Ravichandran Ashwin displayed his magic yet again to record career-best figures of 7 for 66 as India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-Test series against South Africa after an emphatic 124-run victory in the third match in Nagpur on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers to take note of at the end of the first day's play in the third Test between India and South Africa.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada took three wickets as South Africa bowled India out for 187 to take the opening day honours on a seaming wicket in the third and final Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Kagiso Rabada claimed a six-wicket haul on Thursday as South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out for 224 in their second innings to win the second Test by 282 runs with a day and a half to spare and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Sri Lanka failed to last the first session of the fourth day at Newlands, having resumed on 130-4 and being dismissed after just over 100 minutes of play.
The Pakistan-born bowler made an instant impact on his return to the South Africa line-up and his team mates made sure his hard work did not go to waste as they finished the day on 128 for three wickets, a 29-run first innings lead.
Opener Reeza Hendricks, wicketkeeper Dane Vilas, spinner Aaron Phangiso and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who have all previously represented the country in the limited overs formats, picked for Bangladesh Tests
South Africa finished at 11 for one in nine overs bowled in second innings.
Ravichandran Ashwin, playing his first Test since last December, says he badly missed turning out for India in the last 10 months, so much so that he stopped watching the game.
Stokes now holds the record score for an England number six, beating Graham Hick's 187 against India in 1993, and became the first English centurion at Newlands for 50 years.
After a dream ODI debut last month, teenaged paceman Mustafizur Rahman announced his Test arrival by claiming three wickets in four balls as Bangladesh bowled out South Africa for 248 on the opening day of the first Test in Chittagong on Tuesday.
Pakistan resumed their second innings needing a further 228 for victory with seven wickets in hand, but their chances faded when Olivier removed the dangerous Babar Azam (21) and captain Sarfraz Ahmed (0) in consecutive balls.
South Africa reeled off their modest victory target of 41 runs early on the fourth day of the second Test against Pakistan to clinch the series with a comprehensive nine-wicket triumph at Newlands on Sunday.
The touring side reached 75-1 in their second innings at the close, a lead of 205, with Dean Elgar (38 not out) and Hashim Amla (23 not out) bringing some order to the final hour and ensuring their team are well-placed to force the victory that would level the four-match series at 1-1.
Indian cricket team stands a chance of making big gains in terms of International Cricket Council (ICC) Test ranking if they manage to register a 3-1 victory over Australia in their ongoing four-match series.
South Africa's hopes of victory on day five of the second Test against West Indies were thwarted in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday by heavy overnight rain and a wet outfield which prevented any play.
Dale Steyn ripped through the West Indies top order to claim his 25th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and give South Africa an innings and 220-run victory on the fourth morning of the first Test on Saturday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the second Test between South Africa and India, in Johannesburg, on Monday.
India's formidably consistent match-winners have a date with history in the New Year when they take on an out-of-sorts South Africa in the second Test in Johannesburg from Monday in pursuit of a coveted first-ever series win in the Rainbow Nation.
The Wanderers' pitch has coming under criticism from former cricketers and commentators for its dangerous nature.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Test played between South Africa and India at Centurion on Sunday.
India captain Virat Kohli blazed a magnificent century, but South Africa hold the upper hand as they reached 90 for two in their second innings on a difficult wicket after rain and then bad light curtailed day three of the second Test on Monday.
Michael Clarke remained unbeaten on 161, one of the more heroic of his 27 Test hundreds, as Australia reached 494 for seven before rain brought an early tea on the second day of the series-deciding third Test against South Africa on Sunday.
Hashim Amla's blistering stroke-play and Morne Morkel's fearsome bowling put South Africa in control of the second Test against Australia as they closed the third day on 192 for four on Saturday.
All-rounders Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell were named in South Africa's 15-man squad on Wednesday for the three-match Test series against Australia starting on February 12.
He joins an elite group of players who have made a century in their 100th Test -- the others being Colin Cowdrey, Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge, Alec Stewart, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ricky Ponting (both innings) and Graeme Smith.
A humdinger on cards as South Africa chase first series win in India
Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, moved the Bombay high court on Wednesday seeking medical aid for an eye infection which he developed after contracting Covid-19.
'I know a few of the Surrey guys and they are not what people make them out to be a lot of the time. But if anyone in that dressing room does think they are a big dog, they will need to sit down for a little while because there is a proper big dog coming'
Spinner Moeen Ali crowned his excellent series by taking five wickets as England beat South Africa by 177 runs in the fourth Test in Manchester on Monday to secure a 3-1 series victory.
Tendulkar and Dravid came close to the 900-point mark, but were unable to break the barrier
Pacer Ishwar Pandey took four wickets, including two with successive deliveries, but South Africa 'A' fought back through a fighting 84 from J P Duminy and his crucial partnerships with the tail-enders, in the first unofficial Test against India 'A', in Rustenburg, on Monday.
Virat Kohli and Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara held on to their second and seventh position respectively
A venomous spell of fast bowling from Stuart Broad led England to an emphatic seven- wicket win over South Africa in the third on Saturday to clinch the series. Broad's brilliant return of 6-17 on a lively wicket skittled the Proteas for 83 in their second innings on the third day. England reached their modest victory-target of 74 with relative ease as captain Alastair Cook (43) top-scored in guiding them to 77 for three from 22,4 overs under gloomy skies. The tourists now have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series, with the final game to be played in Pretoria. South Africa bowled out England for 323 in the morning session for a slender first-innings deficit of 10 runs, but were no match for the bounce and movement of a rampant Broad as they crumbled to their second lowest score since returning to international cricket in 1991.
Australia moved one wicket from victory in the first Test against South Africa on Sunday after Mitchell Starc's swing bowling decimated the hosts' lower order and dampened their hopes of an unlikely recovery.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between South Africa and Australia in Durban on Saturday.
South African swashbuckler A B de Villiers found a positive for India in what has been a thoroughly disappointing Test campaign in South Africa so far - their 'lively pace attack' which he says, has surprised the hosts.
South Africa batted cautiously to reach 98 for three as they try to preserve their 1-0 lead in the series in the second Test and final against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Spin legend Shane Warne has thanked star batter Virat Kohli for "passionately supporting" Test cricket, a day after he stepped down as skipper of the Indian Test team.
Having decimated South Africa inside three days on a turning track in Mohali, India will again look to unleash their troika of spinners to spoil A B de Villiers's landmark 100th match when the two sides meet in the second Test, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
India captain Virat Kohli chalked up his seventh double hundred in Tests before his pacers claimed a few early wickets to leave South Africa reeling, on Day 2, of the second Test against South Africa at Pune.
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