South Africa captain AB de Villiers's batting blitzkriegs in the last two months have been so good that even his own team mates are in awe of them, fast bowler Dale Steyn said on Friday.
South Africa batsman AB de Villiers kept the ball-tampering controversy simmering after the fourth day of the third Test against England on Wednesday.
South Africa will study video analysis to prepare their batsmen to face Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal, captain AB De Villiers said on Thursday, a day before the teams meet in the Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights.
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 45 runs in their opening match of the Indian Premier League.
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.
The dominant home side, playing in a changed pink kit in aid of breast cancer awareness, eased to victory with a full 18 overs to spare as De Villiers led the way with 60 from 61 balls.
Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday suffered a major setback as wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers has been ruled out of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament due to hand injury, which requires surgery.
AB de Villiers will avoid putting extra stress on a hamstring injury by playing as a batsman only in the first Sri Lanka Test with Quinton de Kock taking over wicketkeeping duties, South Africa captain Hashim Amla said on Tuesday.
Courtesy of AB de Villiers's late blitz, RCB smashed as many as 64 runs from the last three overs to finish on a huge 202 for three in their 20 overs.
'I don't care where I play my 100th Test. I didn't mind where I played my 50th; I don't mind where I play any of my Test matches. Representing my country is a great honour'
'We are at this stage where we have lost almost all of our experience'
The 21-year-old needed just 11 deliveries to go from 50 to 100, an Australian one-day domestic record, and needed just 11 more balls to bring up his hundred, including taking 32 runs off one over.
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.
South Africa will play four Tests and five One-Day Internationals on their upcoming tour of India from September 29 to December 7. The 72 days' tour -- their longest ever to the sub-continent -- also comprises three Twenty20 matches.
Virat Kohli was a relieved man after a nail-biting 10-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, in Kolkata on Friday, kept Royal Challengers Bangalore's hopes alive in the Indian Premier League.
However, the 26-year-old's comparison with Gilchrist can wait.
South Africa's ODI and T20 skipper AB de Villiers has said the Proteas are relishing the opportunity of defending their World No.1 Test crown for the first time on Australian soil.
Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur pushed South Africa to the backfoot before the classy AB de Villiers rallied the tourists with a typically aggressive century on the second and last day of the practice game against Board President's XI which ended in a draw, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Kolkata Knight Riders speedster Morne Morkel says one has to think on his feet to contain someone like AB de Villiers, considered the most dangerous batsman in contemporary cricket.
South Africa beat Pakistan by 45 runs in the first ODI at the Gaddafi stadium on Thursday.
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn was left distressed after being heavily criticised by his own fans for opting against chasing victory in the drawn first test against India, the team's vice-captain AB de Villiers said.
Cricket South Africa's Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe confirmed Klaasen was still part of their white ball plans.
Jacques Kallis hit his second Test double century and AB de Villiers added a thrilling hundred before South Africa declared on 580 for four on the second day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at Newlands on Wednesday.
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.
De Villiers smashed 107 and Morkel made a career-best 97 to lead the visitors to a 28-run victory over Zimbabwe in the 3rd ODI.
India's young batting stars Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan, who played alongside AB in this year's Indian Premier League, said it was like a dream come true for them to share the same dressing room with the South African, who is on the threshold of the unique landmark of 100 Test matches.
Indian cricket's rising star Sanju Samson's coach Biju George feels that his ward possesses the grit of Rahul Dravid as well as the flair of AB de Villiers which will make him a special player for India in the coming days.
India's Virat Kohli was overthrown by AB de Villiers from the top spot of the latest ODI rankings for batsmen following India's 0-2 series loss in South Africa.
Captain AB de Villiers smashed an unbeaten 101 in his 200th One-Day International to lead South Africa to a five-wicket victory over England and a 3-2 series win at Newlands on Sunday.
Following a hattrick of half-centuries in the bilateral home series against Australia, the Mumbaikar continued his red-hot form Down Under as he slammed a 35-ball 53 in India's 13-run win over Western Australia in a practice match here on Monday.
South Africa skipper AB de Villiers said he made a few captaincy errors that may have helped Pakistan snatch a thrilling win from the jaws of defeat in the opening Group 2 Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 in Colombo on Friday.
Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis conceded that the Indian Premier League has helped South Africa's master blaster AB de Villiers and New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, saying they have matured by playing in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.
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.
There is not much the bowlers or a captain can do when batsmen of the calibre of AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle are on song.
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh lavished praise on Punjab Kings uncapped batter Ashutosh Sharma for his valiant knock against Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
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.
South Africa's skipper A B de Villiers is a satisfied man as his team took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against World No 1 India. And AB de Villiers felt that his team ought to be proud of this achievement.
With an unassailable 3-0 lead in hand, India need just one more win to claim their maiden ODI series triumph on South African soil.
Wishing the Sri Lankan team ahead of their quarter-final clash against South Africa, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned the Angelo Mathews-led side to "keep an eye on Proteas skipper AB de Villiers" who has been in rampaging form in the tournament.
Openers AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla broke the backs of English bowlers, blasting a 125-run opening stand to beat England by 9 wickets in the 2nd T20 International at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday.
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