Graeme Smith made three in his final Test innings as South Africa were slipping towards a heavy defeat at the close on the fourth day of the series-deciding third Test against Australia on Tuesday.
Kagiso Rabada said South Africa are gunning for a whitewash of India, having trampled the visitors in the first two matches.
Saker took the unusual step of publicly criticising his bowlers in the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney last month, revealing discord with staff over tactics.
Pacer Ishwar Pandey took four wickets, including two with successive deliveries, but South Africa 'A' fought back through a fighting 84 from J P Duminy and his crucial partnerships with the tail-enders, in the first unofficial Test against India 'A', in Rustenburg, on Monday.
Opener Mayank Agarwal smashed a brilliant 130 in company of skipper Unmukt Chand, who complemented with a useful 90, as India A thrashed South Africa A by eight wickets to bag a bonus point in their second tri-series match in Chennai.
South African skipper Faf du Plessis said that the 2015 series loss in India on raging turners motivated their team to win the series in Centurion, on a pitch that 'should have suited the visitors more'.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur, on Wednesday.
Dismissing the notion that the Mohali pitch was a vicious turner, South Africa captain Hashim Amla on Saturday said most dismissals in the opening Test match was due to lack of spin rather than excess of it. He also came down hard on his batsmen, saying they could have applied themselves better.
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.
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.
A venomous spell of fast bowling from Stuart Broad led England to an emphatic seven- wicket win over South Africa in the third on Saturday to clinch the series. Broad's brilliant return of 6-17 on a lively wicket skittled the Proteas for 83 in their second innings on the third day. England reached their modest victory-target of 74 with relative ease as captain Alastair Cook (43) top-scored in guiding them to 77 for three from 22,4 overs under gloomy skies. The tourists now have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series, with the final game to be played in Pretoria. South Africa bowled out England for 323 in the morning session for a slender first-innings deficit of 10 runs, but were no match for the bounce and movement of a rampant Broad as they crumbled to their second lowest score since returning to international cricket in 1991.
Ajinkya Rahane rallied India with a gutsy, unbeaten 89 as India's much-vaunted top-order failed yet again on the opening day of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Thursday.
'Binny's slot could go to a spinning all-rounder in Nagpur. It could be either Rohit or Mann.'
Rajneesh Gupta checks out the numbers for Virat and Faf and their boys.
India failed to make the best of first use of the wicket, their batsmen capitulating against both pace and spin as they were dismissed for 215 in the first innings in the third Test against South Africa at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium, in Nagpur, on Wednesday. However, the hosts hit back immediately, claiming two early scalps, leaving the Proteas reeling on 11 for 2 after nine overs at the end of Day 1.
India might have wasted the advantage of winning the toss after being bundled out for a paltry 201 against South Africa, on Thursday, but batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels the hosts' first innings total is 'much bigger' than it looks on a slow and low pitch.
The 22-yard strip at the Feroz Shah Kotla will be the cynosure of all eyes as a buoyant India seeks their biggest series triumph against South Africa when they square off in the final Test of the four-match rubber in Delhi on Thursday.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Saturday.
India 'A' registered a thumping innings and 13 runs victory over South Africa 'A' on the fourth and final day of the unofficial first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, in Rustenburg, on Tuesday.
South Africans take the top 3 slots in Most Valuable Player Index.
'Team India's strategy -- rather the lack of it -- boomeranged in the game against New Zealand. It's because of the T20 generation's lack of patience to counter spin,' feels Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com
India captain Virat Kohli rejected criticism of the pitch for the first Test against South Africa in Mohali and said it was 'errors in shot selection' that brought about wickets for spinners rather than the pitch playing tricks, a view his rival captain Hashim Amla also shared.
The International Cricket Council released the provisional squads of the 12 teams for next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Friday. However, co-hosts Australia and minnows Ireland decided against releasing the provisional list although they submitted 30 names to the parent body within the stipulated deadline.
IPL Action VIII: These players went unsold
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