After a below-par effort against Pune Supergiants, the Delhi Darevils will be looking to hit the straps rightaway with their prime players set to comeback in the playing XI as they take on bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter at Mohali on Saturday. Following three horrendous seasons, the Daredevils have had a decent outing so far under Rahul Dravid's mentorship and Zaheer Khan's captaincy, having won five of their eight games and are placed third in the eight-team table. There has been no standout performer as such but contributions from most of the players in their five victories has made it clear that Dravid's men are certainly not dependant on any one individual to carry the team forward.
Du Plessis had a tough time in 2015, scoring just 60 runs in seven innings.
'We want to give Rohit Sharma an opportunity to open the innings in Tests'
'Binny's slot could go to a spinning all-rounder in Nagpur. It could be either Rohit or Mann.'
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis says his side is determined to enjoy their final week at the World Cup - and that started with a nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at The Riverside. They now have a week until their final match - against Australia - at Old Trafford but are keen to ensure they bow out on a high.
South Africa were 46 for two in reply to the West Indies' modest total of 231 at the end of the first day's play in the third and final Test in Barbados on Saturday. Captain Graeme Smith was unbeaten on 35 at the close, with nightwatchman Paul Harris two not out for the visitors who are 1-0 up in the series.
With both teams virtually out of the semi-final race, South Africa and Pakistan will be battling it out for a consolation win in their World Cup match at Lord's.
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.
India thwarted stubborn resistance from South Africa's Hashim Amla and the tailenders to clinch a series-levelling innings and 58 runs victory in the second Test at Kolkata to retain their status as the number one team on Thursday.
Harbhajan Singh claimed five wickets for 59 runs as India beat South Africa by an innings and 57 runs on a thrilling final day in the second Test to level the two-match series at 1-1 and remain the number one Test team in the world. Hashim Amla was the only South African batsman to provide some resistance. He was left unconquered after a stubborn knock of 123 from 394 deliveries, inclusive of 16 boundaries, his third hundred on a trot in three innings in the series.
South Africa were reduced to 115 for three after 35 overs in their second innings before rain and fading light forced the umpires to call stumps in the post-tea session on Day 4 of the second Test against India.
When play was called off early due to bad light, on Day 1 of the second Test, South Africa were tottering at 266 for 9, after being well-placed on 228 for 2 at tea.
Opener Dean Elgar struck his third Test century as South Africa rode their luck to finish the first day of the second Test against West Indies on 270 for two on Friday.
Rohit Sharma's rollicking 150-run knock went in vain as South Africa pulled off a thrilling five-run victory in the first one-dayer against India in Kanpur to continue their winning run.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli says his team never lost faith in itself despite the criticism that came with consecutive Test losses to South Africa, crediting this belief for the turnaround that gave the visitors a consolation win in Johannesburg.
South Africa's pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada feels the upcoming T20I and Test series against India is a chance for his embattled team to figure where it stands against the world's best in a tough transition journey.
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.
AB de Villiers has been ruled out of South Africa's two-test home series against New Zealand this month with an injured elbow and Faf du Plessis will take over the captaincy.
India pacer Jasprit Bumrah was more than happy to take advantage of the helpful conditions with ball in hand and the 25-year-old took great pains to ensure the magnitude of the occasion didn't adversely affect him.
Rohit Sharma's blistering century went in vain as South Africa began their long tour of India on a winning note by scripting a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 International match in Dharamsala.
Struggling teams Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab take on each other in an Indian Premier League match in Mohali on Sunday as they desperately seek to get back to winning ways to stay in the hunt for a play-offs berth.
All the IPL 10 numbers, from Rajneesh Gupta.
Faced with a do-or-die situation after the heartbreaking one-run loss in Jaipur, South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl today hinted that the visitors may make some changes in their side for the second one-dayer against India in Gwalior on Wednesday.
Images from the fifth day's play in the second Test between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Thursday.
AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn make their long-awaited return to the South Africa Test squad for the day-night four-day Test match against Zimbabwe to be played at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth, from December 26 to 29.
South Africa's veteran batsman Jacques Kallis believes that his team would fightback from the dead and bat out a draw on the final day of the second and final Test in Kolkata.
Intense action is in store when play resumes on Day 2. Can India bounce back and take a sizeable lead? India Abroad's Harish Kotian is at the ground posting updates as they happen. Follow what's the latest from the Test on Harish's MyPage!
India coach Gary Kirsten credited his bowlers for putting up a fine show and being resilient to end Day 1 on a high.
Can Kallis and Amla carry on the fine showing on Day 2? India will need a couple of early wickets to restrict the South African total.
All-rounder JP Duminy has insisted that South Africa are capable enough to tackle the Indian spinners in the 'do or die' third Test match in Nagpur, which starts on Wednesday.
Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad ripped through South Africa's top order to put England on the brink of victory on the fourth day of the second Test on Tuesday.
Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq, who is often blamed for his slow approach to game, showed that he can be an attacking skipper when situation demands. In the crucial game against South Africa, the 40-year-old was seen adopting a carefree approach, which helped the sub-continent nation stun the one of the pre-tournament favourites by 29 runs.
A hostile trio of Pakistan left-arm fast bowlers took full advantage of a pitch freshened by rain to hand pre-tournament favourites South Africa their second defeat in the ICC World Cup.
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.
South Africa's mammoth total of 438 for four against India in the fifth and final One-dayer was the highest innings score in the country, besides being the joint third-highest ever in the world, in Mumbai, On Sunday.
India announced themselves as genuine contenders to defend their World Cup title on Sunday by humbling South Africa's vaunted pace attack before bowling out the Proteas for an emphatic 130-run victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
'For all of us it is just about converting and I am not different to any one of those players when I get to 50, I want to get a hundred'
India's team manager, Vinod Phadke, has been fined 40 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of making inappropriate comments about umpire Vineet Kulkarni ahead of Wednesday's second One-Day International against South Africa in Indore.
South Africa survived a batting collapse precipitated by a hat-trick from spinner Prosper Utseya to beat Zimbabwe by 61 runs in the third match of the triangular series on Friday.
