South Africa coach Shukri Conrad was overwhelmed to see his spinners rule the roost in the first Test against India at the Eden Gardens, signalling to him that the Rainbow Nation is no longer an exclusive "fast bowling country" and hoped that a lot more slow bowlers will emerge.
The Indian women's team is set to leave for New Delhi from Mumbai on Tuesday for a special meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to celebrate their World Cup triumph.
Deepti Sharma, the World Cup's leading wicket-taker who took a magnificent 5/39 in the final, is joined by teammates Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues in World Cup's Team of the Tournament.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
Pant took a bit to settle into his rhythm behind the stumps, and once he came to terms with the surface and bowlers the wicketkeeper was quite tidy.
Sack Gambhir before he damages any more careers, if you must. But it cannot stop there. The project ahead must be bigger, more ambitious, and far more urgent: Rebuilding the spine of Indian cricket from the grassroots up, and giving the Test team the seriousness it deserves. Only then will Indian cricket stop lurching from one crisis to another and begin, once again, to imagine greatness, suggests Prem Panicker.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
Harmanpreet Kaur, Smrit Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, and Jemimah Rodrigues are poised to see an uplift of 25 to 35 per cent in brand value.
South Africa spinner Prenelan Subrayen has been reported for a suspect bowling action in the first ODI against Australia.
Deepti jumps two places to 5th, Mandhana continues to hold top spot in ODI rankings
Leg-spinner Alana King's spellbinding wizardry formed the cornerstone of Australia's seven-wicket triumph over South Africa as the defending champions concluded the Women's World Cup league stage firmly on top of the table in Indore on Saturday.
Matthew Breetzke became the first player to score half centuries in each of his first five One-Day International appearances as South Africa beat England by five runs in the second ODI at Lord's on Thursday.
'Funny enough, I'm not one for records, but when you mention Meg Lanning, I'm glad I'm above that one. As long as we are winning the games, then I'm all good.'
Earlier, after incessant rain interrupted the exciting contest, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to field against the hosts India.
The T20I series against South Africa will be played from 10-14 September, following the ongoing ODI series where the Proteas hold an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the final match on Sunday.
As India chase history at home in Navi Mumbai, while Laura Wolvaardt's South Africa will look to script their own fairytale, by finally breaking their run of heartbreaks at ICC events.
Pakistan collapsed from 362-5 to 378 all out as Muthusamy finished with Test best figures of 6-117.
After bowling out SA A for 309, overnight 299/9, in the first session, India succumbed to their own waywardness, and the relentlessness of off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen (5/61), to concede an innings lead of 75.
Abhishek Sharma's flamboyance will meet its match in Shaheen Shah Afridi's precision in what promises to be an "edge of the seat" battle in the Asia Cup final on Sunday.
Conrad conceded that South Africa were a "batter light" but explained that if the players they have were willing to play with a little more self-confidence, it could work in Proteas' favour.
South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt said that once their Women's World Cup contest against Sri Lanka was reduced to 20 overs a side, she treated it like a T20 game and came out to bat with the same mindset, in Colombo, on Friday.
For India, the battle is no longer about proving skill or form, but about crossing the elusive final hurdle that has so often tripped them -- including in this very tournament.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
Bengal will be bolstered by the return of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami who has who has been out of India contention since the Champions Trophy.
India's Test No 3 Sai Sudharsan said his primary aim is to win matches for the team rather than focusing on individual goals.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test between India and West Indies in New Delhi on Sunday.
The Aussies also named a 14-player group for the first two T20I matches against India, with Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis earning recalls after they missed the recent T20I series with South Africa.
The Indians have not featured in ODIs in recent months but Kuldeep Yadav (650) and Ravindra Jadeja (616) still remained static at number three and number nine in the latest ODI rankings for bowlers.
Though the England-South Africa game yielded less than 150 runs thanks to the brilliant display by the English bowlers, the surface at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium is regarded as batting-friendly and has often produced high-scoring contests.
India have a mounting worry in the lack of runs so far from talismanic Smriti Mandhana, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the energetic Jemimah Rodrigues.
A rampaging England thrashed South Africa by 342 runs in the third and final ODI in Southampton on Sunday to register the biggest victory in men's One-Day Internationals.
'I think we have got a very settled batting lineup. Would not like to shuffle it around too much but when the need arises, you know we are flexible about it.'
Kagiso Rabada underwent a scan on Monday following an inflammation of his right ankle after which the 30-year-old was ruled out of the three-match series.
India have relied on their spin strength on rank turners to gain points in WTC cycles in the past but Gill has said he wants his side to play on tracks that offer equally to batters and bowlers.
'I don't know what the maths looks like but we're playing good cricket and we want it to continue.'
Quinton de Kock has reversed his retirement from ODI cricket and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
Ravichandran Ashwin paid a heartwarming tribute to batter Cheteshwar Pujara following his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket, calling his batting a "symphony".
AB de Villiers rolled back the years with a blistering unbeaten century as South Africa Champions crushed Pakistan Champions by 9 wickets to win their maiden World Championship of Legends (WCL) title.
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