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.
Delhi Daredevils paid the price for shoddy batting as they virtually crashed out of the IPL losing to Sunrisers by eight wickets via D/L method in an encounter interrupted by intermittent showers.
Former South Africa captain Clive Rice rates the India bowling attack higher than South Africa's and said the home bowlers would struggle to take 20 wickets against a batting line-up, which boasts of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, in the Test series starting next week.
After a week of action at the Cricket World Cup, with each team now playing at least one match, here's an analysis of how the main contenders are shaping up.
He's been one of the most consistent players in the last six months, and even towered above other Indian batsmen in the recently-concluded series in South Africa. While India's leading batsmen struggled to cope with the pace and bounce of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, Virat Kohli was rock-solid and unyielding.
Indian cricket team stands a chance of making big gains in terms of International Cricket Council (ICC) Test ranking if they manage to register a 3-1 victory over Australia in their ongoing four-match series.
Yusuf Pathan's blistering century proved in vain for India as South Africa won the fifth and decisive one-day international by 33 runs on Sunday to take the series 3-2.
South Africa set New Zealand a daunting target of 298 runs in 43 overs.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that they could have thought of chasing had the target been around 260.
India need a record-breaking 340 to beat South Africa in the third and final Test in Cape Town on Thursday. Instances of 300-plus targets chased down in a single day even on flattest of tracks are rare. Attaining that against the fiery South African pace attack, led by Dale Steyn, on a fifth day's Newlands pitch will be nothing short of a miracle.
Philander's partnership with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel has earned the trio the label as the most-balanced and penetrating attack in world cricket.
After entering the Champions League Twenty20 final, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised Suresh Raina for his breezy unbeaten 48-ball 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in semi-final.
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.
Indian middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid on Monday achieved a rare milestone in his career when he took his 200th catch in Test matches to stay on top of the list in the five-day format of the game.
South Africa captain A B de Villiers on Saturday said his side is not too worried about the problems that India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin could pose during their ICC Cricket World Cup match in Melbourne, on Sunday.
India need to carefully groom replacements for their batting 'fab four' after suffering a crushing innings defeat by South Africa on Tuesday, former captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said.
India were dismissed for 459 in 128.1 overs in their second innings on day five after lastman Jaidev Unadkat was caught at gully off Dale Steyn for one. The Indian innings lasted just 30 minutes and 35 deliveries on the final day, for the addition of just five runs, and the loss of two wickets.
India's master batsman Sachin Tendulkar became the first player ever in the history of Test cricket to hit 50 centuries during day four of the first Test match against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.
A look at Sachin Tendulkar's 50 centuries in Test cricket.
The opener says in the second innings things have changed drastically and the wicket is good for batting.
Rahul Dravid on Wednesday overtook former West Indian captain Brain Lara as the third highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket when he reached 11 in the first of the three-match series against South Africa in Centurion.
David Miller and J P Duminy scored centuries as South Africa overcame a real challenge from Zimbabwe to record a 62-run victory in their opening World Cup Pool B game in Hamilton on Sunday.
South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel said on Tuesday the contest between the home side's fast bowlers and India opener Virender Sehwag would be the key contest in the forthcoming three-Test series.
Former opener Gary Kirsten says South Africa know how to beat Australia in their own backyard in the upcoming three-match Test series Down Under.
South Africa fast bowling great Allan Donald will join Australia as bowling coach for their tour of Sri Lanka this year, local media reported on Wednesday.
Quinton de Kock, Faf de Plessis and AB de Villiers all scored hundreds as South Africa crushed India's bowling attack to post 438-4 and win the deciding One-day International by 214 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
Pakistan's Shahid Afridi, on Monday, criticised the national selectors for resting six senior players, including skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, saying a good outing would have boosted their confidence ahead of the World Cup.
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.
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.
India's Ravichandran Ashwin maintained his stronghold at the top of the ICC Test All-Rounder rankings while Ravindra Jadeja stayed fifth in the chart.
Allan Donald has stepped down as bowling coach of South Africa, confirming his departure.
Indian women's cricket team will be eager to pile further misery on South Africa
India's wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma have made significant gains and climbed up latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen.
Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi has ridiculed the safety concerns raised by it but the Australian Cricketers Association claims to have made 'some positive progress' in getting its players' security demands met by the IPL organisers.
For the visitors, the game against the Mandeep Singh-led India 'A' side will be more about getting into the match simulation mode before they get going against Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team in the opening T20 International at Dharamsala on October 2.
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar says South Africa will be a tough challenge for India in the upcoming Test series and marked out Proteas leg-spinner Imran Tahir as the one bowler to watch out for.
When the two sides met in the inaugural edition of the ICC Women's Championship in Bengaluru in November 2014, South Africa had won the series 2-1.
Eden Gardens pitch curator Prabir Mukherjee on Wednesday denied reports of being under pressure from the BCCI to prepare a turning track to help India level the two-match Test series against South Africa in Kolkata.
What does Tendulkar miss the most about not being an active player? "I miss the laughter, the seriousness, the celebrations."
Deepak Chahar first came into prominence as an 18-year-old when took 8/10 in his Ranji Trophy debut to send Hyderabad crashing for a lowly 21 in November 2010.
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