While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
Kohli finished the series with 302 runs at an astonishing average of 151 and a strike rate of 117-plus, including two centuries and a fifty.
Former Australia captain Tim Paine has accused South Africa of ball-tampering in the match that immediately followed the infamous 2018 Newlands Test which saw the Australian team engulfed in the 'Sandpaper-gate' scandal.
Spin great Ravichandran Ashwin praised Rohit Sharma's remarkable transformation after he surpassed Shahid Afridi's record for the most sixes in ODIs.
It's encouraging when you do well out of your comfort zone: Suryakumar on SA series
Australia pace spearhead Pat Cummins says his injury-forced withdrawal from the T20 World Cup was also driven by a desire to be completely fit for the upcoming Test season.
Ibrahim Zadran's unbeaten 95 and Mohammad Nabi's four-wicket haul steered Afghanistan to an 82-run win over Canada in their final T20 World Cup match in Chennai, finishing on a high despite both teams being eliminated.
Though Shubman Gill travelled with the Indian team to Guwahati on Wednesday, his injury is unlikely to heal in time ahead of the second Test, which begins on Saturday.
South Africa scored 270-2 off 40.1 overs, easily chasing down Pakistan's 269-9 from their 50 overs.
Afghanistan keeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has no hesitation in admitting former KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir as the "best coach" that he has played under.
Dean Elgar's decision backfired as South Africa were bundled out for 55 in their first innings.
Simon Harmer led South Africa's lion-hearted bowling effort as the Proteas registered a thrilling 30-run victory against India inside three days of the low-scoring opening Test.
Stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can extend their careers till the 2027 ODI World Cup if the two Indian superstars continue their age-defying batting efforts, feels New Zealand pace great Tim Southee.
Australia reduced South Africa to 149 for six at the close of play on the fourth day of the rain-disrupted third Test on Saturday after declaring on 475/4 in pursuit of a victory that would give them a 3-0 series sweep.
He was greeted with chants of 'Kohli, Kohli' with fans jostling for selfies and handshakes, as Kohli struggled to make his way through the crowd to his car.
It has been a year since I have been dreaming of this time: Surya on Player of Series show
In India's first innings, only Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 off 97 balls) and Washington Sundar (48 off 92 balls) could contribute substantially as the home team suffered a batting collapse after starting the day at 9 for no loss.
Cheteshwar Pujara refuses to believe India's recent poor record at home is because of transition.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will be playing an ODI World Cup final for the third time, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017 to Australia and England, respectively. This will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the final.
Rohit Sharma first wore the ODI captaincy armband in 2017 and led India in 56 ODIs, winning a stunning 42, while losing just 12.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are expected to return to international duties in June when India host Afghanistan for a three-match ODI series.
Hardik Pandya poised for double milestone in South Africa series
A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
We wanted India to grovel: SA coach Shukri Conrad creates a stir
Jason Gillespie's short stint as Pakistan's Test coach ended amid internal friction rather than on-field failure, with the former Australian pacer now revealing serious governance issues within the PCB.
The third ODI was abandoned. The ODI series finishes 1-1.
All-rounder Ayush Badoni said he has been putting more work in his bowling in the last couple of years.
Ayush Badoni rose to prominence with his performances for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL where he played under the mentorship of current India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
South Africa's shock exit at last year's Twenty20 World Cup following a loss to the Netherlands with much the same group of players still weighs heavy on captain Temba Bavuma.
India have never won a Test series on South African soil and Kohli's men will go all out to be the first team to achieve the feat.
South African opener Alviro Petersen announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday immediately after the team's eight-wicket win over the West Indies at Newlands.
England finally rediscovered their attacking mojo, riding on an explosive start and a splendid late surge from Will Jacks to post a challenging 202 for seven against Italy in their must-win Group C clash, in Kolkata, on Monday.
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes said that Team India does not need to prepare turning wickets as they can bowl out their opponents with their pace line-up and having another spin-friendly wicket for the second Test against South Africa will be a "big test of their ability".
Pant boost for Delhi as keeper-batter returns for Vijay Hazare Trophy
'As long as the guys understand the way that we want to try play as a team and can keep that close to them when playing in different leagues and tournaments. Then hopefully by the time we meet up for the World Cup, the guys are used to that brand and how we want to operate as a team.'
Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar on Sunday hailed Virat Kohli as the greatest one-day cricketer of all time, saying the Indian icon's world-record tally of centuries underline his unmatched stature in the format.
Later, priests honoured the visitors with the temple's Shesha Vasthram (sacred cloth) and presented them with the deity's portrait and prasadam on behalf of the Devasthanam.
Batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lit up the grand stage with a jaw-dropping 175 to power India to a record-extending sixth ICC Under-19 World Cup title after a 100-run victory over England in the final in Harare on Friday.
According to Cricbuzz, the franchise has received clearance from the BCCI to release the trio, as none of them are involved in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Virat Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit Sharma has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
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