In a dominating performance, New Zealand defeated England by 423 runs in the third Test at Hamilton. This was a fitting farewell for veteran pacer Tim Southee, who claimed two wickets in his final Test to finish with 391 wickets. Despite this win, New Zealand lost the series 2-1 to England, who have now been eliminated from the World Test Championship finals race due to their poor performance. Mitchell Santner was named the Player of the Match for his all-round performance, while Jacob Bethell and Joe Root showed some fight for England.
New Zealand captain and star batsman Kane Williamson was dismissed in a peculiar fashion during the ongoing third Test against England at Seddon Park in Hamilton. As he tried to save his wicket from a delivery bowled by pacer Matthew Potts, the ball ended up hitting the stumps after deflecting off his pads. This led to a heartbreaking reaction from Williamson, which is now making rounds on social media. Despite his dismissal, the Kiwis are in a decent position at 315 for 9 at the end of day one, thanks to a solid opening stand and a brilliant knock by all-rounder Mitchell Santner.
As New Zealand dominated England's batting lineup, England were dismissed for a dismal 143 on day two of the third Test. New Zealand then built a commanding lead of 340 runs, reaching 136-3 in their second innings with seven wickets remaining. Mitchell Santner took three wickets for just seven runs, while Matt Henry claimed four wickets for 48 runs to put the hosts in a strong position heading into day three. England's Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes managed to add 52 runs for the sixth wicket, but both were eventually dismissed by Santner.
On the second day of the third Test, New Zealand proved their dominance over England as the hosts ran through their lineup and dismissed them for a disappointing 143 runs. With their first innings ending at 347, New Zealand took control of the match with a lead of 340 and only seven wickets in hand. An impressive performance by Matt Henry (4-48) and Mitchell Santner (3-7) prevented England from making a comeback, as Joe Root (32) and Harry Brook (0) were dismissed early.
England's pace bowlers dominated the first day of the third and final Test against New Zealand, with Gus Atkinson reaching his 50th Test wicket in just 10 appearances. Tim Southee provided some entertainment for the home crowd with a quickfire 23 off 10 balls in his final Test innings, but it was not enough to stop England from reducing New Zealand to 315-9 by the end of the day. Despite a promising start from the hosts, England's Matthew Potts and Atkinson, along with a stunning catch from Harry Brook, triggered a collapse that saw New Zealand slip from 105-0 to 315-9 at stumps.
On day one of the third and final Test in Hamilton, England's pace attack shone as they reduced New Zealand to 315-9, with notable performances from Matthew Potts and Gus Atkinson. New Zealand's captain Tom Latham and Mitchell Santner put up a good fight, but England's aggressive bowling led to a late collapse for the hosts. Tim Southee, playing in his final Test, scored a quick 23 runs before being dismissed by Atkinson, who reached the impressive milestone of 50 wickets in just 11 appearances for England.
The Mumbai Indians emerged as the clear winners of the IPL 2025 mega auction as they made strategic picks and successfully built a team around their retained core. With star players like Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah, MI added valuable assets in Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Reece Topley, and Will Jacks to strengthen their fast bowling and batting departments. The addition of former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar at his base price of Rs 30 lakh also made headlines. Here is the full squad list for Mumbai Indians after the mega auction.
As five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians entered IPL 2025 mega auction with a purse of Rs 45 crore, they made some major signings including Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult, who will lead their pace attack. With top players like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya retained, MI also added valuable players like Ryan Rickelton and Will Jacks to their squad, making their team a formidable one for the upcoming season.
A heartwarming video of New Zealand cricketers Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra went viral on social media after Santner's impressive run-out of Indian batsman Rishabh Pant in the second Test at Pune. While Santner was responsible for taking 13 wickets in the game, Ravindra's display of affection towards the all-rounder added to the celebratory mood. The Black Caps are now in a dominant position with a 359-run target for India, who are on the verge of losing two consecutive home Tests.
South Africa's Kagiso Rabada has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings after a stellar performance in the first match of the ICC World Test Championship series against Bangladesh. The 29-year-old fast bowler became the fastest to reach 300 Test wickets and also finished with nine wickets in the match. Left-arm spinners Noman Ali of Pakistan and Mitchel Santner of New Zealand have also made significant progress in the rankings. Other notable improvements include Bangladesh's Taijul Islam and South Africa's Wiaan Mulder. In the batting rankings, India's Yashasvi Jaiswal, Pakistan's Saud Shakeel, and New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra have entered the top 10 for the first time.