And congratulations were in store for the team.
From bloody noses to sparks on the race track, Rediff.com has the best pictures from the last week snapped right here...
Dismissing reports of interference in team selection ahead of South Africa's World Cup semi-final against New Zealand as 'utter nonsense.'
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
New Zealand completed their World Cup preparations with a 134-run victory over South Africa on Wednesday.
Ryan Harris claimed the last two wickets at the fag end of the match as South Africa were bowled out for 265 and lost the third and final Test by 245 runs at Newlands on Wednesday. Australia won the series 2-1.
The auction ahead of the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League had in store something on expected lines and some surprises. Here's a look at the top buys after the first round.
Pushed to the bottom of the table following their fifth defeat in six outings, former champions Mumbai Indians will look to keep their chances alive when they face a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad in a crucial Indian Premier League game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Indians dominated the limited-over teams by having three and four players in the ODI and T20I respectively
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has emerged as one of the five players nominated for the LG People's Choice Award ahead of the ICC annual awards.
Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah scored half-centuries to give their team hope of taking a first-innings lead over South Africa on the second day of their opening Test at Chittagong on Wednesday.
Former captain Graeme Smith feels South Africa's 'powerful' bowling attack will put the Indian batting line-up under serious pressure in the upcoming Test series, starting January 5 in Cape Town.
'All the venues are high-scoring venues. So what you need is pace.' 'You really want someone to come there and control the flow of runs in the death overs, whether you are setting a target or setting a target.' 'It is going to be the fast bowlers because at how many venues have you seen spinners bowling the death overs?'
Rajneesh Gupta presents the finest bowling heroics in the 20th over in recent T20Is.
South Africa will be hoping to ease new coach Ottis Gibson into his job in a two-Test series against Bangladesh where the home side defend a one-sided record against their opponents but are light on fast bowlers and still tinkering with their top order.
The 23-year-old limped off the field with a hamstring injury as South Africa lost to Bangladesh on June 2 and missed the subsequent defeat to India and the rained-out clash with the West Indies.
South Africa's hopes of a semi-final place at the Cricket World Cup appear to have been washed out along with their fixture against the West Indies at the Rose Bowl on Monday.
Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore go into the virtual quarter-final, having lost four and three games on the trot respectively
Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson has reportedly got his popular handlebar moustache shaved off by wife Jessica.
Captain Kane Williamson, all-rounder Vijay Shankar and comeback man Wriddhiman Saha will look to score in the key match.
IPL has helped English cricket grow and is best tournament after World Cups, feels English 'keeper Jos Buttler.
Kings XI run into a RCB squad which has grown in confidence by leaps and bounds since their last meeting.
The middle-order continues to remain a concern for CSK with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself not being at his best.
Check out how the players released by the IPL franchises fared in the last edition of the tournament in 2015.
South Africa paceman Morne Morkel thrived on a fast WACA pitch to capture five wickets but the tourists made hard work of a three-wicket victory over Australia in the second one-day international in Perth on Sunday.
Veteran South African cricketer Hashim Amla has reportedly become the third player from the country to be named his country's 'Cricketer of the Year' on two occasions, when he received the award for 2012/2013 season at a gala Cricket South Africa (CSA) banquet.
Kohli has always led from the front but he knows his search for a maiden title will remain incomplete if the team doesn't perform in all departments.
South Africa exceeded expectations by scoring 431 in their first innings. At stumps on Day 4, they were 11 for one, needing another 384 runs for an improbably victory.
An unbeaten century from opener Martin Guptill eased New Zealand to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the second One-Day International at Senwes Park on Sunday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's name may be etched in the annals of Mumbai's Wankhede stadium forever.
Ben Stokes struck a sparkling unbeaten 74 to help England finish the opening day of the second Test against South Africa on a healthy 317 for five at Newlands on Saturday.
England's Steven Finn took three wickets as South Africa, chasing an unlikely 416 for victory, struggled to 136 for four on the fourth day of the first Test.
As many as 76 players including 28 from overseas will go under the hammer at the 2017 Indian Premier League auction to be held in Bengaluru on February 20.
Impressed with the skill-set of young speedsters at the MRF pace academy in Chennai, Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath said that hunting for stronger bodies from the northern part of India can be the answer to the nation's thirst for producing more fast bowlers.
The pacer injures ankle during warm-up session; Kyle Abbott has been called up as replacement
Fast bowler Anrich Nortje, wicketkeeper/batsman Rudi Second and spin bowling all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy have been included in the 15-man squad that will be captained by Faf du Plessis.
Sunrisers Hyderabad face an uphill task to find their way through in the ongoing Indian Premier League as they get ready to take on formidable Chennai Super Kings.
India's long winning streak in Test cricket is under threat in a quick-fire three match series against South Africa this month, where their status as the top ranked nation in the format faces a stiff examination.
Former Australian captain Ian Chappell feels Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni must pick specialist spinner Axar Patel over "bits and pieces" player Ravindra Jadeja in the team's second cricket World Cup game against South Africa in Melbourne.
Standing in as skipper for the injured AB de Villiers and without pace spearhead Dale Steyn for all but a day and a half of the campaign, the 32-year-old batsman delivered a 2-1 series triumph that sent Australia plummeting into crisis.
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