In a display of sheer dominance, New Zealand comprehensively defeated Bangladesh to win the first of three One Day Internationals on Wednesday.

After winning the toss, Bangladeshi skipper Mashrafe Mortaza elected to bat first in hopes of improving his team’s miserable track record in New Zealand. The batting started poorly as Trent Boult and Matt Henry struck twice each within the mandatory power-play itself.

Though Mohammad Mithun battled on for his side, there were few notable contributions to the scoreboard as Boult wound up their innings for 232 in its penultimate over. The Kiwis made a mockery of the total as Martin Guptill notched his 15th ODI hundred and saw his team through, thanks to solid partnerships with Henry Nicholls and Ross Taylor.

Despite his recent slump, Kane Williamson would be a very happy man because of the way his men have turned things around after the debacle at Wellington a fortnight ago. On the other side of the coin, Mortaza will be desperate to set things right at Christchurch on Friday.

England finally overcame the West Indies on the fourth day of the last test match to end the losing streak that had plagued them from the beginning of the year.

Skipper Joe Root and most of his teammates redeemed themselves with an all-round performance to save England from an embarrassing whitewash, which seemed almost inevitable after the humiliation at Antigua. The suspension of Jason Holder, captain of the West Indies, proved fatal for his team as the domination they had wielded over the visitors vanished at St Lucia.

The first innings sailed smoothly for the West Indies till the 19th over, when Moeen Ali struck twice in two deliveries, removing both the opening batsmen. Then, returning pacer Mark Wood gave the Windies a taste of their own medicine, bombarding the batsmen with a barrage of short deliveries that regularly breached the 90 mph barrier.

The hosts seemed to have forgotten the answers to their own questions after Wood ripped through their batting line-up and completed his 5 wicket haul, when he bundled up the innings for 154 to give his side a commendable lead of 123 runs.

On the third day, Root lead by example with a brilliant century that personified the great qualities of a good test batsman, after the English top order roughened up the dreaded new ball. Joe Denly, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes piled on the misery for Kraigg Brathwaite as he turned to his scarce spin resources.

Root declared the English innings at 365 right after his wicket fell on the morning of the fourth day. With Stokes stranded on 48, one must wonder whether Jonny Bairstow was padded up at all or if the bowlers were getting too impatient to have another go at the beleaguered hosts.

The chase of the mammoth 484 began remarkably well for James Anderson, as he picked 3 wickets in the first 19 deliveries of his opening spell. Roston Chase was the only batsman to prosper, as the rest of his team collapsed around him. The last innings ended at 252, giving the visitors a memorable victory by 232 runs at the end of an other-wise forgettable series for England.

In a spell that thwarted the English resistance, Kemar Roach picked up four wickets to end the first innings of the third and final test at 277.

In the morning, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes walked out to resume from the overnight tally of 231/4 . Their partnership helped steady the ship for England on the first day at a time when their innings was looking very reminiscent to the ones from Bridgetown and Antigua.

The pair started out cautiously in an effort to press the advantage and work towards a bigger total. However, Shannon Gabriel broke the stand with a delivery that was as quick as it was genius, scattering Buttler’s bails. Jonny Bairstow stepped in to offer some defence against the brutal pace of Roach and Gabriel.

In the 93rd over, Roach caught the edge of Stokes’s willow to give Shane Dowrich an easy catch behind the stumps. Then, he got Bairstow to chop the ball back on to the stumps a few overs later.  The tail did not trouble the scorers much as the innings came to an end seven runs later.

It will be very interesting to see whether the West Indies batsmen fare any better against the likes James Anderson and Stuart Broad on a pitch that looks strongly in the favour of pacers. Bolstered by returning bowler Mark Wood’s quick deliveries, England have a good chance to redeem themselves at St Lucia.

The best ranked side in the world secured a consolatory win in the third and last match of the T20 series against South Africa on Wednesday.

Asked to bat first by David Miller, Pakistan got off to a flying start thanks to Babar Azam’s early onslaught. But, Bueran Hendricks pulled the run-rate down steadily once he removed Azam and clocked career best figures of 14/4.

The visitors stumbled into the last over having lost all but one of their ten wickets. In the next six deliveries, Shadab Khan pummelled Andile Phehlukwayo for 21 runs to help his side to 168.

The second innings commenced with another fantastic showcase of bowling from Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, as they removed both the openers within the first three overs while conceding a mere 14 runs.

The chase never gained any impetus of significance with the rest of the Proteas offering little resistence against the relentless Pakistani bowlers. Though Chris Morris salvaged his maiden T20 half century for South Africa towards the end, his team fell short of the target by 27 runs.

While the well oiled bowling squad coupled with Khan’s heroics secured Pakistan the match at Centurion, the hosts still take the series 2-1. Captain Miller was named the Man of the Series for his contributions in the previous fixtures.

The Black Caps hammered the touring Indians for 218 runs to win the first of three T20 Internationals this morning. This is the worst defeat for India in the shortest format of the game. So, how did Kane Williamson manage to outplay the mighty Indian juggernaut coming from a historic victory at the same venue just a few nights ago ?

Early in the first innings, returning batsman Tim Seifert smashed the ball all around the park, as he consistently switched his stance, making the Indian bowlers look clueless. Even after he departed having blazed to a scintillating 84 off 44 deliveries, the runs kept piling on as skipper Williamson and veteran Ross Taylor maintained the offensive.

The chase of the mammoth 218 began with the Kiwi bowlers troubling the Indian batsmen as Tim Southee sharply swung the ball away from Shikhar Dhawan. Once Rohit Sharma fell trying to pull a steep bouncer from Southee, the cookie started to crumble.

The inexperience and ambiguity in the Indian batting order was completely exposed. Vijay Shankar, who has barely batted at the international arena before, walked in at the all-important No. 3 spot and tossed his wicket away moments after Mitchell Santner put an end to Rishabh Pant’s misery.

The inability of the Indian batsmen to get under the pacy and disciplined Kiwi pacers kept the required run-rate climbing steadily. The heavy-hitters fell victim to poor shots as they tried in vain to break free from the shackles imposed by a brilliant bowling effort from New Zealand.

By the time Mahendra Singh Dhoni lobbed one straight into the hands of Lockie Ferguson in the penultimate over, the target was nowhere in sight. Williamson’s persistence has paid off, while his counterpart’s arrogance towards chasing has misfired. If Sharma can successfully rally his men and save the series at Eden Park – a stadium notorious for the misery of visitors – on Friday is for time to tell.