'There's so much in favour of batsmen these days. Fields are small, two new balls, powerplays, bats have got bigger than they used to be, the list can go on. You bowl a 'no ball' and it's a free hit. But I have never seen a rule change that favours the bowler.'
The famed Indian batting line-up crashed for a lowly 135 to lose the first Test by 72 runs in Newlands on Monday.
Former pacer Ashish Nehra feels the Indian team management can think of handing Jasprit Bumrah his Test debut in the opening game against South Africa as his awkward action and yorkers might prove lethal on the Cape Town track.
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.
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Handicapped by the absence of key strike bowler Dale Steyn, South Africa will need to dig deep into their reserves if they are to beat England in the third Test and bring parity to the series.
Ben Stokes struck a sparkling unbeaten 74 to help England finish the opening day of the second Test against South Africa on a healthy 317 for five at Newlands on Saturday.
The Indian pace attack has been talked up of late and to be fair, they have done a decent job in South Africa.
South African opener Aiden Markram is of the opinion that the pitch at Supersport Park, although aiding more pace and bounce, will also be good for batsmen.
India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara credited all-rounder Hardik Pandya for helping India stay afloat in the first Test against South Africa, in Cape Town, on Saturday.
Australian opener David Warner and veteran fast bowler Ryan Harris have moved up to career-high positions in the ICC Test player rankings following their impressive contributions in Australia's series-winning third Test defeat of South Africa in Cape Town.
'Duminy was the key factor to my whole innings. Second over or the first over I faced, he told me this over needs to go for 10. He told me to just play my normal game and take the bowlers on. Luckily today it worked out'
India couldn't have hoped for a worst start to a long South African sojourn but pacer Jasprit Bumrah on Thursday asserted that if one debacle dents the team's confidence then it 'does not deserve' to play Test cricket.
The maestro wants a repeat of the teamwork from the current pace battery.
Cheteshwar Pujara, a vital cog in India's batting wheel, on Tuesday, stressed on the importance of leaving the ball on the bouncy pitches of South Africa during the three-Test series beginning, in Cape Town, on Friday.
The intense interest in the incident around the world reflects not only surprise at Steve Smith blithely admitting the conspiracy to cheat but also a perception that the Australian team are serial offenders in bending and breaking the rules.
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.
Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris, who bowled his country to a series victory in South Africa last week, is hoping knee surgery will prolong his Test career through the 2015 Ashes at least.
Ryan Harris claimed the last two wickets at the fag end of the match as South Africa were bowled out for 265 and lost the third and final Test by 245 runs at Newlands on Wednesday. Australia won the series 2-1.
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In the 35 Tests Kohli has led as captain, he has fielded 35 different playing 11s. Sure, the chopping and changing worked in the sub-continent because the home conditions masked the deficiencies in constantly chopping and changing the playing 11, says Chetan Narula.
India aim to stay afloat against daunting South Africa in the second Test
The plan was to keep Virat Kohli quiet and South Africa's wrecker-in-chief Vernon Philander said his team executed it to perfection during the 72-run win over India in the opening Test in Cape Town.
South Africa retained the iconic Reliance ICC Test Championship mace and with it won a cash award of $500,000 following its 2-0 series win over the West Indies in Cape Town on Tuesday.
South Africa removed the West Indian openers in Sunday's last session at Newlands to build on AB de Villiers' superb century and take the initiative in the final Test.
The return of all-rounder Ben Stokes will be a welcome boost to the England squad as he provides much-needed balance and lifts morale, team mate Moeen Ali said ahead of the two-match test series in New Zealand.
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.
South Africa's Temba Bavuma struck his maiden Test century in quick time (102 off 148), and in so doing, became the first black South African to crack a Test ton.
Dale Steyn became South Africa's second highest wicket taker as West Indies reached 276 for six on the first day of the third Test on Friday.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan believes the Indian ODI team now has the right balance and x-factor to succeed anywhere, holding the number one side in good stead ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England.
Kagiso Rabada said South Africa are gunning for a whitewash of India, having trampled the visitors in the first two matches.
This was not the first time that Steve Smith and the Australian team resorted to unfair measures in a Test match to gain advantage over their opponents.
The visitors won the first two matches of the series in Durban and Centurion by six and nine wickets, respectively, dismantling the home side with consummate ease.
Railways leg-spinner Karn Sharma is ecstatic after his maiden call-up in the Indian Test team and is looking forward towards a chance to meet the legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne during the upcoming Test series against Australia Down Under.
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'.
A Test series against India, a World Cup on home soil and a much-anticipated Ashes campaign will put Australia's cricketers under heavy scrutiny over the next year, but the team need to make themselves oblivious to the hype, according to captain Michael Clarke.
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.
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.
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.
'He spoke to the fact that his West Indies -- a team that brings joy wherever it goes, the one team that plays with a carefree spirit in these days of carefully calibrated professionalism -- played this tournament enveloped in a world of hurt,' says Prem Panicker, the legendary cricket writer, reviewing the World T20 final.
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