South Africa will need their bowlers to step up to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
While South Africa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, the visitors squandered a golden opportunity to script a memorable win outside the sub-continent.
AB de Villiers made this offer in May, barely 24 hours before the final squad for this ongoing showpiece in the UK was to be announced by Cricket South Africa.
He is only the fourth cricketer to win the coveted prize after Sachin Tendulkar, who was the first recipient in 2010, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who won it in 2011 and 2012, and India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who won it last year.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar praised New Zealand for playing "outstanding" cricket throughout the World Cup, saying the Kiwis thoroughly deserved to be in the final after edging past South Africa in a battle of nerves at Auckland. It was ironic that the Johannesburg-born Elliott, 36, played a stellar knock to push his country of birth out of the World Cup race.
All cricketing activity has come to a halt due to the health crisis and there are serious doubts over the future of T20 World Cup. However, the International Cricket Council is yet to take the final call on the T20 showpiece event.
'Losing wickets in bunches is something have to plug'
AB de Villiers revealed that he would be auctioning his and Virat Kohli's kits from the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Gujarat Lions for raising funds to aid the battle against the coronavirus. During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.
The two were recalled to Australia's team for the 2019 World Cup, starting in England and Wales from May 30.
South Africa have now lost five Tests in a row, including two shock home losses to Sri Lanka, and are struggling with on-field know-how to dig themselves out of tough situations.
Ishant Sharma is yet to realise his true potential, feels former pacer Venkatesh Prasad, who wants the lanky speedster to lead the Indian attack in next month's tough tour of South Africa.
Australian opener David Warner and veteran fast bowler Ryan Harris have moved up to career-high positions in the ICC Test player rankings following their impressive contributions in Australia's series-winning third Test defeat of South Africa in Cape Town.
Vishwa Fernando bagged four wickets as Sri Lanka took the honours on day one of the first Test against South Africa by reducing their hosts to 235 all out at Kingsmead on Wednesday.
Indian off-spinner R Ashwin on Sunday lost his top position in the International Cricket Council Test rankings, displaced by England pacer Stuart Broad, even as Ajinkya Rahane remained the country's top-ranked batsman at joint 10th in the latest list.
Moeen Ali took three wickets on Wednesday as England made quick work of securing victory in the first Test by bundling out South Africa for 174 before lunch and ensure a 241-run victory on the last day at Kingsmead.
India's Ravichandran Ashwin has jumped to the number one position in the ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders by virtue of his stellar show in the recently-concluded first Test against the West Indies at Kolkata.
Stand-in skipper AB de Villiers knocked the stuffing out of England attack with a blistering 28-ball 69 before the bowlers chipped in with useful contributions to propel South Africa to a three-run win and a semifinal berth at the ICC World T20 in Chittagong on Saturday.
South Africa will have to dig deep if they are to avoid defeat in the first Test after being reduced to 72 for four wickets in their second innings, still trailing Pakistan by 121 runs, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Inspite of blasting a 61-ball 119 in the fifth and final ODI against India, South African skipper AB De Villiers has played down his effort in comparison to teammate Faf du Plessis's more sedate 133, saying the knock helped other batsmen free up.
Seamer Duanne Olivier completed an 11-wicket match haul as South Africa roared back into contention in the first Test
Australia took a 48-run lead on the back of some solid batting by Matt Renshaw and Shawn Marsh on Sunday. Statistical highlights on day two of the second cricket Test between India and Australia, in Bengaluru.
After eight defeats in 11 outings, Chennai Super Kings will look to give their forgettable campaign a semblance of respectability when they take on in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League in Dubai on Sunday.
Unheralded teenagers Prabh Simran Singh and Prayas Ray Barman attracted astonishing bids during the IPL Players' Auction on a day when superstar Dale Steyn went unsold and once a hot-property Yuvraj Singh went for his base price.
Lockie Ferguson's inclusion gave the much-needed impetus to the side, but KKR are still struggling with their star all-rounder Andre Russell who capped yet another flop show with the bat.
For KKR, the biggest cause of concern will be the availability of big-hitter Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday.
Both DC and RCB have looked solid so far and are placed atop the standings with three wins out of four games each.
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
Virat Kohli (fourth), Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ninth) have also maintained their respective positions in the ICC ODI batting chart.
Jacques Kallis marked the end of his Test career with an emotive farewell century on Sunday to give South Africa a chance of victory over India going into the last day of their brief two-match series.
Heavy showers had been forecast for Sunday and they duly arrived early in the morning. It picked up as the scheduled start time of play approached.
South Africa have named uncapped batsman Theunis de Bruyn in their injury-hit squad for the three-match home Test series against Sri Lanka that starts on December 26.
Kallis had earlier said that not entering the tournament as favourites could work in South Africa's favour.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest bowler to reach the milestone of 300 Test wickets in his 54th match, breaking Dennis Lillee's record during India's win over Sri Lanka in the second Test, in Nagpur on Monday.
New Zealand and South Africa played their hearts out in the first semi-final of the ICC World Cup at the Eden Park in Auckland on Tuesday, but it was the Black Caps who emerged triumphant by four wickets.
Rajasthan Royals, who have won their last two games, will look for another victory against RCB and keep their hopes alive of making it to the IPL play-offs.
The IPL starts on September 19 and, in all likelihood, all the English and Australian players will land in the UAE via a charter flight on September 17, making them available for their respective team's opening match.
It would be Pakistan-born Imran Tahir's first One-Day International against India.
Vernon Philander is enjoying being "mentor" in the twilight of his career and wants more of his contemporaries to give back to the game instead of looking for "greener pastures".
Pacer Navdeep Saini, who is among India's standbys for the World Cup, says he is ready for his big break in the mega event should the need arises.
Virat Kohli's brilliant innings under pressure enabled Royal Challengers Bangalore to eke out a thrilling six wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL cricket tournament on Friday.
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