Former South Africa captain Clive Rice rates the India bowling attack higher than South Africa's and said the home bowlers would struggle to take 20 wickets against a batting line-up, which boasts of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, in the Test series starting next week.
England's James Anderson has displaced India's Zaheer Khan to claim third place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers.
Top India batsman Virat Kohli has maintained his second position in the latest ICC batsmen rankings while medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has moved up a place to be seventh in the bowlers' standings.
After a week of action at the Cricket World Cup, with each team now playing at least one match, here's an analysis of how the main contenders are shaping up.
South Africa pacer Dale Steyn said the nerve-wrecking tied match between India and England highlighted the importance of fielding, which the Proteas will focus on in their World Cup matches. A total of 676 runs were scored in the thrilling match and Steyn said despite the mammoth scores, all that mattered in the end was just one run.
Delhi Daredevils paid the price for shoddy batting as they virtually crashed out of the IPL losing to Sunrisers by eight wickets via D/L method in an encounter interrupted by intermittent showers.
Explosive all-rounder Ben Stokes and relentless run accumulator Steve Smith could not be more different in their approaches to the game but both roared back from personally adversity to bestride an extraordinary cricketing year. Virat Kohli and his men top the confused and confusing World Test Championship table with seven wins in as many matches, including their first pink-ball Test against Bangladesh last month. That victory marked their 12th consecutive Test series win at home.
He's been one of the most consistent players in the last six months, and even towered above other Indian batsmen in the recently-concluded series in South Africa. While India's leading batsmen struggled to cope with the pace and bounce of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, Virat Kohli was rock-solid and unyielding.
Yusuf Pathan's blistering century proved in vain for India as South Africa won the fifth and decisive one-day international by 33 runs on Sunday to take the series 3-2.
India need a record-breaking 340 to beat South Africa in the third and final Test in Cape Town on Thursday. Instances of 300-plus targets chased down in a single day even on flattest of tracks are rare. Attaining that against the fiery South African pace attack, led by Dale Steyn, on a fifth day's Newlands pitch will be nothing short of a miracle.
After entering the Champions League Twenty20 final, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised Suresh Raina for his breezy unbeaten 48-ball 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in semi-final.
He bowled one of the most hostile spell of fast bowling one had witnessed this season but Dale Steyn feels that when Sachin Tendulkar is in his element, it is better to focus on trying to get other batsmen out.
The Indian cricket team and its premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin held on to their numero uno status in the latest ICC Test rankings for teams and bowlers respectively.
India need to carefully groom replacements for their batting 'fab four' after suffering a crushing innings defeat by South Africa on Tuesday, former captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said.
Indian middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid on Monday achieved a rare milestone in his career when he took his 200th catch in Test matches to stay on top of the list in the five-day format of the game.
South African pacer Dale Steyn said his urge to bowl an additional over after each dry spell paid rich dividends as he returned with a four-wicket haul on the opening day of the second Test in Durban.
An inspired spell by speedster Dale Steyn helped by some poor shot selection from Indian top-order saw visitors reeling at 183 for six when stumps were drawn on a rain-curtailed first day of the second Test match at Kingsmead, Durban on Sunday.
Dale Steyn claimed four wickets to put South Africa in control against India before bad light stopped play, on a rain-hit opening day of the second Test at Kingsmead in Durban, on Sunday.
India were dismissed for 459 in 128.1 overs in their second innings on day five after lastman Jaidev Unadkat was caught at gully off Dale Steyn for one. The Indian innings lasted just 30 minutes and 35 deliveries on the final day, for the addition of just five runs, and the loss of two wickets.
India's master batsman Sachin Tendulkar became the first player ever in the history of Test cricket to hit 50 centuries during day four of the first Test match against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.
A look at Sachin Tendulkar's 50 centuries in Test cricket.
The opener says in the second innings things have changed drastically and the wicket is good for batting.
Rahul Dravid on Wednesday overtook former West Indian captain Brain Lara as the third highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket when he reached 11 in the first of the three-match series against South Africa in Centurion.
South Africa's status as the top-ranked Test-playing nation has been dented after their crushing defeat in India last month and is in danger of being eroded completely by England over the next month or two.
South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel said on Tuesday the contest between the home side's fast bowlers and India opener Virender Sehwag would be the key contest in the forthcoming three-Test series.
'We want to give Rohit Sharma an opportunity to open the innings in Tests'
David Miller and Faf du Plessis scored sparkling centuries in a partnership of 252 runs as South Africa beat Australia by 40 runs in a one-day international, in Hobart, on Sunday, to win the three-match series 2-1.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians in Bangalore on Saturday.
Dale Steyn became the second South African bowler to join the 400 club as his team took five wickets in the final session to reduce Bangladesh to 246 for eight on the first day of the second Test in Mirpur on Thursday.
For the Proteas, the emphasis is on all 15 players instead of 11.
South African paceman Dale Steyn is to be investigated by match referee Jeff Crowe for allegedly spitting in the direction of West Indies spinner Sulieman Benn during the third and final Test in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The paceman had injury problems in the recent ICC Champions Trophy in England, forcing him to miss the semi-final defeat by the hosts, and that has weighed heavily on the minds of the selectors with Test series coming up against Pakistan, India and Australia.
Eden Gardens pitch curator Prabir Mukherjee on Wednesday denied reports of being under pressure from the BCCI to prepare a turning track to help India level the two-match Test series against South Africa in Kolkata.
South Africa's pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada feels the upcoming T20I and Test series against India is a chance for his embattled team to figure where it stands against the world's best in a tough transition journey.
Quinton de Kock, Faf de Plessis and AB de Villiers all scored hundreds as South Africa crushed India's bowling attack to post 438-4 and win the deciding One-day International by 214 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
South Africa do not deserve to go into next year's World Cup with a reputation for choking, fast bowler Dale Steyn told Reuters on Thursday.
AB de Villiers won as many as five awards, including the South African Cricketer of the Year for a second consecutive time, at a gala function, hosted by Cricket South Africa (CSA), in Johannesburg on Wednesday night. Besides being voted Cricketer of the Year for the second successive season, the South African batting great bagged four more accolades out of nine major awards.
Dale Steyn became South Africa's second highest wicket taker as West Indies reached 276 for six on the first day of the third Test on Friday.
Liverpool opened up an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League with an emphatic and hugely impressive 3-1 win over defending champions Manchester City.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bangalore on Tuesday.
