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.
Kane Williamson fought hard to establish his innings before cashing in during the final session to lead New Zealand to 177 for three at close of play on the second day of the first test against South Africa on Thursday.
Star all-rounder Kieron Pollard will lead the Trinidad side whereas Darren Sammy will lead the Caribbean Select XI.
Having flattered to deceive on most occasions after his transition from Under-19 to senior cricket, Delhi boy Unmukt Chand would like to make amends as he leads India 'A' in the tri-nation 'A' series, considered a launch pad to the senior team.
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.
He joins an elite group of players who have made a century in their 100th Test -- the others being Colin Cowdrey, Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge, Alec Stewart, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ricky Ponting (both innings) and Graeme Smith.
Joe Root scored an unbeaten 106 and shared a swashbuckling partnership with Ben Stokes as England put the brakes on a hostile South African attack to reach 238 for five at the close of the second day of the third Test on Friday.
Stokes now holds the record score for an England number six, beating Graham Hick's 187 against India in 1993, and became the first English centurion at Newlands for 50 years.
South Africa routed Australia for 85 and then weathered a batting crisis of their own before pushing to a lead of 86 runs after a bowler-dominated opening day of the second Test in Hobart on Saturday.
South Africa off-spinner Dane Piedt says it took a lot out of him to play cricket again after suffering a career-threatening shoulder dislocation last year.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
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
Kumar Sangakkara remained unbeaten after a sparkling half-century as Sri Lanka responded well to the challenge of scoring 370 runs in four sessions in order to win the first Test against South Africa on Saturday.
The Wanderers' pitch has coming under criticism from former cricketers and commentators for its dangerous nature.
The waiting ends for England's new Test captain Joe Root on Thursday when he leads his side out for the start of a four-match series against South Africa at Lord's on Thursday, nearly four months after his appointment.
"The game is still in balance if we get early wickets tomorrow. The match can be in anybody's favour. We will look to create pressure tomorrow as well. I think the game is still in balance right now," said Bumrah after stumps on day three.
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was quick to concede that India's bowling attack gave away 30 runs too many as South Africa amassed 286 in their first innings, after being reduced to 12 for 3 in the first 30 minutes on the opening day of the first Test, in Cape Town, on Friday.
The Proteas bowlers took part in a thorough session under the watchful eyes of Langeveldt with the aim of increasing their workloads and mapping out expectations and game plans ahead of the 72-day tour which starts with the first Twenty20 match in Dharamsala on October 2.
South Africa made a sedate start to their second innings after conceding a 78-run first innings lead to a spirited Bangladesh on day three of the opening Test at Chittagong on Thursday.
David Warner took over from Mitchell Johnson as South Africa's tormentor-in-chief as the Australian opener blitzed a quickfire century to extend his team's huge lead on the third day of the first Test on Friday.
Insisting that Indian players have played on worse tracks back home, vice captain Ajinkya Rahane termed the Wanderers' pitch as 'challenging' and not dangerous.
The pacer took 4-60 as India were bowled out for 307 runs in their first innings, conceding a 28-run lead. The hosts finished at 90/2, leading overall by 118.
Post tea, play was possible for 20 minutes before a thunderstorm washed away nearly an hour.
Captain Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers led the chase as South Africa cut the deficit to 102 runs in their bid to haul in the West Indies total of 329 before rain ended the second day of the third Test at Newlands on Saturday.
Replacement paceman Kyle Abbott took 6-77 as South Africa completed an innings and 80-run humiliation of Australia the second Test in Hobart on Tuesday to seal the three-match series with a game to spare.
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.
Australian captain Michael Clarke made his expected declaration overnight and then his bowlers worked their way through the South African batting line-up to dismiss them for 287 and claim an overall lead of 207 runs.
Images from Day 1 in the fourth Test between India and South Africa, at New Delhi, on Thursday.
Pacer Vernon Philander claimed six for 21 as South Africa thrashed Australia by a huge margin of 492 runs to claim the four-match series 3-1, in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
South Africa lost the wicket of opener Alviro Petersen for a duck as they chased 369 runs for victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Skipper Matthew Wade led from the front with a sparkling century as Australia A cruised to a 108-run victory over South Africa A and maintained a clean slate in the tri-series cricket tournament, in Chennai, on Wednesday.
The league match between South Africa A and Australia A in the ongoing Tri Series cricket tournament slated for Tuesday has been postponed to Wednesday, August 12 and India A will cross with Australia A in the final match of the league phase on August 13.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli says his team never lost faith in itself despite the criticism that came with consecutive Test losses to South Africa, crediting this belief for the turnaround that gave the visitors a consolation win in Johannesburg.
Perhaps for the first time, India's pace strength is not centred on any one individual, or set of individuals.
Statistical highlights of the fourth day's play of the third cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka in New Delhi on Tuesday
Dale Steyn ripped through the West Indies top order to claim his 25th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and give South Africa an innings and 220-run victory on the fourth morning of the first Test on Saturday.
With four days lost in the drawn second Test, South Africa captain Hashim Amla candidly admitted that he is unable to find many positives from the rain-truncated game apart from AB de Villiers's knock of 85 in his 100th game.
The Pretoria wicket is likely to be similar, with perhaps not the same sideways movement of Newlands, and will provide another test of the Indian batsmen's bravery against a seam bowling barrage.
After a dream ODI debut last month, teenaged paceman Mustafizur Rahman announced his Test arrival by claiming three wickets in four balls as Bangladesh bowled out South Africa for 248 on the opening day of the first Test in Chittagong on Tuesday.
South Africa's success in Australia is often put down to their comfort on the hard local tracks, which can be similar to those at home, but they could face some unfamiliar conditions this year.
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