The South African commended the front-line workers all over the world who are working tirelessly to help everyone in these tough times.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would strive for a handsome win over struggling Rajasthan Royals in their last round-robin game to stay ahead in the IPL play-offs race in Sharjah on Thursday.
Rashid Khan and Khaeel Ahmed ensured KXIP could never find any kind of momentum in a steep chase.
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson is not bothered about failures and said he would continue to bat with a positive mindset and play his shots in the Indian Premier League.
The Proteas have named five new players in the squad for the series starting next month.
Dale Steyn is all set to go out all guns blazing in Melbourne, when South Africa takes on India in World Cup Pool B match.
With eight points from 11 games, RR are placed second from bottom in the eight-team table and a loss on Saturday will end their slim chances of qualifying for the knockout stage.
KL Rahul will have to show drastically improved leadership acumen when he leads India against a buoyant South African side in the second ODI on Thursday.
Rajasthan Royals' director of cricket Kumara Sangakkara blamed the 'careless' approach of his batting unit in the first 10 overs for the 33-run loss against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
Sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Miller will be cleared to compete in this year's London Olympics when the Court of Arbitration (CAS) over-rules a British Olympic life ban on drug offenders, a source with knowledge of the ruling told Reuters on Sunday.
Kings XI Punjab throw up major surprise by retaining Punjab's 20-year-old batsman Manan Vohra, along with South Africa's David Miller.
RCB have been inconsistent in their first six games in IPL-12, with both their bowling and batting faltering on many occasions.
Sam Curran claimed a hat-trick as Kings Xi Punjab pulled off a miraculous 14-run victory against Delhi Capitals.
Young pace sensation Lungi Ngidi has been rewarded for his recent performances with a place in South Africa's squad for the six-match ODI series against India starting in Durban on February 1.
KXIP are riding a roller-coaster ride, having to endure a controversy involving their captain Ravichandran Ashwin who 'Mankaded' Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler in their first match, an act which was legal but criticised by some as against the 'Spirit of Cricket'.
Even as they struggle to find the winning formula, laggards Kings XI Punjab will still fancy their chances when they host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Mohali on Monday.
Shikhar Dhawan said twin rain breaks coupled with reprieves to David Miller cost India dearly
Wicket-keeper Mark Boucher was one of three players dropped, on Friday, when South Africa named their squad for next month's One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka.
With an unassailable 3-0 lead in hand, India need just one more win to claim their maiden ODI series triumph on South African soil.
Back-to-back losses denting their confidence, defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to put their campaign back on track when they take on Kings XI Punjab in their IPL match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
They endured a disastrous run the last time around to finish at the bottom of the heap and Kings XI Punjab would be aiming to make amends this season when they begin their campaign against newbies Gujarat Lions in their IPL opener in Mohali on Monday. Kings XI Punjab did not make any big buys this year and have a new captain in South African David Miller in place of Australian George Bailey who was released after leading the side to the last place in the previous season. Virender Sehwag has also retired and he will serve as team mentor this season. The Preity Zinta-owned side continues to lack the team balance as it has not added any significant player, only snapping the likes of all-rounders Farhaan Behardien and Marcus Stoinis, seamer Mohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh. Last season, their batsmen lacked consistency and whenever they did well, the bowlers let the side down. On the other hand, debutants Gujarat Lions have a balanced side with top-class performers in both batting and bowling. They have explosive batsmen in Brendon McCullum, captain Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch and a plenty of top-notch all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner.
Chennai Super Kings produced a clinical performance as they demolished bottom placed Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets to finish on top of the league table and qualify for the play-offs in the Indian Premier League in Mohali.
Zaheer Khan made an impressive comeback from a year-long hiatus complementing Nathan Coulter-Nile brilliantly as Delhi Daredevils spanked Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets in an Indian Premier League match on Friday.
Captain Hardik Pandya led from the front with both bat and ball to guide Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their debut season, after they beat by seven wickets in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Janneman Malan, who was out to the first ball of the match on debut on Saturday, anchored the South African reply, taming his usual swashbuckling style to score 129 not out from 139 balls and lead the home side to victory with nine balls to spare.
Heinrich Klaasen smashed an unbeaten century as South Africa claimed a 74-run victory over Australia in their first one-dayer played on a slow Boland Park wicket on Saturday. After winning the toss, South Africa overcame an early wobble to post 291 for seven in their 50 overs, a total boosted by the maiden ODI ton from middle-order batsman Klaasen, who crashed 123 from 114 balls. Australia were up with the run-rate for much of their reply, but South Africa then strangled the scoring with intelligent use of the slow pitch as the visitors slumped to 217 all out from 45.1 overs.
Jos Buttler is still the front-runner to be this IPL's MVP. He still has at least two matches to play and one big knock will win it for him. Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players after the end of the 70 league matches in IPL 2022.
Australian captain Aaron Finch said his team "needed a bit of luck" to get the better of South Africa in their ICC T20 World Cup opener here on Saturday.
List of players released by IPL teams ahead of next month's auction for 2020 season:
Skipper Manish Pandey led from the front with a timely century while Dhawal Kulkarni showed his all-round prowess as India A defeated South Africa A by 3-wickets in the quadrangular One-Day series in Townsville, Australia on Wednesday. Pandey anchored the innings with a brilliant unbeaten 100 off 105 deliveries that had hit nine boundaries and a six. He was ably supported by Kulkarni, who chipped in with 23 as the pair added 47 runs for the unbroken eighth wicket stand after India A were in trouble at 187 for 7.
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.
South Africa produced a dominant performance on Sunday to beat Australia by 80 runs in the second One-day International to level the three-match series 1-1.
Whether he is batting in the middle or fielding at the boundary line, Virat Kohli's every move will be tracked, though some of that attention will now be on skipper K L Rahul.
He is ready to accept his fault in the game-changing run-outs against India but Faf du Plessis insisted that South Africa 'never deserved to be in the semi-finals.'
Mercurial Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been named as captain of Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning April 5.
As coach Ricky Ponting pointed out, he would expect a better "on his feet" thinking from the young captain.
South Africa's explosive batsman David Miller, who will lead the Kings XI Punjab in this edition of the IPL, feels that captaincy has not brought any added pressure on him. "Responsibility changes a bit as captain, but I am really looking forward to it," Miller said. "No pressure, to be honest. I see it as an opportunity. We have changed the squad a little bit this year, couple of new additions, but most of the squad stays the same. "I really believe we can win the competition this year. The fact that we haven't won it, doesn't add any more pressure. It's a great opportunity for the guys to step up," he added. The 26-year-old said he is looking forward to the captaincy challenge.
Ravichandran Ashwin played down the animated reaction from his Royal Challengers Bangalore counterpart Virat Kohli after taking his catch
Images from Wednesday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, in Bengaluru.
