New Zealand would rise to the top of the world rankings for the first time, replacing Australia, if they avoid a defeat against Pakistan in the second Test in Christchurch and wrap up their two-match series.
After triumphs in seven consecutive home Test series, New Zealand are the strong favorites to secure another against a Pakistan side that showed great fight at Mount Maunganui, but still lost the first Test by 101 runs.
A victory at Hagley Oval to seal a 2-0 series sweep would also push the Black Caps firmly into contention for one of two berths in June’s inaugural World Test Championship final at Lord’s.
Photo: AFP
Under the leadership of Kane Williamson, who returned to the top of the world Test batting rankings after his 23rd career century at Bay Oval, the Blacks Caps have developed into possibly the most consistent outfit in the Test game.
However, they need to find a replacement for pace bowler Neil Wagner, who battled through the pain of two broken toes to finish the first Test, but will miss the second.
Matt Henry, who was brought into the squad after recovering from a hand injury, is likely to get the nod as a like-for-like replacement, with batting all-rounder Daryl Mitchell being another option.
A 165-run partnership between Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan stalled New Zealand’s charge to victory at Mount Maunganui, and Pakistan would look to draw on that fighting spirit on another green track.
The tourists are to continue to be without regular skipper Babar Azam, who failed to recover from a fractured thumb sufficiently to take his place in a top order, also missing opener Imam-ul-Haq, who has returned home with a similar injury.
Babar trained on Friday, but felt some pain in his thumb and the Pakistan management opted against any risk with a home series against South Africa starting later this month.
New Zealand and Pakistan were yesterday forced to train indoors because of rain, but the weather forecast looks precipitation-free for today’s first day, with the outlook good for the rest of the match.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
Taiwan’s Lin Cheng-jing won a bronze medal in the clean and jerk in the women’s under-49 kg division at the 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Bahrain on Saturday. Lin won her first medal at a World Weightlifting Championships for lifting 107kg in the clean and jerk in her weight class, 2kg more than Rosegie Ramos of the Philippines. However, Ramos won bronze for the combined lift after topping Lin by 5kg in the snatch. Ri Song-gum of North Korea won gold in the division’s combined lift with a total of 213kg, while Xiang Linxiang of China took silver with
RSS