A second successive century from Hashim Amla took South Africa to a resounding eight wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Sunday and secured the three-match series with a game to spare.
India has a strong squad but their only worry would be expectations of a home ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
Indian batsman Virat Kohli broke Proteas star AB de Villiers's record to become the fastest batsman to reach 7000 runs in One-Day Internationals.
South Africa were 389 for 9 at stumps on Day 2 of the first Test against Sri Lanka, a lead of 209 runs, after AB de Villiers smashed 99 runs off 135 balls and shared a 97-run stand with Ashwell Prince.
"He's so inventive ... he can play a touch game or a power game. Then, he can also keep wickets. I think he's the most valuable cricketer around," reckons former Australian great Adam Gilchrist.
'We are at this stage where we have lost almost all of our experience'
World's number one T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav will skip a few more IPL matches as he continues to recover from a sports hernia surgery with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) keeping a watch on his progress.
But de Villiers took time to warm up to the 'flamboyant', young Kohli, whom he met for the first time in 2011.
South Africa's AB de Villiers wants to concentrate on becoming the world's best batsman rather than taking a role as full-time wicketkeeper.
Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers have been recalled to South Africa's One-day international side for the visit of New Zealand later this month, but young wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has been axed after a poor run of form in Bangladesh.
The destructive show of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers during their first meeting of Indian Premier League 9 still fresh in his mind, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody said he has a few ideas up his sleeve to stop the marauding Royal Challengers Bangalore duo.
'It's time now to keep playing as much IPL and franchise cricket as I can'
South Africa made quite a statement in their quarter-final rout of Sri Lanka on Wednesday but AB de Villiers warned their rivals that reaching the last four of the World Cup was by no means the extent of their ambitions.
A record-breaking batting display from centurions Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers took South Africa to a 34-run win over Pakistan in the third One-Day International on Sunday.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers has been suspended for two ODIs while his teammates have been fined 100 per cent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over rate during their one-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the first ODI in Paarl.
South African cricket captain AB de Villiers continued to script statistical history at the ongoing World Cup as he entered the top-10 of all-time scorers' list.
This period saw big stars of the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev fade into the sunset while it was witness to the birth of slew of young Indian cricketers that made their mark home and abroad.
Delhi Daredevils will miss the services of AB de Villiers in their Champions League campaign as Cricket South Africa (CSA) has withdrawn the middle-order batsman from the Twenty20 tournament due to a lower back pain.
Dhoni picked as skipper of IPL's all-time greatest team
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli described team-mate AB de Villiers's stunning match-winning knock of 89 not out from just 41 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match as one of the best Twenty20 innings he has seen.
Stylish South African middle order batsman Abraham de Villiers and fast bowler Dale Steyn will figure in their country's domestic Twenty20 champions Titans' squad in next month's Champions League Twenty20, to be held in three cities in India. Titans, also with Test left-arm spinner Paul Harris and pace bowler Morne Morkel in their ranks, will start their campaign with a match against Middlesex, the England Twenty20 domestic champions, in Chennai on December 5.
Andrew McDonald believes Glenn Maxwell's breath-taking shotmaking will inspire a new generation of cricketers.
He replaces South African pacer Lungisani Ngidi, who was ruled out of IPL 2024 with injury.
The fight for the number one batting position between India's Virat Kohli and South Africa captain AB de Villiers on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen could get exciting in the coming weeks. With only eight rating points separating No 1-ranked Kohli from de Villiers, the forthcoming series offers both of them an opportunity to either retain or reclaim the top position.
AB de Villiers played a match-winning knock of 79 not out from just 47 balls against Gujarat in the Qualifier 1 match to help RCB stage one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the tournament, after the hosts were reduced to 29 for five at one stage chasing 160 for victory.
Calling all cricket lovers to take a crack at our latest IPL quiz.
South Africa's bowlers backed up a solid batting performance led by captain AB de Villiers' 99 to ensure they qualified for the knockout phase of the World Cup with a 146-run victory over United Arab Emirates.
De Villiers backed India and Mumbai Indians' batter Suryakumar Yadav, who has witnessed a sudden dip in form, advising him to focus on what has worked in the past.
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
Mumbai Indians had an off day on the field with below par bowling and catching performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
'You're rubbing shoulders with AB (de Villiers) and Virat (Kohli) for two months, talking to them while watching other games. It's just the greatest learning experience that any player could ask for.'
Batsman AB de Villiers will return to the role of wicketkeeper for South Africa in the opening two Tests of their four-match home series against England starting in Durban on Boxing Day.
AB de Villiers' masterly 85 in his 100th test could not gloss over South Africa's spin frailty as India took charge of the second Test after dominating the opening day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
A B de Villiers, whose unbeaten 54 set up Royal Challengers Bangalore's six-wicket win over Kochi Tuskers Kerala in their IPL encounter on Saturday, said his side's experience made all the difference as the match was still in balance till the end.
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.
AB de Villiers survived being dropped early to smash a series-winning unbeaten 95 for South Africa who beat Pakistan by six wickets in the deciding match of their One-day international series on Sunday.
Leading South African scorer AB de Villiers is a doubtful starter for Tuesday's group B World Cup fixture against Ireland due to a thigh muscle strain.
'They are trying hard to get Virat Kohli to come back because the series is missing him.'
However, the 26-year-old's comparison with Gilchrist can wait.
Captain Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers shared a record unbroken double-century stand as South Africa took control of the first Test against West Indies on the opening day at Centurion on Wednesday.
