Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli says impressive middle overs bowling and staying fearless during the game's crucial moments contributed to the team's fine run in this edition of the Indian Premier League.
Also included is fast bowler Anrich Nortje, but in-form opening batsman Temba Bavuma will have to prove his fitness after injuring his hamstring against England on Sunday.
India will need to win at least a game in the upcoming one-dayer series against Australia to retain their current second position in the ICC ODI Team Championships, even as second-placed Virat Kohli looks to close in on AB de Villiers in the batting chart. World champions Australia go head to head with former winner India in a five-match series in Perth on Tuesday. Australia (127) lead second-ranked India (114) by 13 points and even if they lose all the five matches of the series, they will drop points but still finish a point ahead of India.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers's batting blitzkriegs in the last two months have been so good that even his own team mates are in awe of them, fast bowler Dale Steyn said on Friday.
AB de Villiers confirmed his status as the most destructive batsman in cricket with a magnificent unbeaten 162 from just 66 balls to lead South Africa to a record 257-run victory over West Indies in the World Cup on Friday.
Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher, Daryl Cullinan, and Faf Du Plessis are the other Proteas batsmen who have more than 4000 runs in Test cricket.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly opined that he was confident of an Indian victory after the team crossed the 250-run barrier.
Let us look at the batters who finally managed to hit three figures after a prolonged period of time.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers will turn to his senior players to help lift the team out of the doldrums after they suffered a 'big knock' to their confidence.
Pakistan players did not find any spot in ICC Team of the Decade across all formats
Enduring a forgettable outing in the first half of this year's IPL, two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look for reversal of fortunes when they resume their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second phase of T20 league in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has described Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a century in each innings of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Ferozshah Kotla, as the most complete Indian batsman in the current team as he has "done well in all conditions".
Indian captain Virat Kohli, on Friday, slipped a rung to third in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for ODI batsmen but his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni gained a spot to be 13th in the latest list issued in Dubai.
Virat Kohli will be facing the toughest battle of his nascent ODI captaincy career when defending champions India take on South Africa in a do-or-die match of the ICC Champions Trophy, in London, on Sunday.
South Africa will head to India armed with three frontline slow bowlers in their Test squad after recalling leg-spinner Imran Tahir and off-break bowler Dane Piedt for the four-match series starting in November.
AB de Villiers' masterly 85 in his 100th test could not gloss over South Africa's spin frailty as India took charge of the second Test after dominating the opening day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
JP Duminy struck a fluent 92 after being elevated to number three in the batting order in South Africa's 73-run victory over a Sri Lankan Cricket Board President's XI in Colombo on Wednesday.
India lead South Africa by five points and need to win two matches in order to stop falling behind the Proteas.
Four years after moving from South Africa, former Proteas all-rounder Johan Botha is now officially an Australian citizen. Botha had captained South Africa in 10 ODIs and took the team to the No 1 ranking in the ICC ODI Rankings after they defeated Australia 4-1 away in 2009. The 34-year-old also captained the national side in 11 T20s.
He will make himself available for future One-Day International series having not featured in the 50-over format since the 2019 World Cup in England
Bangalore have been on a roll with skipper Virat Kohli enjoying one of the best phases of his career as he has four centuries under his belt.
Fresh from his 45-ball 92 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing Indian Premier League, in-from Rajasthan Royals batsman Sanju Samson on Tuesday said his career is on the right track.
Ahead of Thursday's Indian Premier League player auction, Royal Challengers Banglore captain Virat Kohli assured the fans that they will cover all bases and pick a strong team for the next edition of IPL. Ahead of this year's IPL auction, RCB had released 12 players from their squad, while retaining 13.
Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to earn two valuable points and move up to second spot in the points-table when they take on struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Powered by in-form, inspirational leader in Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to inch closer to a maiden Indian Premier League title triumph when they take on table-toppers Gujarat Lions in the Qualifier I, in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
'To a person, full member countries and their CEOs stated their absolute support of Test cricket being played under lights'
Jasprit Bumrah climbed to the number one spot in the latest ICC T20 rankings
Virat Kohli's inspirational leadership for Royal Challengers Bangalore will be up against the brute force with which David Warner has steered Sunrisers Hyderabad when the two teams, eyeing their maiden IPL title, square off in a high-intensity summit clash in Bengaluru on Sunday. RCB, however, will have a slight advantage over Sunrisers as they have the experience of playing in an IPL final twice in the past -- 2009 and 2011, but on both occasions, they had finished runners-up. Sunrisers' best finish was a play-off berth which they managed in their debut season in 2013.
AB de Villiers insisted that he wants to stay on as captain and take the Proteas to the World Cup triumph in 2019.
Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on the individual brilliance of David Warner and Trent Boult to open their account in the eighth Indian Premier League (IPL) with a convincing eight-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru.
Captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers smashed brisk half centuries to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a well-deserved 13-run victory over Rising Pune Supergiants in the Indian Premier League match, in Pune, on Friday.
Shahbaz, one of the pillars of the Bengal Ranji Trophy side, is also an integral part of Royal Challengers Bangalore
Once again, South Africa faced their old nemesis...
Injured Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli, who is yet to feature in the ongoing Indian Premier League, on Wednesday, went through some fielding drills during the team's net session, in Bengaluru.
Riding high after an emphatic victory against Kings XI Punjab, a rejuvenated Delhi Daredevils will aim at posing a serious challenge to a formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two teams square off in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Rabada trapped Smith leg before wicket on the opening day of the second Test at St George'sPark on Friday and appeared to brush against the batsman in his celebration as the Australian walked down the pitch.
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli was all praise for Harshal Patel's match-winning bowling performance in Chennai on Friday, terming him their designated death bowler in IPL 2021.
South Africa need to put aside the fallout from their decision to overlook AB de Villiers and their injury issues when they face the West Indies in the Cricket World Cup on Monday, said key bowler Kagiso Rabada.
Kolkata Knight Riders would look to usher in a fresh era under new captain Dinesh Karthik with a victory when they open their Indian Premier League campaign against heavyweights Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
While wicket-keeper-batsman Klaasen recently notched 69 runs from 30 balls in South Africa's six-wicket win over India in the 2nd T20I, 20-year-old Mulder has played a single ODI against Bangladesh at East London in October 2017.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances