The series should get off to an explosive start when quicks Mitchell Johnson and Dale Steyn face off.
The series loss to South Africa notwithstanding, India held on to their second spot in the team list, while star batsman Virat Kohli rose up a rung to second in the batsmen's table of the latest ICC ODI cricket rankings.
Even as they struggle to find the winning formula, laggards Kings XI Punjab will still fancy their chances when they host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Mohali on Monday.
Cameron White scored an unbeaten 41 and steered Australia to a dramatic two-wicket victory over South Africa on the penultimate ball of the match to clinch the Twenty20 international series 2-1 on Sunday.
Bangladesh continued their giant-killing exploits with a nine-wicket victory over South Africa in Wednesday's rain-hit final one-day international to clinch the three-match series 2-1.
India have never won an ODI series in South Africa, having lost 5-2 in 1992-93, 4-0 in 2006- 07, 3-2 in 2010-11 and 2-0 in 2013-14.
When South Africa lost to India on Sunday, they cemented their reputation for 'choking' in ICC tournaments. Rajneesh Gupta tells us why South Africa's record for freezing in important ICC contests is, alas, well deserved.
Virat Kohli will be facing the toughest battle of his nascent ODI captaincy career when defending champions India take on South Africa in a do-or-die match of the ICC Champions Trophy, in London, on Sunday.
With India being outplayed in the Twenty20s, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will face added pressure to perform and lead India from the front against a formidable South African unit in the five-match ODI cricket series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.
Perennial under-achievers Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab will look to recover from opening losses and put their campaign back on track.
Under-fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni marked his return to form with an unbeaten 92 as India recorded a 22-run victory over South Africa in the second One-Day International to level the five-match series 1-1 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, in Indore, on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka thrashed South Africa by 128 runs in Colombo on Wednesday to wrap up the one-day series 4-1.
IMAGES from the 3rd T20I played between India and South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town on Saturday
Shardul Thakur made his first appearance in the series count with a four-wicket haul as India yet again choked the South African batsmen, dismissing them for a below-par 204, in the sixth and final One-Day International, in Centurion, on Friday.
Enjoying one of the best phases in his career so far, Royal Challengers Bangalore's inspirational leader Virat Kohli is ready to play through pain against Kings XI Punjab with multiple stitches in his split webbing in another must-win IPL encounter in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Kohli sustained split webbing in his left hand while fielding against Kolkata Knight Riders as he went for a diving catch. He left the field briefly to get medical assistance, got his webbing taped and was back in field. He then played another classy knock to keep RCB's play-off qualification hopes alive. "I might need 7-8 stitches," Kohli had said after the match but if KXIP thought that the opposition skipper will make himself unavailable, they would be in for disappointment as RCB's manager Avinash Vaidya said that India's No 1 batsman will be playing in this crucial encounter.
Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to quickly bounce back from the disappointing loss against Delhi Daredevils and seal their place in the play-off when they take on a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL clash in Mohali on Sunday. Knowing that there is scramble among top teams for the playoff berth and holding on to top position is not an easy task, SRH will have to put the loss against Delhi behind and look to put up an all-round performance on Sunday. What has made this game at the I S Bindra PCA stadium even more important for Hyderabad is the fact that Punjab, which has struggled through the tournament, has suddenly started turning over a leaf under their new captain Murali Vijay, whose appointment was made mid-way. The Punjab outfit, which is lying at the seventh place with four wins from 11 outings, pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam on Friday night.
Getting his team composition right will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni's primary aim as Rising Pune Supergiants meet an out-of-sorts Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League cricket tournament encounter, in Mohali on Sunday.
India needs to get the team composition right in the third and final Twenty20 International to prevent South Africa from recording a clean sweep, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Despite the death of Mitchell Johnson's former team mate Phillip Hughes, the likelihood is he will unleash a similar barrage on India should the first Test go ahead.
Desperate to get their campaigns back on track, the two bottom placed teams in the Indian Premier League -- Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore -- lock horns in Mohali on Monday, aiming to keep their winning momentum going to stay afloat in the ninth edition of the T20 league.
Trailing 1-2 in the series, India have some concerns with most batsmen not showing enough flexibility at different batting positions.
Bruised and battered by Chris Gayle's mauling on Wednesday, England are faced with a must-win situation as they look for ways to contain South Africa in their ICC World Twenty20 match in Mumbai on Friday.
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.
On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders are overwhelming favourites against King's XI Punjab.
Factbox on the cricket World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland.
The players auctions for this year's IPL is scheduled for this weekend. Rajneesh Gupta looks at the players retained and released by the teams for IPL 2017.
A humdinger on cards as South Africa chase first series win in India
A threat issued by the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti or Patel agitation could affect the game temporarily
Dhoni returns to the Indian dressing room after three months and for him the series will be start of the preparation for next year's World Twenty20, that will be hosted by India.
South Africans take the top 3 slots in Most Valuable Player Index.
Opening batsman Quinton de Kock provided the early flourish with the bat with his seventh century while fast bowler Morne Morkel applied the finishing touch with four wickets as South Africa beat India by 18 runs on Sunday to take a 2-1 series lead in Rajkot, on Sunday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni might have paved the way for India's victory with an unbeaten 92 in the second cricket ODI, but the skipper preferred to credit his bowlers for the series-levelling win against South Africa in Indore on Wednesday.
Riding on a solid batting performance, the formidable Chennai Super Kings opened their Champions League Twenty20 campaign in style, defeating South Africa's Titans by four wickets in a high-scoring encounter in Ranchi on Sunday.
South Africa has been perennial favourites but it hasn't helped them.
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
Images from the World Cup first quarter-final between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Sydney, on Wednesday.
Penpix of the South Africa squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
India's batting sensation Virat Kohli, named player of the tournament, is also the most valuable player of World T20 2016. With a fifty and two wickets, England's Joe Root is just behind him.
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