South African batting consultant Justin Sammons hailed Dean Elgar's stubborn resistance against a fearsome Indian attack, saying the skipper's show with the bat will be key if the hosts have to win the Wanderers Test.
The Lankans cruised to a 49-run victory in the fifth and final One-Day International.
The hosts amassed a 492-run at the end of the third day in the second Test.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Test played between South Africa and Australia in Cape Town on Saturday
Kagiso Rabada took five wickets as they cruised to victory over West Indies
The Stuart Broad show in Johannesburg not only destroyed South Africa but also dethroned the Proteas from the No.1 Test rankings. Now India, with 110 rating points, are the No. 1 team in ICC Test rankings, with Australia one rating point shy in second place. India had defeated South Africa 0-3 at home in December, which saw the lead enjoyed by the Proteas cut to just four points. Thus South Africa had to either draw or win the four-Test home series to retain the No. 1 position. Even if the hosts win the last Test, a 2-1 series defeat will mean they will slip to 109 points, behind India and Australia, who are both on 110 points.
The team locked their spot in the global event with a game in hand by emphatically beating Canada, Bermuda and Argentina in the double round-robin Qualifier played in Rydal, Georgia.
Seventeen-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Karabo Meso on Wednesday earned her maiden call-up to South Africa's 15-member squad for the women's ODI World Cup starting later this month in India and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka off-spinner Dilruwan Perera took six wickets in the second innings for a match-haul of 10, as the hosts registered a thumping 278-run win over South Africa inside three days of the opening Test on Saturday.
Assam's largest city Guwahati is set to make its debut as the newest Test centre on Saturday when India take on South Africa in the second and final game of the two-match series.
Fourth-ranked South Africa will aim to climb up to second position in the International Cricket Council One day International Team Rankings when they host world champions Australia in the five-match series from September 30.
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi is not at all surprised with the current team's surrender in South Africa as he believes Virat Kohli's men went into the series without serious preparation and 'wasted time' playing against Sri Lanka.
South Africa's all-time leading scorer Benni McCarthy was one of five players cut from the World Cup hosts' squad on Tuesday as coach Carlos Alberto Parreira settled on his 23 players for the June 11-July tournament. The decision to ditch McCarthy was a major surprise but follows criticism concerning the forward's fitness. Parreira also dropped defender Bryce Moon and goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez in two other surprise cuts.
Australia pulled out of the three-Test tour slated for March-April citing an "unacceptable level of health and safety risk to players, support staff and the community".
Reeza Hendricks' sizzling century in his debut match helped set up South Africa's series-clinching 78-run victory against Sri Lanka in the third one day international on Sunday.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain on Friday said Harmanpreet Kaur boasts of a fantastic World Cup record and it's time the Indian women's team skipper delivered like her Australian counterpart Alyssa Healy.
England have not won the Ashes in Australia after losing the first Test since the 1950s but McCullum and Stokes will remain convinced they can turn the series around, just as they did against South Africa in 2022 when they won 2-1 after losing the opener at Lord's.
Australia's Glenn Maxwell produced an unbeaten half-century in a tense chase to help the hosts edge out South Africa by two wickets in the third and final Twenty20 International and complete a 2-1 series victory in Cairns on Saturday.
India lead South Africa 2-0 after the first quarter in their opening Pool C match of the 2018 Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga stadium, Bhubaneshwar, on Wednesday.
South Africa will dearly miss AB de Villiers in the World Cup. De Villiers announced a shock retirement from international cricket last year.
Wayne Parnell and Simon Harmer put South Africa 'A' with a respectable 231 for six on the opening day of the second unofficial Test in Pretoria on Saturday.
Trent Boult took the prized wicket of AB de Villiers then bowled Dwaine Pretorious in the penultimate over as New Zealand secured a series-levelling six-run victory in the second One-day international against South Africa on Wednesday.
While India and South Africa have identical points (120) against their name, India are placed second on the basis of decimal points.
Meanwhile, Egypt and South Africa also took significant steps towards following the Atlas Lions, moving closer to featuring in the marquee event, which will be played across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
At stumps, on Day 2 of the third Test, South Africa, replying to India's first innings of 414, were 144 for 1.
In a first for the tournament, the WPL final will not be played over the weekend, but on Thursday, February, probably to avoid a clash with the men's T20 World Cup, which begins the same week in India and Sri Lanka.
South Africa will play a minimum of 23 warm-up one-day internationals against five different countries to boost their preparation for next year's World Cup, the country's cricket board said on Monday.
South Africa's head coach Shukri Conrad is backing his spin troika of Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer to match their seasoned counterparts from India and "make history of our own" in the upcoming Test series
South Africa beat England by 84 runs in the second and final Twenty20 international at SuperSport Park on Sunday.
Comeback man Heinrich Klaasen followed Rassie Van der Dussen's suit in turning out to be an unlikely hero with a career-best 81 as South Africa once again outwitted India by four wickets on a tricky pitch to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Jorel hit 101 off 115 balls, while Tilak Varma struck 70 off 103 deliveries helping India post a competitive 259 for seven after being sent into bat.
Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira has been appointed South Africa coach for the 2010 World Cup finals, resuming a job he left 18 months ago, the country's football association announced on Friday.
The victorious Indian women's cricket team led by Harmanpreet Kaur touched down in the national capital on Tuesday evening for its meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
Vernon Philander is becoming the 'new Jacques Kallis', said South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis.
South Africa made an early breakthrough with the wicket of West Indian Leon Johnson when play got underway on a rain-delayed fourth day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Monday.
David Warner took over from Mitchell Johnson as South Africa's tormentor-in-chief as the Australian opener blitzed a quickfire century to extend his team's huge lead on the third day of the first Test on Friday.
Images from Day 3 of the 4th Test played between South Africa and England in Johannesburg on Sunday.
With two days left and the track expected to deteriorate, the Proteas are faced with a stiff task of saving the second Test. Can India pull off victory and reign as the top Test team? India Abroad's Harish Kotian is at the ground posting updates as they happen. Follow what's the latest from the Test on Harish's MyPage!
Chasing 145, the visitors were briefly rattled at 22/2 before Hermann and Van der Dussen stitched together a game-defining 106-run stand.
Having already secured a place in the semi-finals, England will be hoping to acquire some quality workout time for their batters in their last league match against a beleaguered and rain-tormented New Zealand in the women's World match Cup, in Visakhapatnam, on Sunday.
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