India's vulnerability to short pitched bowling was exposed as South Africa speedsters Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel exploited seaming conditions to leave the visitors in tatters on a rain-hit opening day of the first Test in Centurion on Thursday.
Playing alongside Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma, who work up genuine pace, Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar says speed is not his strength and therefore he relies on swing to get wickets.
Australia won the third and final Test against South Africa by 245 runs at Newlands in a nailbiting finish with just 27 balls to spare after a day of epic home resistance.
South Africa have named an unchanged squad for the remaining two Tests against England as AB de Villiers prepares to lead the five-day team for the first time in Johannesburg on Thursday.
The bowling attack looks the most settled this year and if batting manages to compliment the bowling, RCB can expect to have a solid season.
India vice-captain Virat Kohli dismissed South Africa pacer Dale Steyn's notion that he and his team-mates were 'frightened' of the Proteas' attack, saying they were good enough to tackle the host pace battery.
The flat decks in India no longer worry pacers, said South Africa captain Graeme Smith as he attributed Dale Steyn's devastating form in the first cricket Test against India to a changed mindset of not letting conditions dictate bowling.
Dale Steyn's figures of seven for 51 are his best ever in Test cricket, bettering the six for 49 he took against New Zealand at Centurion in November 2007.
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.
Aaron Finch's side will head to Sunday's decider in Hobart buoyed by Australia's first win in the short format since January and having delivered some badly needed cheer for the struggling cricket nation.
Kohli, Dhoni named captains of Test and ODI team of the decade by Aussie website
Steyn has confidence in his team of match-winners
Mohammed Shami's absence will certainly leave a gaping hole in India's planning but former South African pacer Fanie de Villiers believes that Rohit Sharma's men have the best chance of ending a 31-year wait for a Test series win in the Rainbow Nation.
Dale Steyn produced a fiery pace bowling spell of three for just eight runs as Deccan Chargers knocked Royal Challengers Bangalore out of the Indian Premier League with a nine-run victory in a tense match in Uppal on Sunday.
Rajneesh Gupta throws up all the numbers from Test encounters between India and South Africa.
Mumbai Indians survived a fiery, pace-bowling spell from Dale Steyn (2/10) as they beat bottom-placed Deccan Chargers by five wickets in a low-scoring Indian Premier League match in Mumbai on Sunday.
South Africa, fired by a devastating spell of bowling from Dale Steyn and sustained by the batting of Hashim Amla, took a firm grip on the third and final Test against Australia on Saturday to end day two with an imposing lead of 292.
South African bowling great Allan Donald believes the pace attack of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel which will take on Australia in a three-Test series next month is the best the country has ever produced.
Australia's ODI World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins was named as the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2024.
"Awesome Tiger safari this morning. Dead eye Dale spotted Mr Tiger hiding in the bush, he kindly...." tweeted Steyn.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore team for the Champions League T20, which kicks-off in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, September 10.
Captain Michael Clarke defied a rampant Dale Steyn with an authoritative century to keep Australia afloat on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa at Newlands on Wednesday. Clarke reached the close, when bad light forced the players from the field with 23 overs still to be bowled, on 107 not out as Australia posted 214 for eight after being sent in to bat.
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.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians in Bangalore on Saturday.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn rates co-hosts New Zealand as a "dark horse" to win next year's cricket World Cup, while one-day rivals Australia are "annoying."
South Africa head coach Ottis Gibson, on Tuesday, hinted that Dale Steyn might have to wait longer to make his comeback as it would be a risk to field the rusty pacer in the first Test against India, beginning, in Cape Town, on Friday.
England's James Anderson has displaced India's Zaheer Khan to claim third place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers.
Under-fire South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said his "hurting" team is trying to fight but is just not able to avoid mistakes in what is turning out to be a horror World Cup campaign.
From land of hockey to cricket stardom, Vidwath Kaverappa takes seven-star route
South Africa pacer Dale Steyn said the nerve-wrecking tied match between India and England highlighted the importance of fielding, which the Proteas will focus on in their World Cup matches. A total of 676 runs were scored in the thrilling match and Steyn said despite the mammoth scores, all that mattered in the end was just one run.
Brett Lee's thunderbolts had taken Rohit Sharma's 'sleep away' when he first started out but among the current lot, Josh Hazlewood is one speedster the India swashbuckler 'doesn't want to face' in Tests.
Ahead of Thursday's Indian Premier League player auction, Royal Challengers Banglore captain Virat Kohli assured the fans that they will cover all bases and pick a strong team for the next edition of IPL. Ahead of this year's IPL auction, RCB had released 12 players from their squad, while retaining 13.
Glenn Maxwell, Dale Steyn, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh and Angelo Mathews have been shortlisted at the highest base price of Rs. 2 crore for the upcoming IPL auction, in Kolkata on December 19. Robin Uthappa, who was released by Kolkata Knight Riders last month, is the sole Indian player in the auction list with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. As many as 332 cricketers will go under the hammer at the auction.
A cute video of Anushka playing laser tag along with Virat has gone viral on the internet.
Images from Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challenegrs Bangalore, on Saturday
India are still 259 runs behind South Africa's imposing first innings of 558 for six declared, with Murali Vijay (27 not out) and Sachin Tendulkar (15 not out) at the crease. Can the pair stay put at the crease? Will India be able to stave off defeat? India Abroad's Bikash Mohapatra is at the ground posting updates as they happen. Follow what's the latest from the Test on Bikash's MyPage!
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn took three wickets for four runs to reduce Bangladesh in their second innings, to 54 for five at close of play on the third day of the second Test on Sunday. Bangladesh, replying to South Africa's record-studded score of 583 for seven declared, were dismissed for 259 and were asked to follow on just after tea.
Opener Quinton de Kock smashed 84 as a weakened South Africa crushed Zimbabwe by seven wickets to complete a whitewash in their three-match ODI series at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Thursday.
A magnificent spell of fast bowling by Dale Steyn saw South Africa inch closer to a historic Test series victory in Australia after the fourth day of the second Test at the MCG in Melbourne on Monday. Set a mediocre 183 to win the match and the three-Test series, South Africa raced to 30 for no loss in six overs.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting on Tuesday backed Brett Lee to come good against South Africa and said the speedster was still quicker than South Africa's Dale Steyn.
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