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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It would be Pakistan-born Imran Tahir's first One-Day International against India.
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.
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.
Kallis had earlier said that not entering the tournament as favourites could work in South Africa's favour.
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.
Philander's partnership with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel has earned the trio the label as the most-balanced and penetrating attack in world cricket.
South Africa captain A B de Villiers on Saturday said his side is not too worried about the problems that India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin could pose during their ICC Cricket World Cup match in Melbourne, on Sunday.
David Miller and J P Duminy scored centuries as South Africa overcame a real challenge from Zimbabwe to record a 62-run victory in their opening World Cup Pool B game in Hamilton on Sunday.
A threat issued by the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti or Patel agitation could affect the game temporarily
Australia's Aaron Finch hit his fifth one-day international century to drive the hosts to a 73-run victory over South Africa in Canberra on Wednesday and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
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.
South Africa set New Zealand a daunting target of 298 runs in 43 overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin is the lone Indian to feature in the top 10 of the latest Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings as he continues to lead the way in the all-rounders list.
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.
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".
Buttler departed after an angry exchange with Ashwin and his exit condemned the Royals to a 14-run defeat in their IPL opener in Jaipur.
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.
'We are at this stage where we have lost almost all of our experience'
There is a definite spring in Ajinkya Rahane's steps after he ended a 17-Test run of not scoring a hundred, a number which has proved to be lucky for him.
'We are known as a team who starts slow, so this time around we have to start well. There is a lot of pressure on players, (but then) it's international cricket and you want to keep it that way.'
Gujarat Lions owner Keshav Bansal expressed happiness that the new franchise managed to get 'experienced and talented' players for the upcoming ninth edition of the Indian Premier League and is confident that captain Suresh Raina can make a strong comeback in the IPL after a dismal showing in the just-concluded World T20.
Kumar Sangakkara remained unbeaten after a sparkling half-century as Sri Lanka responded well to the challenge of scoring 370 runs in four sessions in order to win the first Test against South Africa on Saturday.
David Warner and Glenn Maxwell shared the fourth highest partnership in the history of T20 International cricket to set Australia up for a last-ball, five-wicket victory over South Africa in the second T20 International at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday. The series is now locked 1-1 ahead of the decider in Cape Town on Wednesday. Warner (77 off 40 balls, 6 fours and 5 sixes) and Maxwell (75 off 43 balls, 7 fours and 3 sixes) shared a partnership of 161 which was Australia's highest ever and also the highest ever for the fourth wicket and the highest for any wicket at the Wanderers.
Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris, who bowled his country to a series victory in South Africa last week, is hoping knee surgery will prolong his Test career through the 2015 Ashes at least.
JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Wayne Parnell and Vernon Philander put South Africa on top as they reduced Australia to 112 for four on the second day of the second Test at St George's Park on Friday.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club World Cricket Committee, will skip its upcoming meeting at Lord's on August 11-12.
Twenty-four players, including 14 Indians (of which three are uncapped) and ten overseas, were retained as the retention window for the 2014 Pepsi IPL season closed at 1700 hours on Friday.
India beat South Africa by 124 runs in the third Test in Nagpur,inside three days, to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series on Friday. Rajneesh Gupta presents interesting numbers from day three of Nagpur Test.
Kiwi Ross Taylor's mammoth 290 in the WACA Test against Australia, propelled him to the top-10 list
Kagiso Rabada regained his top spot among bowlers crossing the coveted 900-point mark in ratings even as Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin climbed up a couple of notches to be placed fourth in the ICC Test Player Rankings, released on Tuesday.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com comes up with a pretty strong playing eleven from the long list of big names warming the benches this IPL season.
The countries will pin their hopes of victory on their quicks with seamer friendly wickets on order for the Tests in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and the contests set to be dominated by fiery exchanges of fast bowling.
Fitness clouds and selection dilemmas could hamper South Africa's chances ahead of next month's series against Australia.
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