The heroes: AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli continue to write their own scripts and redefine the art of batting. The two best batsmen in the world both scored centuries – De Villiers 129 from 52, Kohli 109 from 55 – to propel the Royal Challengers to a score of 248 from 20 overs. Between them the pair hit an incredible 20 sixes and 15 fours in a partnership of 229 from 98 balls. De Villiers started with a bang, hitting four boundaries in the first seven balls he faced. For the next hour it was demolition job as the South African executed every shot in the book to bring up his ton in just 43 balls. Kohli, on the other hand, played second fiddle to De Villiers early on before going berserk at the end. The Indian star bought up his fifty in 39 balls but in his next 16 balls he scored 59 runs to bring up his third IPL ton this season. Batting simply cannot get any better than this.
WATCH: De Villiers hammers unbeaten 129

The records: The partnership of 229 between De Villiers and Kohli was the highest in T20 cricket and it was also just the second instance in T20 cricket of two batsmen from the same team scoring a hundred. RCB’s score of 248 was second highest this IPL season and, incredibly, De Villiers and Kohli added 112 runs in the final five overs; previously no team had scored more than 100 in the last five overs of a T20 innings. Click here for all the numbers from the AB-Kohli show

Quick Single: The numbers behind an incredible evening

The victim: Mystery spinner Shivil Kaushik might have bamboozled batsmen during his initial matches, but tonight he ran into an AB-Kohli tornado. Handed the ball by Brendon McCullum to bowl the penultimate over of the innings, Kaushik was hammered to all parts by Kohli as the over went for 6,4,6,6,6,2, adding 30 runs and giving Kaushik the figures of 3-0-50-0.
WATCH: Kohli hammers third century in seven innings

The six: There were 20 of them in the Bangalore innings but the one from AB De Villiers from the second ball he faced was an absolute gem. Facing the mystery spinner Kaushik, De Villiers jumped on the back foot and lifted the ball over the cover boundary for an extraordinary six.

Guptill went within a whisker of breaking the world record for the fastest ODI 50 and was close to scoring one of the fastest centuries when New Zealand wrapped up the game.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said Guptill was “superb” while Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews described his side’s performance as “embarrassing” and “pathetic”.

After being dropped off the first ball he faced, Guptill went on the warpath with a brutal assault that included nine fours and eight sixes.

For Sri Lanka, it was a humiliating performance after they expressed a desire to gain some pride from being thrashed in the first ODI by seven wickets when New Zealand knocked off the 189-run target with 29 overs to spare.

Instead of getting better they went backwards, being dismissed for 117 in 27.4 overs.

“It was embarrassing. Once again a pathetic display by the whole batting unit,” Mathews said.

“We just couldn’t handle it. It didn’t swing or seam or bounce. It was just bad shot selection.”

Guptill set about demolishing the Sri Lanka attack.

He took 14 off one over by Nuwan Kulasekera and 26 off the next over from Dushmantha Chameera as he raced to 46 from 12 deliveries.

His momentum was briefly arrested by some well-placed Kulasekera yorkers and it took another five balls for Guptill to reach his 50, one behind the world record of 16 held by South African AB de Villiers.

“I got a couple of yorkers and couldn’t quite get it. But I’ll take the not out and a win than the fastest 50 and getting out,” he said.

Guptill did, however, break the New Zealand record for the fastest 50, going one better than McCullum’s best.

‘Good for batting’

McCullum did not open the New Zealand innings after injuring himself when he crashed into the fence while trying to cut off a boundary.

Instead Tom Latham took up the opening duties and hit the winning run to be unbeaten on 17 from 20 balls while Guptill had faced 30 for his 93 not out.

De Villiers also holds the record for the fastest ODI century, achieving the target in 31 balls in the same innings that he set the fastest 50 record against the West Indies in Johannesburg in January.

Monday’s entire game took exactly 36 overs for New Zealand to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.

When he won the toss and elected to bat, Sri Lanka’s Mathews described the pitch as “good for batting”.

But his batsmen were unable to handle Matt Henry, New Zealand’s chief destroyer in the first match who again took four wickets.

He struck first in the fourth over when Tillakaratne Dilshan was caught at first slip by Ross Taylor for seven, and the wickets tumbled regularly from there.

Sri Lanka still looked capable of posting a respectable score when they reached 81-5 in the 18th over but they then lost three wickets for no runs to be 81-8.

Kulasekara, who struggled at the start of his innings when he was dropped twice and won an appeal against an lbw decision, went on to top-score for Sri Lanka with 19.

For New Zealand, Henry took four for 33 and Mitchell McClenaghan three for 32. AFP

Sri Lanka have called up reinforcements for the five ODIs after their 2-0 hammering in the Tests.

Lahiru Thirimanne, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Kulasekara and, depending on fitness, Lasith Malinga are among a number of players injected into the ODI squad.

But as much as they want to get on the winning side of the ledger McCullum is equally adamant he wants to sign off his illustrious 13-year-career on a winning note.

The opening ODI is on Boxing Day in Christchurch, McCullum’s hometown and where he will play his last international in the second Test against Australia in two months.

“We’ve got a bumper calendar really with Sri Lanka here at the moment, Pakistan to come and finishing off with the Aussies,” he said.

“From a playing point of view and a captain’s point of view, I’m fully committed to playing at the absolute top of my game and make as many contributions as I can.”

Coach Mike Hesson said he does not expect McCullum’s retirement announcement to have an adverse effect on the team.

“We’re expecting the guys to carry on in a similar style of play in terms of how we want to go about things,” Hesson said.

“We will still be quite aggressive in the way we go about the game and we’ll certainly be asking that of our players.”

Nearly half the team beaten by Australia in the World Cup final in March will be missing from the Sri Lanka series.

Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson are injured, Daniel Vettori has retired, Trent Boult is being spelled for the ODI series and Tim Southee is being rested for the first two games.

However, Adam Milne, New Zealand’s quickest bowler and who missed the World Cup final because of a heel injury, returns to the side.

He joins Mitchell McClenaghan, Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell as the pace-bowling options, with the quartet vying for places in the squad to be named for the World Twenty20 in India in March.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was disappointed the way his side folded in the Tests but expected a better showing in the limited overs series.

“Dilshan, Kulasekara and Thirimanne are joining the one-day team and we’ve got a fair bit of experience so we are looking to give them a good run for their money,” he said.

“I have a lot of confidence in the one dayers.”

One bright spot for Sri Lanka in the failed Test campaign was the emergence of 23-year-old Dushmantha Chameera as a talented quick bowler.

“He’s played just a few games and he’s been absolutely brilliant and he was able to shake the New Zealanders. He’s a great, bright prospect for us going forward,” Mathews said.

“He doesn’t have a lot of seam movement. It’s just that he can bowl fast.

– AFP

The New Zealand captain’s 101st and last Test will be the second Test against Australia which starts in his home town, Christchurch, on February 20.

“I’ve loved my opportunity to play for and captain the Black Caps,” the 34-year-old said.

McCullum said there was “something romantic” about finishing in front of his home crowd and he made the announcement now because his name would be missing when the New Zealand team is named soon for the World Twenty20 in India from March 8 to April 3.

“Ideally, I would have preferred to wait until after the Test in Christchurch to make this news public,” he said.

“However, the schedule for naming the ICC World T20 squads means I couldn’t have managed this without causing a lot of confusion and speculation, something I was keen to avoid.”

The big-hitter, with a Test best 302 and co-holder of the world record of 100 Test sixes with Australian Adam Gilchrist, said now was not the time for him to dwell on his achievements.

“There’s a time and place for reflection and that’s at the end of your career,” he said.

“For now, I’ll be giving all my attention to helping the team focus on what’s coming up over the next few weeks — and making sure we’re in the best possible shape for what’s going to be a very challenging summer.”

He added that giving testimony in the Chris Cairns match-fixing perjury trial in London last month had no impact on his decision to quit internationals.

Kane Williamson, whose unbeaten century steered New Zealand to victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test in Hamilton on Monday, was immediately confirmed by New Zealand officials as captain for the World Twenty20.

A new team from the western city of Pune paid 125 million rupees (US $ 1.8 million) for limited overs captain Dhoni for the next edition of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

Dhoni joins Australian captain Steven Smith who was sold for 55 million rupees ($820,000) and South African Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis who went for 40 million rupees ($597,000) on the same team.

The other franchise from the western city of Rajkot chose McCullum for 75 million rupees ($1.1 million), James Faulkner for 55 million rupees ($820,000) and West Indian Dwayne Bravo for 40 million rupees ($597,000).

The franchises have replaced Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals — teams banned from the glitzy tournament for two years on the recommendation of a Supreme Court-appointed panel, after a corruption scandal.

Brendon McCullum

They were allowed to choose five stars from each of the banned teams, while the rest were released into a pool for auction.

Australia’s Shane Watson and Mike Hussey, South Africa’s Chris Morris and the West Indies’ Dwayne Smith remain unsold and will now be auctioned in Bangalore in February.

The 2013 IPL season was mired in controversy after police launched legal proceedings against several officials from the teams and three Rajasthan Royals’ players for illegal betting and spot-fixing.

Suresh Raina, who played for the Chennai Super Kings alongside Dhoni, fetched 125 million rupees from Rajkot which also chose all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

“Excited to play for the beautiful vibrant city- Rajkot in @IPL. Looking forward to have new teammates and support from the people of Gujarat,” Raina tweeted.

Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane and spinner R Ashwin were picked by Pune for 95 million and 75 million rupees.

Both Chennai and Rajasthan are expected to return to the IPL after their bans end following the 2017 edition.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum set the stage for a tantalising conclusion at Dunedin’s University Oval with a sporting declaration that offered Sri Lanka more than five sessions to reach a 405-run target.

But the tourists’ response was disrupted by three stoppages as southerly squalls swept across the ground. Further showers are forecast for the final day.

At stumps on day four, with an hour’s play lost because of the weather, Sri Lanka were 109 for three, requiring a further 296 runs to pull off an epic victory.

Dinesh Chandimal is not out 31 and captain Angelo Mathews has yet to face.

Sri Lanka’s highest fourth-innings chase is 352-9 against South Africa in 2006 and the highest by any side in New Zealand is 348-5 by the West Indies in 1969.

McCullum declared New Zealand’s second innings at 267-3 to go with their 137-run first innings advantage.

Sri Lankan openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis set about building a foundation reaching 54 in the 27th over when New Zealand struck twice.

Southee had Karunaratne, Sri Lanka’s top scorer in the first innings, caught behind for 29 and 10 runs later debutant Udara Jayasundera fell to Neil Wagner for 3.

Mendis, in only his second Test, persevered for 150 deliveries and benefited from dropped catches on 13 and 25 before he was caught behind off Southee for 46 with the score on 109.

Before his replacement Mathews could reach the crease a hail storm brought play to a halt for the third and final time.

The dismissal of Mendis gave wicketkeeper BJ Watling a New Zealand record ninth catch for the Test.

With seven wickets left he has a chance to reach the world record of 11 jointly held by England’s Jack Russell and South African AB de Villiers. After New Zealand resumed the day at 171-1, McCullum called an end to the innings after he belted his second six to equal the world record for the number of sixes hit in Tests.

It took his total to 100, joining Australia;s Adam Gilchrist as the most prolific boundary busters in Test history.

McCullum was 17 not out when he declared, with the 23-year-old opener Tom Latham unbeaten on 109, having notched up his third Test century.

Kane Williamson, who reached his half century with the second ball of the morning, was out for 71.

It was the 20th time he has passed 50 in all forms of international cricket this year including eight times in Tests.

Latham offered two chances which were not taken and had a nerve-wracking wait on 99 when Sri Lanka challenged a rejected lbw appeal.

Several replays proved inconclusive and the Sri Lankans were helped by the ball-tracker technology not working. AFP

On a Dunedin pitch said to be ripe for seam bowlers, Sri Lanka were left to rue putting New Zealand in to bat as the Black Caps amassed 409 for eight by stumps.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum plays a shot during the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Dunedin. McCullum smashed 75 off 57 balls before being dismissed. AFP

Opener Guptill fell just before the close, after hitting just his third Test century and his first in four years, coming 33 runs short of his highest score of 189 against Bangladesh in 2010.

Meanwhile the ever-reliable Kane Williamson made 88 and Brendon McCullum 75 as New Zealand exposed the raw Sri Lankan attack.

New Zealand were cruising 229 for two at tea before Sri Lanka fought back in the final session when they took six wickets, albeit for an expensive 180 runs.

There were only seven maiden overs bowled and New Zealand cracked 57 fours, of which Guptill contributed 21.

The opener’s position in the side was precarious after he averaged just 13 in the recent tour of Australia, and said he “didn’t have a lot to lose” as he took to the Sri Lankan attack.

His third Test century came 41 innings and four years after he last posted three figures against Zimbabwe.

Inconsistent form saw him out of the Test side for two years before the short-form of the game resurrected his career when he played a starring role at this year’s World Cup.

Guptill got off the mark with an off-drive to the boundary and in an elegant innings, he used the same front-foot stroke to bring up his 100 when he drove Suranga Lakmal to the boundary.

“I was trying to go out and be as positive as I could be,” Guptill said, as he repaid the faith shown in him by the New Zealand selectors. “I didn’t have a lot to lose so I just tried to go out and be as positive as I could and have some fun.”

“They (selectors) have been good to me and given me a good run in the Test side and I thank them very much for that and today capped off a lot of hard work over the last 18 months,” Guptill added.

Guptill had a few chances — two shaky edges and a near run-out early in the innings, and two lbw shouts on 78.

Had Sri Lanka appealed the second one, replays showed the not out decision may have been overturned.

But with luck going his way, Guptill shared a 173-run partnership with Williamson, a New Zealand record for the second wicket against Sri Lanka, then added 89 with McCullum.

He was eventually undone six overs from stumps when captain Angelo Mathews swung the ball away and the batsman feathered a catch to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal.

Williamson fell on the last ball before tea, lashing out at a rough delivery from Nuwan Pradeep to be caught in the slips by Dimuth Karunaratne reaching high above his head.

He left the ground requiring only eight more runs to become the fifth player to reach 1,000 runs this calendar year.

McCullum, who like Guptill failed to fire in Australia, also found the Sri Lankan attack more to his liking.

He was at his belligerent best as he raced from 35 to 50 with a six, two fours and a single in successive deliveries from Dushmantha Chameera.

McCullum reached 75 in 57 balls and belted 13 fours and a six before Mathews turned to Milinda Siriwardana, his seventh bowler for the day.

With his third delivery in his third Test, Siriwardana bowled full on the leg side and McCullum sent a top edge to Kithuruwan Vithanage at deep square leg. For Sri Lanka, Suranga Lakmal took two for 69 while Nuwan Pradeep and 23-year-old Chameera both finished with two for 101. AFP

Sri Lanka are among New Zealand’s current sequence of 11 unbeaten Tests at home having suffered two comprehensive defeats at the start of last summer, despite having the redoubtable Kumar Sangakkara to anchor the batting order.
Sangakkara then followed Mahela Jayawardene into retirement in August leaving an array of former discards, debutants and largely untested newcomers to support captain Angelo Mathews, opener Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal as the chief source of runs.

While McCullum’s involvement in the Cairns perjury trial and English umpire Llong’s appointment despite a game-changing blunder in Adelaide last month were naturally storylines leading into the first home Test of the summer, Sri Lanka’s preparations have also been dogged by dramas.

Dhammika Prasad’s tour-ending back injury in the warm-up game in Queenstown and first-choice wicket keeper Kusal Perera’s exile after testing positive to a banned substance has made a tough assignment even more daunting for a squad that has played their last eight Tests in Colombo, Galle or Pallekele.
Mathews alluded to the change of climate on Wednesday, yet losing Prasad and Perera are bigger concerns.
“Kusal’s news was shocking. I can’t really comment on that. We hope Sri Lankan cricket, Kusal and his lawyers will do their best to get him on the park ASAP,” he said.

Recalled opener Kaushal Silva was due to arrive on Wednesday as Perera’s replacement, a timeframe that meant he was highly unlikely to feature so the uncapped Udara Jayawardena is in line to blunt the new ball with Karunaratne.
“We don’t have greats in the team anymore, so it’s up to us. We’ve got to pass on what we know,” said Karunaratne, who is one of just three specialist batsmen with previous Test experience in New Zealand – he made 152 in last year’s Boxing Day Test in Christchurch.

Kithuruwan Vithanage finds himself reinstated to the top order after an impressive A tour in Christchurch in October, while 20-year-old Kusal Mendis, who has one Test and only 11 first-class games on his resume, retains his place despite twin failures in Queenstown.
Milinda Siriwardana, who is just two Tests into his career, rounds out the capable batsmen and will also offer a second spin bowling option behind Rangana Herath who is likely to be confined to a containment role until the pitch wears.
In contrast to Mathews, McCullum has few concerns – Cairns is apparently not among them – as the Black Caps seek to build on the momentum they built in Australia after being outplayed in Brisbane.
Other than Martin Guptill’s continuing under-performance at Test level the Black Caps appear set to bounce back from the 2-0 series loss across the Tasman.

Spinner Mark Craig also struggled but could retain his place subject to a final pitch appraisal before the toss. He has been bracketed with left arm quick Neil Wagner.
Although the pitch presented seam-friendly on Wednesday McCullum realized prolonged sunlight could take some sting out of the surface.
“You’ve got to make sure the team is not picked for the first day, you’re picking for the full five days,” said McCullum, before offering both options hope.
“Neil Wagner’s a guy who’s going to bowl long spells so it allows you to rotate your seamers in shorter spells for a little bit more high impact.”
And then the rider: “If it [the wicket] does dry out [before the toss] and if we think it’s going to dry out later in the game then Mark Craig certainly comes into play.”
The Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand will be shown live on Channel Eye as well as on satellite channel Dialog Now from 3 AM (Dec 10). (Agencies)

New Zealand are at their best playing at home, which Sri Lanka learned the hard way 12 months ago when bowling spearheads Mike Hesson and Trent Boult took 22 wickets between them as the Black Caps completed a 2-0 series whitewash.

Mathews’ side return a year later, still in a rebuilding phase, to face a settled New Zealand line-up looking for a confidence boost after losing their recent away series defeat to Australia.

‘Pace and bounce’

The Brendon McCullum-led New Zealanders are brimming with confidence in home conditions where they have not lost a Test nor a series since going down 0-1 when South Africa visited in 2011-12.

They are also a team that played better than the 0-2 scoreline in Australia last month would indicate.

“We are back in conditions we are familiar with and grounds we are familiar with and hopefully we can show the high standards we have shown over the last couple of years,” said Southee Tuesday.

“It’s typical Dunedin weather. We find it cold so I’m sure the Sri Lankans will find it even worse.”

In Australia, only opener Martin Guptill and off-spinner Mark Craig failed to shine but Hesson is prepared to keep faith with the out-of-form pair.

“Mark and Martin didn’t perform to the level they would have liked over in Australia, but both have shown in the past what they’re capable of and we’re confident they’ll make valuable contributions in the upcoming series,” he said.

“We think it’s a strong squad, but equally we’ve got a group of players on the fringe of selection who are ready to be called upon if necessary.”

Guptill aside, New Zealand are strong at the top of the order led by the impressive Kane Williamson who has averaged 89.90 in the past 12 months.

Ross Taylor has averaged 52 in the same period including a 290 against Australia while McCullum, as he showed with his 195 in the first Test against Sri Lanka a year ago, can destroy any attack once he gets going.

With New Zealand’s two leading all-rounders, Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham, sidelined by injury, left-arm seamer Neil Wagner, who was not required in the Australia Tests, has had his chances of a start boosted by Hesson’s call for green tops.

“I think our pitches need to be green to keep pace in them with the clay we use,” Hesson said.

“If we go in with something that looks a bit dry then it tends to turn into a bit of a dead duck. We certainly like to keep the game moving with a wicket that’s got a bit of pace and bounce.”

“ICC has reviewed the decision and acknowledged that it was incorrect,” it said on Twitter, adding that it had replied to New Zealand Cricket’s questioning of the decision. “ICC confirms the umpire followed the correct protocol, but made an incorrect judgement.”

The decision was hotly debated and criticised by television commentators and the media at the time, and drew unhappy but guarded reactions from New Zealand players Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum, and the coach Mike Hesson because it had a significant impact on the Test.

Australia were 8 for 118 in reply to New Zealand’s 202 on the second day when Lyon top-edged an attempted sweep off left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner into his shoulder and up to slip. New Zealand’s appeal was denied on field by umpire S Ravi, and McCullum asked for a review.

After five minutes of replays, Llong upheld Ravi’s decision though there was a clear Hot Spot on the top edge of Lyon’s bat, and the batsman had walked halfway to the dressing room. There also seemed to be a deviation in the ball’s course, but nothing showed up on Snicko, which also failed to read the impact of the ball on Lyon’s shoulder.

Lyon had not scored at the time of his reprieve, and he eventually went on to make 34. Australia’s last two wickets added 108 runs in all, and earned a first-innings lead of 22. New Zealand were dismissed for 208 in their second innings, and Australia chased down the target of 187 with only three wickets in hand.