South Africa's swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers has admitted that he is not satisfied with his current T20 record despite playing a major role in his side's two-match series win against England.
Hashim Amla made a sparkling 154 and his opening partner Quinton de Kock a rapid 109 in a batting blitz that earned South Africa an 88-run victory over Sri Lanka at Centurion on Friday and a 5-0 whitewash in their one-day international series.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc produced high-quality reverse-swing to claim five wickets against South Africa as the tourists seized control of the first Test with a first innings lead of 189 at the close on the second day.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has confirmed that AB de Villiers is in talks with Cricket South Africa (CSA) to play the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The Indian bowlers had a torrid time against South African batting line-up led by AB de Villiers but senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has said he "enjoyed the challenge" as he managed to hold his own for the better part of the limited overs series.
Herschelle Gibbs hit a sparkling century and Dale Steyn took four wickets to lift South Africa to a series-clinching 61-run win over Australia in the fourth one-dayer on Monday.
Captain AB de Villiers was in tears at the post-match news conference after overseeing another South African defeat on the big stage.
New Zealand entered their maiden ICC World Cup final, beating South Africa by five wickets in a thrilling rain-reduced World Cup semi-final at Eden spoPark in Auckland on Tuesday. Set 298 to win from 43 overs, the Kiwis, led by fine knocks from captain Brendon McCullum (59 off 26 balls) and Grant Elliott (84 off 73) got across the finish line with one ball to spare. Elliott hit the winning run with a six over long-on off the bowling of Dale Steyn.
South Africa have retained the same 15-man squad that saved the series with Pakistan in October for their two home Tests against India later this month.
South Africa have recalled fast bowler Kyle Abbott for the second Test against India in his home town of Durban starting on Boxing Day (December 26).
AB de Villiers ruled out of the three-match T20I series due to a knee injury
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was quick to concede that India's bowling attack gave away 30 runs too many as South Africa amassed 286 in their first innings, after being reduced to 12 for 3 in the first 30 minutes on the opening day of the first Test, in Cape Town, on Friday.
South Africa resorted to dogged stonewalling in their pursuit of an improbable 481-run victory target after Ajinkya Rahane stroked his second century of the match to tighten India's grip on the fourth and final Test on Sunday.
South Africa coach Russell Domingo has vowed his side won't play "fancy" cricket in their search for an elusive ICC trophy as they depart for the World Twenty20 in India on Thursday in confident mood. South Africa head to the tournament ranked as the third best team in the 20-over format and on the back of recent series wins in Bangladesh and, crucially, India. Domingo believes they will be able to quickly put behind them the 2-1 home loss to Australia, confirmed on Wednesday with a six-wicket loss in Cape Town, which he didn't think diminished from an excellent 14 months for his side in the shortest format. "We are all pretty chilled. I don't think there is a weight of expectation around our team or any of the teams because of the nature of the competition," he told reporters. "You can't get too fancy, you can't get too funky. There is no magic wand to wave. The sides that do the basics really well in high-pressure games, they usually come out on top."
Faf du Plessis smashed a third century in four matches as South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 63 runs on Thursday to set up a final showdown with Australia in the triangular series tournament.
England debutant Dawid Malan's hard-hitting 78 helped the hosts to a 19-run victory over South Africa in their Twenty 20 international at Cardiff on Sunday to secure a 2-1 series win.
South Africa's coach Russell Domingo lists reasons for South Africa's batting collapse on Day 1 of the second Test against India in Bangalore on Saturday. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in...
South Africa batting great AB de Villiers has heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah for simply "outbowling" his colleagues in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam to help India level the five-match series.
AB de Villiers isn't one bit surprised at the possibility of his good mate Virat Kohli playing in this year's T20 World Cup.
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.
Advancing into the Super 10 stage for the first time in three attempts, minnows Afghanistan will face a formidable challenge when they clash with South Africa in the ICC World Twenty 20 Championship at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
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.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been charged with ball tampering, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday. Du Plessis was charged after television footage appeared to show him applying an artificial substance to the ball during the fourth day's play in the second test against Australia in Hobart.
Photos from the ICC World Cup match played between South Africa and Ireland on Tuesday.
Both teams will hope to banish some unwanted baggage that has dogged them for years.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the fourth Test between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg on Sunday.
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.
Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir took three wickets each as South Africa cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
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.
India's Virat Kohli slipped a rung but is still the best-placed Indian batsman in third position in the latest the International Cricket Council One-Day batsmen's rankings released on Tuesday.
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.
Debutant Lungi Ngidi took six wickets as South Africa defeated India by 135 runs for victory in the second Test in Pretoria on Wednesday and also claim the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match contest.
South Africa are to gamble on the fitness of Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy, who were named on Wednesday in a 15-man squad for the Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month.
Eddie Leie made a memorable international debut as he and his spin partner Aaron Phangsio bowled South Africa to a series-clinching 31-run victory in the second and final Twenty20 match against Bangladesh at Mirpur on Tuesday.
Quinton de Kock top scored as all South Africa's batsmen got among the runs in a score of 283 for three on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand at Centurion on Saturday.
Pakistan won a bilateral one-day international series against South Africa for the first time when they claimed a one-run victory in a thrilling finale in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.
Photos from Day 2 of the fourth Test played at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Friday
It was an eighth ODI victory in a row for South Africa and an 11th win in succession at home as they showed form in the build-up to the Champions Trophy in England in June.
South Africa had prepared for a spin onslaught in India but their batsmen were left flummoxed by the hosts' seam attack, captain Faf du Plessis said.
It's less than a year since he made his debut, in the first Test against India at Mohali, but Kagiso Rabada has emerged South Africa's leading cricketer. The 21-year-old fast bowler was named South African's youngest ever Cricketer of the Year and also scooped up five other awards at a gala hosted by Cricket South Africa.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances