India need to carefully groom replacements for their batting 'fab four' after suffering a crushing innings defeat by South Africa on Tuesday, former captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said.
Skipper Graeme Smith believes South Africa have possibly the best top-six among contemporary batting line-ups as they prepare to face Pakistan in the second Test at Newlands starting on Thursday.
South Africa held a 411-run lead over Pakistan at the close of the second day of the first test at the Wanderers on Saturday with seven second innings wickets still in hand after dismissing the visitors for their lowest test score of 49.
South Africa completed a 2-0 series win over New Zealand on Monday after thumping the visitors by an innings and 193 runs on the fourth day of the second Test.
New Zealand collapsed again against the South Africa pace attack when they staggered to 47 for six in their first innings in reply to the hosts' 525 for eight declared on the second day of the second Test at St. George's Park on Saturday.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn is wary of India's fightback but says his team is motivated to seal the one-day series on Thursday and complete a dominating overseas victory.
Iconic Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has bagged the fifth ESPNcricinfo best batting performance award in Tests, beating the likes of compatriot Rahul Dravid and Australia skipper Michael Clarke. Tendulkar, whose 146 at Cape Town in 2011 came under testing conditions and in the face of sublime swing bowling by Dale Steyn, was the No 1 choice of seven jurors of 11 who had him in their top three.
Australia dismissed South Africa for 225 despite another dogged rearguard action from Faf du Plessis before moving shakily to 33-2 at the close of play on a thrilling first day of the third Test at the WACA on Friday.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir made no bones about the fact that he got a raw deal from umpire Nigel Llong which prompted an angry reaction from him as he cursed on his way back and flung his bat angrily on reaching the dug-out.
Former players were effusive in their praise for Sachin Tendulkar who on Sunday became the first man in the history of Test cricket to post 50 centuries.
Pacers Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn caused havoc, claiming seven wickets among them, to put South Africa in command against India on a rain-hit opening day of the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday. At stumps on day one, India were reeling at 136 for nine from 38.1 overs after play was called off early due to bad light.
Australia captain Michael Clarke said helping his team when they were under pressure was the best part of his century on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa on Wednesday.
The World T20 in Bangladesh has reached its business end. The semi-final line-up has been decided. While Sri Lanka take on the West Indies in a repeat of the 2012 final, Team India, champions of the inaugural edition in 2007, meet South Africa. Even as await those matches, here's a look at some of the best efforts in the Super 10s.
battling half-century from JP Duminy and a test best 46 not out from tailender Vernon Philander led South Africa's fightback as they closed on 262 for seven on the first day of the third and final test on Thursday.
Geoffrey Boycott has criticised England's batsmen after their first-Test defeat to South Africa, saying they forgot about defence in the pursuit of their ambition to score runs.
Vijay in 11th spot; Kohli falls five places
Spinner Amit Mishra and pacer Dale Steyn scalped two wickets each as Deccan Chargers knocked Rajasthan Royals out of the Indian Premier League by inflicting on them an upset five-wicket defeat in a must-win match in Hyderabad.
Check out how these cricketers decorate their bodies.
Injured South Africa pacer Dale Steyn bowled for a short while in the nets, raising hopes of him being included in the playing XI in the third Test against India in Nagpur, but his fast bowling partner Morne Morkel said the team is keeping its fingers crossed.
# Suresh Raina has registered 11 fifties in the IPL -- a tally exceeded only by Jacques Kallis (13).
Eden Gardens pitch curator Prabir Mukherjee on Wednesday denied reports of being under pressure from the BCCI to prepare a turning track to help India level the two-match Test series against South Africa in Kolkata.
New Zealand's nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the second Test was a closer match than the result suggests and the hosts' captain Ross Taylor believes his team is not far away from being competitive in the third Test in Wellington.
Chris Martin struck back for New Zealand with two quick wickets to leave South Africa on 27 for 2 at the close of play on a rain-hit first day in the second Test in Hamilton on Thursday after the hosts' middle order had collapsed.
If South Africa was able to restrict India to under 300, it was mainly due to the bowling of Dale Steyn, says Jacques Kallis.
More significant than the individual, match-winning efforts of Imran Tahir, AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn, was South Africa's selection of three frontline spinners in the match against the West Indies, says Jacques Kallis.
The 2011 Indian Premier League Players' Auction proved to be a blessing in disguise for the top cricket stars around the world. A total of 127 players were sold in the two-day auction at the ITC Gardenia hotel in Bangalore, while 12 players were originally retained by the franchises ahead of the auction. Harish Kotian presents a list of auctioned players.
Sri Lanka, looking to square the three-match series 1-1, were in complete command after 14 wickets tumbled on the second day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead, on Tuesday.
Veteran Anil Kumble showed the fire in him was still burning as he rallied Royal Challengers from a disastrous start to a runners-up finish in the second season of the IPL. The ace leg spinner was instrumental in the team's revival while veterans Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis also made notable contributions as it finished behind Deccan Chargers.
Former South Africa captain Clive Rice rates the India bowling attack higher than South Africa's and said the home bowlers would struggle to take 20 wickets against a batting line-up, which boasts of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, in the Test series starting next week.
After entering the Champions League Twenty20 final, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised Suresh Raina for his breezy unbeaten 48-ball 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in semi-final.
South Africa have included off-form opening batsman Hashim Amla in their squad for the Cricket World Cup in England and Wales starting next month, but there is no place for all-rounder Chris Morris.
Dale Steyn, the world's most feared pacer, has backed his country, South Africa, to emerge triumphant in the three-Test series against India at the end of the year.
Graeme Swann became the world's number one ODI bowler for the first time in his career after the off-spinner's eight-wicket haul helped England to a 3-2 series win against Sri Lanka.
Harbhajan Singh, with three wickets in England's innings, took his tally of wickets this year to 58. Only South Africa's Dale Steyn (60) has claimed more wickets than Harbhajan in 2008.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bangalore on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath says it wasn't easy to bat, let alone score runs, in his Test debut against South Africa earlier this month.
India survived several anxious moments before beating South Africa by one run in the first One-Day International at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur on Sunday. Wayne Parnell smashed 49 from 45 deliveries but was run-out off the final delivery of the innings as South Africa were dismissed for 297, in reply to India's 298 for nine in 50 overs.
South Africa thrashed Australia by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead in their three-match One-day International series at Perth Stadium on Sunday.
After a week of action at the Cricket World Cup, with each team now playing at least one match, here's an analysis of how the main contenders are shaping up.
On a night of mixed fortune for Indian cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named the ODI Player of the Year, Yuvraj Singh won the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Award but pacer Ishant Sharma failed to win the Emerging Player honour at the annual ICC awards function in Dubai.
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