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.
The Pakistan-born bowler made an instant impact on his return to the South Africa line-up and his team mates made sure his hard work did not go to waste as they finished the day on 128 for three wickets, a 29-run first innings lead.
Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are among five leading contenders vying for the title of 'Greatest ODI cricketer' of all-time. Australia's Adam Gilchrist, Pakistan's Wasim Akram and West Indies great Viv Richards are the other three nominees, as per an exercise conducted by ESPNcricinfo's magazine Cricket Monthly.
Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur believes that international cricket teams can learn from India on how to nurture young players and empower them with responsibilities at critical junctures. Be it in the bowling or batting department, cricketing powerhouse India has built a solid bench strength for all formats under Virat Kohli's leadership, which has left Arthur impressed.
The paceman had injury problems in the recent ICC Champions Trophy in England, forcing him to miss the semi-final defeat by the hosts, and that has weighed heavily on the minds of the selectors with Test series coming up against Pakistan, India and Australia.
Hashim Amla's blistering stroke-play and Morne Morkel's fearsome bowling put South Africa in control of the second Test against Australia as they closed the third day on 192 for four on Saturday.
For the first time in a decade, South Africa have been forced to acknowledge they are on the decline following back-to-back series losses to India and England that have knocked them off the top of the Test rankings.
All-rounders Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell were named in South Africa's 15-man squad on Wednesday for the three-match Test series against Australia starting on February 12.
Reaction after Australia's Steve Smith, who has stepped down as captain, confessed on Saturday that the team's "leadership group" had hatched a plan to alter the condition of the ball during the third day of the third Test against South Africa.
South African pacer Vernon Philander feels losing pacer Morne Morkel to injury has compounded matters for his team in the opening Test against India.
From the English media to social networking websites, 'devastated' Kevin Pietersen found support from all quarters.
AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis struck sublime centuries as South Africa chased down a massive score to beat Australia by seven wickets in the second One-Day International of the triangular series on Wednesday.
After South Africa were penalised five runs for ball tampering against Pakistan in the second Test in Dubai on Friday, AB de Villiers insisted the Proteas were not cheats.
Rajneesh Gupta salutes Tamim Iqbal's courage in the Asia Cup's opening game on Saturday and lists instances where cricketers braved injuries to battle it out for their teams.
South Africa's status as the top-ranked Test-playing nation has been dented after their crushing defeat in India last month and is in danger of being eroded completely by England over the next month or two.
AB de Villiers won as many as five awards, including the South African Cricketer of the Year for a second consecutive time, at a gala function, hosted by Cricket South Africa (CSA), in Johannesburg on Wednesday night. Besides being voted Cricketer of the Year for the second successive season, the South African batting great bagged four more accolades out of nine major awards.
The right-handed opener is regarded as one of the greats of Indian cricket and was one of their biggest match-winners, especially in Test cricket, where he scored 8,586 runs in 104 matches, with a strike rate of 82.23 and an average of 49.34, with 23 centuries, including two triple hundreds.
The International Cricket Council on Tuesday announced it has doubled the prize money of the top-ranked Test team to US $1 million from its existing $500,000 from April 1, next year and also increase investment in women's cricket by five-fold.
Ryan 'Ryno' Harris made a crucial contribution to Australian cricket at a critical time.
From Michael Holding to Virender Sehwag, the cricket fraternity mourned the demise of renowned West Indies commentator Tony Cozier and paid glowing tributes to the legendary voice of the game.
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.
The Indian captain scored a majestic 213 -- his 19th hundred, en route which he broke a plethora of records in the company of Rohit Sharma (102 no), who got a Test ton after four long years.
Fitness clouds and selection dilemmas could hamper South Africa's chances ahead of next month's series against Australia.
India thrashed New Zealand by 53 runs to give veteran fast bowler Ashish Nehra a winning farewell, in the first Twenty20 International in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The 63-run win at the Wanderers ensured that South Africa cannot move ahead of India in the ICC Test Team Rankings at the 3 April cut-off date, even if they go on to win all four Tests against Australia in March.
New Zealand are looming as the popular dark horses for the cricket World Cup.
Former India captain Rahul Dravid believes that India's batting is heavily reliant on Virat Kohli in the middle overs.
Captain Steven Smith's domination reached new heights at the Melbourne Cricket Ground states Rajneesh Gupta
South Africa opener Dean Elgar reckons that the toss will play an important role in tougher Indian conditions during the four-Test series and said they will look to put the Indian new ball bowlers under pressure early on.
Former captain Graeme Smith feels South Africa's 'powerful' bowling attack will put the Indian batting line-up under serious pressure in the upcoming Test series, starting January 5 in Cape Town.
Rajneesh Gupta and Ian Bishop glance at Universal Boss's ODI record and highlight 5 Gayleforce knocks.
The International Cricket Council's response to the Australian ball tampering incident in the third test at Newlands is firmly under the spotlight with strong punishment expected for the culprits, South Africa coach Ottis Gibson said on Sunday.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith said he is "nervous" about the Proteas' upcoming tour of India, starting with the first Test in Mohali on November 5.
Statistical highlights of the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan, at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday.
Rajasthan Royals outplayed Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad, thereby registering their fifth straight win of the season.
South Africa's Quinton de Kock was probably already feeling the most pressure of his fledgling international career before captain AB de Villiers dumped even more of it on his shoulders.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored a sparkling unbeaten 135 as India took a stranglehold over South Africa in the first Test in Johannesburg on Friday. The top-order displayed remarkable application on Day 3, as the tourists, after dismissing the hosts for 244 in the first innings, swelled their overall lead to 320.
Hashim Amla notched his 20th Test century but three wickets for 34-year-old debutant Zulfiqar Babar allowed Pakistan to restrict South Africa to 245 for eight on the opening day of the first Test in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
When South Africa lost to India on Sunday, they cemented their reputation for 'choking' in ICC tournaments. Rajneesh Gupta tells us why South Africa's record for freezing in important ICC contests is, alas, well deserved.
South Africa were left to rue the loss of cheap wickets after battling to 214 for five on the opening day of the second Test against Australia on Thursday.
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