Pleased after yet another complete performance, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he was happy to see that the team executed its plans to perfection on the ground.
Virat Kohli slammed a brilliant 138 before the bowlers produced an impressive performance as India comfortably beat South Africa by 35 runs to level the series 2-2 in Chennai on Thursday.
However, the 26-year-old's comparison with Gilchrist can wait.
Pakistan were struggling to avoid the follow-on after being reduced to 127 for five by South Africa, who made 450 runs.
Gone are the days when an Indian captain had to spend considerable amount of time trying to figure out where to hide his slow-moving fielders and pace bowlers.
Veteran South African cricketer Hashim Amla has reportedly become the third player from the country to be named his country's 'Cricketer of the Year' on two occasions, when he received the award for 2012/2013 season at a gala Cricket South Africa (CSA) banquet.
The Baggy Green is synonymous with the Australian cricket team's Test cap and ICC also took it sportingly and apologised with a smile
South Africa were fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during Sunday's five-run victory over India in the opening game of the ODI series in Kanpur. The team's skipper, A B de Villiers, was docked 40 percent of his match fee.
Recently retired Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has named No 1 ranked AB de Villiers as the most difficult batsman he had faced during his glorious international career.
The pacer injures ankle during warm-up session; Kyle Abbott has been called up as replacement
The second Test between India and South Africa ended in a damp draw after cyclonic rains and a wet outfield ensured not a single ball could be bowled for a fourth successive day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
Vijay in 11th spot; Kohli falls five places
A hat-trick in international cricket is no mean feat. And when you are not one of the frontline bowlers in the team, to grab hold of three wickets in as many deliveries is not only a personal achievement but gives the team a huge fillip; after all, as a backup bowler expected to bowl till you get hit, a hat-trick is probably something totally unexpected.
Ben Stokes claimed a wicket for England in the first session of the third cricket test at the Wanderers on Thursday, but South Africa dealt with the early swing from the bowlers and advanced to 73 for one at lunch. South African wicketkeeper Dane Vilas was forced to make a desperate dash to the ground, including a police escort from the airport, after being called up as a late replacement for the injured Quinton de Kock. Stiaan van Zyl was the only wicket to fall for South Africa as he top-edged an attempted pull straight up in the air and was caught by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow off Stokes' bowing for 21.
JP Duminy struck a fluent 92 after being elevated to number three in the batting order in South Africa's 73-run victory over a Sri Lankan Cricket Board President's XI in Colombo on Wednesday.
Ravichandran Ashwin feels the 3-0 win over South Africa is the start of a 'wonderful journey' for the current Test team and the series sweep against the number one side will help them improve on their dismal overseas record.
Earlier this month, pacer Dale Steyn had announced that he would not be available for selection for IPL 2021 and as a result, he has also been released.
The 28-year-old, who was dropped for last year's tour of India, was named in South Africa's squad for the fourth of the five-Test series at the Wanderers.
The former South Africa vice-captain says it will feel like his Test debut if he plays against England in the fourth Test starting on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians had an off day on the field with below par bowling and catching performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the performance of India's top-order batsmen save Murali Vijay terming their effort as "below-par" despite the pitch being a tricky one.
IMAGES from the 4th ODI played between India and South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday
The Proteas have been named Team of the Year at the 2013 South African Sports Awards function at Sun City.
Former captain Mahela Jayawardene hit a classy unbeaten century to help Sri Lanka close on 305 for five on the first day of the second Test against South Africa in Colombo on Thursday. In a chanceless six hours at the crease, Jayawardene finished on 140 not out off 225 balls, including one six and 16 fours, to give Sri Lanka a solid start in their bid to level the two-match series.
The much-vaunted Indian top order struggled yet again against quality fast bowling as the visitors stared at a series defeat at the close of fourth day in the second cricket Test against South Africa in Pretoria, on Tuesday.
Seamer Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets as India seized control of the third and final Test against South Africa on Thursday, going to the close of the second day with a 42-run lead on a treacherous wicket at the Wanderers.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis believes Australia will head into next month's test series against his team mentally scarred following their one-day whitewash by the Proteas. Australia suffered their first ever 5-0 one-day bilateral series defeat against South Africa month and will now host Du Plessis's side for three tests starting on Nov. 3, including a day/night game in Adelaide. "Beating Australia the way we did - really convincingly, not giving them a sniff - will leave a bit of a scar on them mentally. I appreciate it's test cricket, a different format," Du Plessis told reporters.
India are on cusp of a first ever series win on South African soil across formats as they lead 3-0 in the six-match ODI series.
Cheteshwar Pujara gained a spot to be the highest-ranked Indian batsman at seventh even as R Ashwin remained steady eighth in the bowlers' list of the latest ICC Test rankings released on Sunday.
Away from the 50-over format for a while, India were placed third while mainstay Virat Kohli held the second position in the batting chart in the latest ICC ODI rankings released in Dubai on Friday. India were positioned third with 110 points behind Australia (124) and New Zealand (113). With 813 points in his kitty, Kohli was only behind South African talisman AB de Villiers and a place ahead of another experienced Protea Hashim Amla in the batting list.
Virat Kohli was the highest-placed batsman at third followed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni at fifth but there was no Indian in the bowling top-10 of the latest ICC One-day rankings issued on Saturday.
There is no change in the top three of the all-rounders' table which is headed by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.
India face a South Africa in their final World Twenty20 warm-up game in Mumbai, on Saturday.
AB de Villiers, who made an unbeaten 107, used his Indian Premier League experience to good use, leading South Africa to a comfortable seven-wicket World Cup win over the West Indies.
India's swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday jumped eight places to a career-best 22 following his impressive show in a lost cause in the first Test against South Africa but Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara slipped in the ICC ranking ladder.
Cricket South Africa's director of cricket Graeme Smith on Thursday categorically denied recent allegations levelled against him by ex-wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile around team selections during his time as captain of the national team and termed them "extremely hurtful".
South Africa skipper Faf Du Plessis says his team's batting firepower is dangerous for the rivals at the World Twenty20 as they gear up to clash with England, in Mumbai on Friday. Du Plessis said the team has enjoyed success at the Wankhede stadium and those good memories will spur them on to put up another good show. "Definitely, AB (De Villiers) is in good form at the moment and playing some good cricket. And past performances play a massive role when you come to the ground. As few of us did well against India in the final match in ODI series (played at the Wankhede stadium), and you use that to reflect on and try to repeat that performance," Du Plessis told reporters at the pre-match media conference. He said not only AB de Villiers but other batsmen in the side are also in good form. "Looking forward to see what AB (De Villiers) does for us in the tournament, but as I mentioned we have a few guys who are looking good and whole batting line up looks in good form and it is a dangerous sign for the opposition, it's just about putting together on the day," Du Plessis said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances