India opener KL Rahul made a leap of 18 slots, after his Player-of-the-Match effort that helped India defeat South Africa by 113 runs in the first Test, to reach No. 31 among batters in the latest ICC Test rankings.
Former South African captain Graeme Smith is confident that his country will end its long wait for an ICC trophy in 2023, with the Champions Trophy and World Test Championship final on the horizon. He believes the team is in a strong position to break their drought and is focused on developing the nation's cricket ecosystem ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
With just one match left in the series, Rohit Sharma and his men face a steep challenge to secure their spot in the final at Lord's next year.
Tilak Varma stole the show with a spectacular maiden century as India clinched a narrow 11-run win over South Africa in a high-scoring third T20 International.
India's batters will need to fire on all cylinders when they come out to bat and former India spinner Harbhajan Singh lists key strategies the visitors will need to adopt to claw back into the game.
Pakistan has the upper hand in the Champions Trophy, winning three of the five matches against India.
'Being signed on as the leading man of Hero came to me like a bolt out of the blue.'
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI against Pakistan on Sunday?
India pacer Mohammed Siraj broke his silence on the controversial send-off and war of words with Travis Head.
Sunil Gavaskar called out the double standards of the Australian cricket pundits for their criticism of Mohammed Siraj's aggressive send-off to Travis Head.
Rahul looked solid with scores of 26 and 77 in the opening Test in Perth.
He also credited SA20 for the resurgence of SA cricket in the last few years.
Joburg Super Kings and Pretoria Capitals claimed crucial victories over Durban's Super Giants and Sunrisers Eastern Cape respectively in the Betway SA20.
The Indian government's announcement of 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges next year, part of a plan to add 75,000 seats over five years, has been welcomed by education experts and stakeholders. The move aims to address the shortage of medical professionals and reduce the outflow of Indian medical students to other countries. The budget also includes infrastructure expansion at five new IITs to accommodate 6,500 more students and an allocation of Rs 500 crore to set up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education.
The third Twenty20 International between South Africa and India was halted early in the home side's reply after a wave of flying ants descended on Centurion Park in Pretoria on Wednesday and forced the players from the field.
The legendary Sunil Gavaskar is confident that the stylish K L Rahul can excel on Australian tracks, just like he did in South Africa last year.
The home side are chasing a modest target of 148 after bowling out Pakistan for 237 and if they win will be assured a place in the WTC final at Lord's.
Bosch's knock, which included 15 boundaries, helped South Africa to 301 all out at tea and a handy lead over the tourists, who scored 211 in their first innings.
'I took pills for the cramps. I feel the recent scores helped me in this innings. The wicket was tacky and two-paced, I just wanted to capitalise on the start and I was able to do that.'
Mitchell Starc said Australia had left the Perth debacle behind by shutting the "outside noise" following their heavy defeat in the series-opener.
Shardul Thakur remains optimistic about his India chances following yet another stellar performance for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.
Virat Kohli, struggling for form, will be playing in Delhi's last league game against Railways at the Kotla from January 30.
Rohit Sharma has certain choices to make in the best interests of the Indian team heading into the fifth and final Test against Australia.
Karun Nair has smashed 664 runs with five centuries in eight matches at an astonishing average of 664 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Since Head Coach Gautam Gambhir will travel to Australia with the Rohit Sharma-led Test team on November 10, he will not be available to coach the T20I team for the series that will go on till November 15.
Deepti Sharma did the star turn with career-best figures of 6/31 before doing her bit with the bat as India completed a 3-0 whitewash of the West Indies
Travis Head conceded that he was immensely fortunate to survive a fine spell from Jasprit Bumrah on the Day 2 of the third Test in Brisbane on Sunday.
The depth of fast bowlers at South Africa's disposal was no better evidenced than on Thursday as Corbin Bosch and Dale Paterson took nine of the 10 wickets to dismiss Pakistan for 211 on the opening day of the first Test at Centurion.
Kohli is struggling for big runs of late and his last Test century was against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023.
Centurion is situated 1300 metres above sea level, which means a higher altitude where bowlers can get tired quickly and in case of four bowlers, there remains a possibility of them getting tired.
Rohit, who had missed the first Test, dropped down to the number six spot in the pink ball Test after KL Rahul excelled at the top in the series opener in his absence.
'Found a ponnada in the appropriate India colours to honour him with!'
Gavaskar didn't mince words while pointing out the repeated failures of the team's batters, who failed to cross the 200 mark six out of nine times during the series.
Seamer Dane Paterson took a career-best 5-71 and Temba Bavuma was unbeaten on 48 as South Africa closed the third day
Australia captain Pat Cummins said it is a "privilege" to have a bowler of Mitchell Starc's calibre at his disposal.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the first Test played between India and New Zealand, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Images from Day 1 of the fifth Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Talking to broadcasters after the India innings, Starc said he did not really visualise Jaiswal's dismissal.
Rahul along with wicketkeeper batter Dhruv Jurel flew early to Australia, and will appear for India A in the second four-day game at the MCG.
It is understood that the Test squad will be leaving from Mumbai few days after the series and just like it happened during the last tour of South Africa, the BCCI could have a four-day game between India and India A, which people in the know of things feel will provide Rohit Sharma's men with quality match simulation.
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