As he closes the most revered chapter of his career, here are some of his best Test knocks:
India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slipped a place to take the third position in the latest ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers in Dubai on Thursday.
Not just the 40 points, India will also be eyeing a 3-0 whitewash in the Gandhi-Mandela series.
India's batting woes in South Africa continued as the visitors folded up for 187 on Day 1.
Seamer Morne Morkel claimed his 300th career wicket as South Africa edged ahead in the third Test on Friday when they reduced Australia to 245 for nine at the close on the second day, still 66 runs behind their hosts' first innings score at Newlands.
Vernon Philander took two wickets in as many balls to leave Pakistan on 17 for two wickets at the end of the first day of the third Test after they had rallied earlier on Friday and bowled hosts South Africa out for 262.
New Zealand's nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the second Test was a closer match than the result suggests and the hosts' captain Ross Taylor believes his team is not far away from being competitive in the third Test in Wellington.
Mohammed Shami led India's fight-back with a career-best five-wicket haul as India snapped nine wickets for 53 runs to dismiss South Africa for 177 and avoid a humiliating whitewash in the three-match series.
In terms of days, Dale Steyn has spent 2,320 days at the top of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, the most by any bowler since World War II.
Images from Day 4 of the 3rd Test played between South Africa and England in Port Elizabeth on Sunday
India captain Virat Kohli continued to top the ICC Test batsmen's ranking but his deputy Ajinkya Rahane slipped a place to ninth spot. Kohli has 928 points, 17 more than second-placed Australian run-machine Steve Smith, in the latest edition of the rankings released on Saturday.
'Anglo-Indians have played a significant role at the forefront, meeting every challenge to the security of the motherland.' A fascinating excerpt from Barry O'Brien's The Anglo-Indians: A Portrait of a Community.
Umesh climbs to 25th in ICC Test rankings after becoming only the third Indian fast bowler to claim a 10-wicket Test haul on home soil.
Kagiso Rabada regained his top spot among bowlers crossing the coveted 900-point mark in ratings even as Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin climbed up a couple of notches to be placed fourth in the ICC Test Player Rankings, released on Tuesday.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Test played between South Africa and India at the Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg on Friday
West Indies tour of South Africa hit a new low on Wednesday when they were bundled out for 122 in under 34 overs to lose the third one-day international by nine wickets at Buffalo Park.
Mayank Agarwal showed insatiable appetite for runs, converting his maiden Test hundred into a brilliant double before the Indian spinners tightened the noose around the exhausted South Africans on the second day of the first Test.
In the batsmen's rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara is the top-ranked Indian at the fourth position while opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed 21 places to be ranked 39th.
Alastair Cook marked The Oval's 100th Test match with a familiarly stubborn unbeaten half-century, standing firm as the home side battled to 149 for four against South Africa at tea on an absorbing first day of the third Test on Thursday.
Bangladesh teenage spin sensation Mehedi Hasan rocketed into the 33rd position in the rankings for Test bowlers after bowling Bangladesh to their first-ever victory over England on Sunday
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 3rd Test played between South Africa and Australia in Cape Town on Sunday
The 28-year-old Starc finished with a match haul of nine for 109, enabling him to overtake South Africa's new-ball bowlers Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander among others, eclipsing his previous best sixth position that he enjoyed in December 2016.
Indian cricket team stands a chance of making big gains in terms of International Cricket Council (ICC) Test ranking if they manage to register a 3-1 victory over Australia in their ongoing four-match series.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada and wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock have achieved career-high positions in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings after firing South Africa to an emphatic 177-run victory over Australia in the opening Test of the three-match series in Perth on Monday.
Rajneesh Gupta throws up all the numbers from Test encounters between India and South Africa.
Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler
Ashwin moves into top-10, Dhawan in career-high 32nd spot in the latest ICC Test rankings
Skipper Virat Kohli's weakness outside the off-stump was again exposed as India plunged into deep trouble at 28 for three, after their bowlers dismissed South Africa for a modest 286, on the opening day of the first Test in Cape Town on Friday.
Virat Kohli and Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara held on to their second and seventh position respectively
Australian opener David Warner and veteran fast bowler Ryan Harris have moved up to career-high positions in the ICC Test player rankings following their impressive contributions in Australia's series-winning third Test defeat of South Africa in Cape Town.
The winners of the annual US Military Photographer of the Year competition showcase the compelling body of work military photographers compiled in 2014.
Vernon Philander's brilliant all-round show played a major role in South Africa's recovery against India on the second day of the first Test.
While South Africa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, the visitors squandered a golden opportunity to script a memorable win outside the sub-continent.
India captain Virat Kohli shot up 10 slots to reach a career-high fourth position in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after producing a man of the match performance in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.
England debutant Toby Roland-Jones wreaked havoc as he picked four wickets to have South Africa reeling at 126 for 8 at stumps on Day 2 of the third Test at the Oval on Friday.
Virat Kohli achieved another personal milestone by becoming the seventh India batsman and first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011, to top the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen.
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's Ryan Harris has moved up two places to second following his six wickets against India in the fourth Test at MCG.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews weathered a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling from Dayle Steyn to take his team past the follow-on mark on the third day of the first Test against South Africa on Friday.
'It's Test cricket and (Shannon) is an emotional guy trying to do everything he can to win a Test match. Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret'
Set a stiff target of 458 for victory, the hosts rode on centuries from Faf du Plessis (134) and AB de Villiers (103) but failed to pull off a sensational victory, falling short by a narrow margin of eight runs.
