket and take on the opposition."

India's series sweep against Sri Lanka was completed with a record 317-run victory on Sunday in the third game, after posting 390 and bowling out their tourists for 73.

Now they take on the team who sit at the top of the ICC rankings for the 50-over format, with the Hyderabad match followed by games in Raipur and Indore, prior to a three-game T20I series.

Good omens for the hosts

India have won their last two men's ODIs against New Zealand at home, as many as they had won across their five previous such fixtures (W2, L3).

They have also triumphed in their last three men's ODIs at the Hyderabad venue.

Landmark in sight for Gill

Shubman Gill is 106 away from reaching 1,000 runs for India in ODIs. Should he achieve the milestone with a century in this match, his 19th ODI, it would make him the joint-second fastest man to reach the mark, alongside Pakistan's Imam-ul-Haq.

Gill made 116 last time out, in the third ODI romp against Sri Lanka.

Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets apiece for India before KL Rahul's unbeaten half-century sealed a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka to seal the ODI series.

The tourists collapsed from 102-1 to 215 all out in the 40th over after Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

That was not enough to avoid going 2-0 down, KL Rahul top scoring with an unbeaten 64 to get India home with 40 balls to spare.

Nuwanidu Fernando made 50 on his debut, putting on 73 with Kusal Mendis (34) before Sri Lanka's batting frailties were exposed.

Dhananjaya de Silva was bowled first ball by Axar Patel after Kuldeep (3-51) trapped Kusal leg before and Dunith Wellalage (32) got a start but fell to Siraj.

Umran Malik (2-48) also made an impact with the ball and Siraj (3-39) finished off the innings by cleaning up Lahiru Kumara.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gil made only 17 and 21 respectively before Virat Kohli played on to a delivery from Kumara for just four after making a century in the first ODI.

India were 86-4 in the 15th over when Shreyas Iyer departed, but Rahul and Hardik Pandya (36) steadied the ship. 

Sri Lanka were in still in with a chance of levelling the series after Chamika Karunaratne (2-51) saw the back of Pandya and Axar fell for 21, but Rahul and Kuldeep saw India home.

Promising start for Nuwanidu 

It was an impressive start to his international career for 23-year-old opening batter Nuwanidu.

He struck six boundaries in an assured 63-ball knock at the top of the order against an excellent attack.

Nuwanidu will be kicking himself over the manner of his soft dismissal, Charith Asalanka sending him back after he set off for a run that was never there.

Rahul holds India run chase together

It was the experienced Rahul who provided the glue to keep India's run chase together in the middle of the order.

After coming in at number five, he spent over two and half hours at the crease in a responsible innings, waiting for any loose deliveries as he found the rope just six times and rotated the strike well.

That is 12 ODI wins in 13 matches at home to Sri Lanka for India and 10 multi-game bilateral series victories out of 11 over the Asia Cup champions on home soil.

Virat Kohli's 45th ODI century helped India to a comfortable 67-run victory over Sri Lanka at ACA Stadium on Tuesday.

Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who scored a double century in India's previous ODI last year, were surprisingly dropped for the first of three one-day matches.

But India had few issues without them, as Kohli, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma led them to an unassailable 373-7.

Gill and Rohit enjoyed a little luck, surviving lbw reviews, but went on to stage a fine opening stand of 143 to put the tourists firmly on the back foot right.

Dasun Shanaka (1-22) eventually accounted for Gill in the 20th over, and an inside edge saw Rohit snaffled by Dilshan Madushanka (1-43) not long after.

But then Kohli arrived to deliver his 73rd international century in all formats.

He, too, benefited from some fortune, dropped on 52 and 81, but Kohli was otherwise in irresistible form with 13 boundaries to eventually finish on 113 off just 87 balls, finally taken by Kasun Rajitha (3-88) when a big slog fell short.

Sri Lanka were always facing an uphill struggle as they moved into bat.

Pathum Nissanka's 72 off 80 was a decent opening effort, but they needed more.

Dhananjaya de Silva (47 off 40) injected some purpose before edging a Mohammed Shami delivery behind to Rahul, and Nissanka followed in the 31st over after slicing Umran Malik (3-57) to Axar Patel at midwicket.

Skipper Shanaka offered late resistance with a tremendous unbeaten 108, finishing with two boundaries, but it was far too late to change the outcome.

India have too much for Sri Lanka

One of the key differences here was India's brilliant efficiency with the bat. All but one of their nine batsmen recorded a strike rate of over 100, and five of those scored over 25 runs.

By contrast, only three Sri Lanka batters had such a strike rate, with Shanaka and De Silva the two to surpass 25.

A bad day for Sri Lanka's bowlers

Rajitha was the only Sri Lanka bowler to claim more than one wicket, and yet even his overs proved fairly expensive as he gave up 88 runs.

Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (0-67) and Dunith Wellalage (0-65) also had particular difficulty at a ground that is, to be fair, known for being generous for scoring.

India will be without Jasprit Bumrah for their ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Bumrah, who needs more time to recover from a back injury he suffered before the T20 World Cup last year, is also set to miss much of India's Test series against Australia, which starts on February 9.

The news of Bumrah's setback was confirmed on Monday, on the eve of Rohit Sharma's team taking on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series.

"It's an unfortunate incident with [Bumrah]," said India captain Rohit.

"The poor guy has been working very hard all this time. Just when he got back to full fitness, he started bowling and everything, the last two days I think this incident happened where he felt a little bit of stiffness in his back.

"It's nothing major, it's just stiffness. But when Bumrah says anything we have to be very cautious about it. I thought it was important for us to make that decision then to just pull him out.

"When we named him [in the squad], he was in the process of getting his workload done. We need to be very careful with him. He had a major injury before the [T20] World Cup. So we just need to be careful."

New Zealand paceman Adam Milne's international return has suffered a setback, with a hamstring worry seeing him withdrawn from the ODI squad to tackle Pakistan and India.

Milne returned from five years away from the national team when he played two ODIs against India in November, but the 30-year-old later missed two domestic games for the Wellington Firebirds.

In a statement, New Zealand said there were "concerns about his preparation" and it was "considered too big of a risk" to take Milne, leading to a "mutual agreement" he would be replaced by Blair Tickner.

New Zealand, the world's top-ranked team in ODIs, face Pakistan in three matches from January 9, before heading to India for another three-match series, starting on January 18.

Selector Gavin Larsen said: "Adam was very up front with us about his concerns around the lack of one-day bowling loading for the upcoming tours.

"After chatting to him, we agreed his preparation leading into the tour wouldn't be sufficient for him to cope with the demands of back-to-back, three-game ODI series. We appreciate his honesty and his genuine desire not to let the team down."

Jofra Archer is in line to make his long-awaited England return in January after he was named in a 14-man squad for the three-match ODI series against South Africa.

The Sussex bowler has not played at senior level since a white-ball tour to India in March 2021, having been sidelined with a succession of injuries since then.

After missing out on T20 World Cup success in November, Archer's return to the fold will be a timely boost in the year England look to defend their 50-over crown and take on Australia in the Ashes.

Mark Wood and Joe Root, as anticipated, are both rested, but there is room for Ben Duckett, who could play his first ODI match since 2016 after impressing upon his Test comeback.

Liam Livingstone, who was injured during England's red-ball series with Pakistan, misses out while Harry Brook will look to win his first ODI cap after a superb multi-format season.

Reece Topley, who is continuing to recovery from injury himself, will hope to join Archer in marking his return to action during the three-game tour, which starts in Bloemfontein on January 27.

A second match at Mangaung Oval follows on January 29, before the final encounter takes place at Kimberley on February 1.

A subsequent Test tour to New Zealand follows.

England ODI squad: Jos Buttler (Lancashire); Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

Andre Coley has been named as the Interim Head Coach of the West Indies Men’s team for the upcoming tour of South Africa, Cricket West Indies announced Wednesday.

Theo Edward scored his fourth century in as many matches to lead St Lucia to the title in the 2022 WINLOTT WICB U15 Cricket Tournament at the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium on Friday.

The home side defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines by 160 runs to go undefeated in the tournament.

Heading into the decider with three consecutive centuries under his belt, the 15-year-old Edward scored 104 as St Lucia scored 270-7 from their 50 overs, their lowest score of the tournament.

Edward hit 15 fours and four sixes to prop up his side that had slipped to 18-2 in the third over. However, Edward and Tyler Venner staged a recovery with a third-wicket stand of 128 before the prolific opener was dismissed in the 23rd over.

He faced 78 balls in his impressive knock that saw him accumulate a massive 540 runs from his four innings during the competition.

Venner and Aaron St Clair added 79 for the fourth wicket, a stand that was broken when the latter was dismissed for 38. Venner was next out for 70 but the tail barely wagged as St Lucia reached 270 at the end of their 50 overs.

Lebron Douglas was the best of the St Vincent bowlers with 3-18 and was supported by Elron Glasgow 2-30 and Ozaid Edwards, who claimed the prized wicket of Edward, to finish with 2-58.

St Vincent folded to the St Lucia attack for 110 from 28.1 overs.

Jawayne Adams (24) and Jorden Charles (22) offered minimal resistance to Leon Alexander who had another impressive outing with the ball with 4-39.

Sheldon Willie took 2-3 while Edward chipped on with 1-1 from the 2.1 overs he bowled.

 

 

A spirited effort by West Indies saw them push England in a keen contest on Saturday night but the visitors secured a victory and with it took an unassailable lead in the five-match rubber.

Another match, another hundred for St Lucia’s Theo Edward, who also took two wickets as his side defeated St Vincent by 201 runs in the WINLOTT WICB U15 Cricket Tournament on Wednesday.

Following knocks of 198 and 101 against Dominica and Grenada, respectively, the 15-year-old Edward scored a game-high 137 as St Lucia racked up 310-9 from their 50 overs. The young allrounder hit 16 fours and six sixes and featured in partnerships of 102 with Johnathan Daniel, who made 33 and 100 with Leon Alexander who scored an even 50.

Dexter Baynes was the best of the bowlers with 3-44 while Jorden Charles took 2-48.

Staring at a mountain of a score, St Vincent crumbled for 109 in the face of incisive bowling from Alexander, who took 5-17 for another five-wicket haul following up on his five-fer against Grenada. Edward was also among the wickets with 2-17.

Only Damali Phillips with 30 and Charles, who scored 24, offered any real resistance to the St Lucia bowling attack.

St Vincent will have another crack at the unbeaten St Lucia on Friday with the winner taking home all the marbles.

 

 

The bad news we all know; the West Indies’ batting is dreadful!

The good news is that help might just be a few years away in the form of a 15-year-old all-rounder from St Lucia.

Theo Edward on Monday scored his second century in two days while helping his country’s U15 team to a massive 403-run victory over Grenada in the Windward Islands WINLOTT Inc. U15 Tournament currently underway at the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium in St Lucia.

Team captain Edward, who turned 15 in October, scored 101 from 81 balls as St Lucia scored a mammoth 482-8 from their 50 overs. Meanwhile, his vice-captain Johnathan Daniel raced to 142 from just 91 deliveries and smashed 17 fours and eight sixes.

St Lucia also got half centuries from Aaron St Clair and Codi Fontinelle, who scored 68 and 60, respectively, to set up the massive total.

Xzavian Rock was the best of the Grenadian bowlers with 4-90 from his 10 overs.

Faced with incredible scoreboard pressure, Grenada folded for just 79.

Captain Jayon Henry led from the front with 25 but Rock’s 11 was the only other score in double figures  against Leon Alexander, who snared 3-14 and Edward 2-5 to complete the comprehensive victory.

On Sunday, Edward scored 198 in St Lucia’s 435-6 on their way to a 298-run thrashing of Dominica at the same venue. His knock included 30 fours and six sixes that came from 143 balls.

Alexander (58) and Daniel (54) also contributed half-centuries to the match-winning total.

Lybird Tharoux was the best of the Dominican bowlers with 4-53 from eight overs.

With the exception of Earsinho Fontaine’s 53 and Kenneth Valmon (21), Dominica’s batters had no answer for Alexander (5-23) and Edward (2-13) as their side crumbled to 137 all out in just 27 overs. No other batter made double figures while four failed to score in the lopsided affair.

Edward harbours ambitions of playing for the West Indies and lists Johnson Charles as his hero. On his current path, he just might be the hero the West Indies needs in just a few years’ time.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                             

Ishan Kishan was eyeing 300 as he scored the fastest double century in ODI history during India's 227-run hammering of Bangladesh in Chattogram.

Kishan bludgeon an incredible 210 off 131 deliveries to ensure his side ended a three-match series they lost 2-1 on a high note on Saturday.

With 200 brought up off 126 balls, to beat former West Indies opener Chris Gayle's previous record off 138 deliveries, Kishan made history with a staggering innings.

The 24-year-old, who struck 10 sixes and 24 fours, was scenting a triple century before he was dismissed by Taskin Ahmed.

"When I got out, 15 overs were left," he added. "That's 90 balls. If you play 45 balls, it's easy to get another hundred when you are that set.

"Bowlers are under pressure. I was in the zone to get 300, but unfortunately I didn't. But it was special one to get my name up there with so many legendary players."

Kishan's feats drew plaudits from a slew of India stars past and present, with many taking to social media to hail his performance following the match.

Yuvraj Singh described it as the "innings of a lifetime" while Jasprit Bumrah as "just sensational".

Virender Sehwag said Kishan's stunning knock could help set a blueprint for the rest of his team-mates.

"That’s the way to do it," he wrote on Twitter. "Brilliant from Ishan Kishan. This is the approach that will do Team India a world of good."

India now will face Bangladesh in two Test matches, the first of which starts at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Wednesday.

Ishan Kishan credited a "perfect wicket and situation" after he smashed the fastest-ever ODI double century in India's 227-run win over Bangladesh on Saturday.

Bangladesh had already secured series victory by winning the first two ODIs, but Kishan's 210 off 131 deliveries helped India to save some face ahead of the teams' Test series later in December.

Kishan reached his double century off just 126 balls, beating Chris Gayle's previous record of a double ton off 138 balls against Zimbabwe during the 2015 World Cup.

Kishan and Virat Kohli combined for a huge second-wicket partnership of 290 as India set Bangladesh 410 to win, a target they fell well short of as they were bowled out for 182, mustering 28 runs fewer than Kishan did on his own.

Kishan was understandably delighted after the match, saying in the post-match presentations: "It was a perfect wicket and situation to bat on.

"I was just looking to watch the ball properly, and go with the flow. At this level, whenever you get the chance, you need to make the most out of it. I was just picking the ball and the bowlers, and things were going my way!"

India captain Rohit Sharma missed the third ODI after injuring his thumb during the second match, as KL Rahul stepped in to skipper the team.

Rahul praised Kishan's attacking mentality, and acknowledged the significance of the consolation victory as the teams look ahead to the Test series starting on December 14.

"It was brilliant to see how Virat and Ishan batted," Rahul declared. "The way Kishan started, he was looking aggressive from ball one.

"He got an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. Getting a double hundred in ODIs isn't done often.

"There are a few injury concerns, but that gives opportunity to guys. We'll try and carry this confidence and momentum into the Tests."

Bangladesh captain Litton Das commended the innings of Kishan and Kohli, adding: "Ishan and Virat batted really well. Hats off to Ishan.

"We tried our best, but we didn't find any solution. If the score would have been 330, 340, it would have been a different ball game.

"They are a good side, and we played good cricket for two games."

Ishan Kishan smashed the fastest double century in ODI history as India secured a 227-run consolation triumph over Bangladesh in Chattogram on Saturday.

Bangladesh had already secured series victory by winning the first two ODIs, but India demolished them in the third meeting to restore some pride ahead of the teams' Test series later this month.

Kishan was the star man for India with his record innings, taking just 126 balls to hit 200 runs as he ultimately finished with 210 off 131 deliveries, smashing 10 sixes in an astonishing knock.

He formed a huge second-wicket partnership of 290 with Virat Kohli, who made his first ODI century since 2019 as he ended with an impressive 113 off 91 balls.

Washington Sundar (37) and Axar Patel (20) also made cameos as India finished on a massive total of 409-8.

Bangladesh's chase of their monster 410 target got off to a steady start, but the dismissals of openers Anamul Haque and Litton Das soon killed any momentum and the innings quickly derailed.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Yasir Ali both fell to leave Bangladesh 107-4, before the wickets started tumbling more rapidly as they lost five more batters to sit at nine down in the 30th over, with Shardul Thakur taking 3-30.

When Mustafizur Rahman (13) was bowled by Umran Malik, it meant India had ended the series with a thumping win.

Kishan's historic double century 

Kishan, replacing the injured captain Rohit Sharma, came into the match with a career-high ODI score of 93.

But he has now become just the ninth man to hit an ODI double ton, and in emphatic fashion too as he beat Chris Gayle's previous men's record of a double century off 138 balls against Zimbabwe in 2015.

At 24-years-old, he is also the youngest man to hit 200 in an ODI as his 24 fours in addition to the 10 maximums to help India set Bangladesh an insurmountable target.

Kishan finished with 28 more runs individually than India's opponents could muster in their disappointing chase.

Kohli an important sidekick to Kishan

The second-wicket partnership of Kohli and Kishan was the seventh-highest in men's ODI history and played an important part, considering Sundar was India's third-highest run scorer with just 37.

It was Kohli's 44th ton in the format and 72nd across all internationals, moving him above Ricky Ponting into second overall. Only compatriot Sachin Tendulkar has more with 100.

Jos Buttler does not know if he will return to the Test fold for England, stressing his focus remains firmly on white-ball cricket ahead of next year's World Cup defence.

Having led his side to success in the T20 World Cup last month in Australia, the wicket-keeper-batsman will look to defend the 50-over trophy he won as part of Eoin Morgan's side in 2019 next October.

Buttler's commitments to the sport's shorter formats has seen him kept out of the red-ball game, having last played for the Test team in January.

With the World Cup now 10 months away, the 32-year-old is not ruling out a return, but says it is not a priority with his other commitments.

"We will wait and see [but] I don't know for the minute, to be honest," he told Sky Sports News.

"I am really enjoying what I'm doing at the moment, and getting the opportunity to captain the white-ball teams has been a great challenge and really enjoyable.

"The attention turns to the 50-over World Cup and trying to think ahead and planning how we tackle that tournament. We've had a couple of retirements from the side, some stalwarts in Stokes and Morgan.

"We've got to work out how we fill that hole and give guys the opportunity to take those positions up and look to build a balanced team ahead of the tournament."

Test skipper Ben Stokes has retired from the ODI format since succeeding Joe Root as red-ball captain, but has not ruled out coming back into the fold for the World Cup.

Buttler would not be drawn on whether he would reverse his decision, however, adding: "He's got lots on his plate captaining the Test team and obviously some exciting series coming up with the Ashes next year especially.

"We'll just plan ahead and give guys the opportunity and things will work themselves out naturally.

"I think over the next six to eight months, guys will perform really well and put their hand up and try to stake a claim for those positions."

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