South Africa crushed England by seven wickets in their final group match to storm into the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.
IMAGES from the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Mullanpur on Sunday
WTC Final-bound SA players likely to miss IPL playoffs
Shreyas Iyer was happy after his side registered a clinical victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a rain-curtailed clash in Bengaluru.
With South Africa's seam attack featuring Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Marco Jansen and Australia having Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and the ever-dependable Josh Hazlewood in their lineup, the battle between the two sides' fast bowlers is likely to be critical in determining the outcome of the World Test Championship final, as per ICC website.
South Africa go into the five-day clash at Lord's, which starts on Wednesday, as underdogs but Conrad struck an optimistic tone at a press conference on Monday.
CSA's director Enoch Nkwe changed his stance, saying higher-level talks were happening between CSA, the BCCI, and IPL franchises, suggesting CSA had little choice in the matter.
Punjab Kings' ace spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on Monday missed the IPL 2025 match against Mumbai Indians due to a finger injury.
'Life moves on' Rabada looks ahead to World Test Championship final after drug ban
Retained by Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 mega auction for a price of INR 5.50 crore, Shashank kept the faith, hitting 284 runs in 13 matches with 2 half-tons so far (strike rate of 149.47).
Skipper Shreyas made an excellent fifty to support Yuzvendra Chahal's hat-trick as Punjab Kings defeated Chennai Super Kings by four wickets in their IPL match here on Wednesday.
Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer has delivered a firm and timely reminder of the league's identity
And the Punjab Kings were happy campers while franchise Co-Owner Preity Zinta couldn't contain her joy.
Josh Inglis and Priyansh Arya slammed half-centuries as Punjab Kings humbled Mumbai Indians by seven wickets.
IMAGES from the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at the Chinnaswamy stadium, in Bengaluru on Friday
Struggling CSK look to turn around fortunes against PBKS
Their scintillating performance powered Royals to 89/1 in six overs, their highest-ever Powerplay score.
On Sunday, he did well to kill the notion that left arm spinners are not effective against left arm batters as he clearly took out the Rajasthan southpaws for his first two wickets.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja would open the innings for Australia in the WTC final against South Africa while the fit-again Cameron Green would bat at the No. 3 position.
Punjab Kings will look to renew their bid for a play-off berth with another commanding performance in Jaipur on Sunday against Rajasthan Royals, who have failed to rise above mediocrity despite possessing the resources this season.
'I've played with Bumrah in the IPL and we're good friends. You're not going to back down when you're playing for your country and sometimes on the field things get heated.'
Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada produced an inspired bowling performance to lead MI Cape Town to their maiden SA20 title with a comfortable 76 runs victory over two-time champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Captain Shreyas Iyer is pleased that Punjab Kings displayed the right mindset after being put under the pump by aggressive Rajasthan Royals top-order batters.
But 2025? It's different. A seismic shift. Ricky Ponting, the architect of victory, arrives, bringing structure and ruthless ambition.
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai on Wednesday, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer hinted that Glenn Maxwell is ruled out for the remainder of the IPL 2025 season due to a finger injury.
Aiden Markram scored an unbeaten century as South Africa edged tantalisingly close to an unlikely success in the World Test Championship final, needing 69 runs to dethrone Australia after reaching 213-2 at stumps on the third day at Lord's on Friday.
Punjab Kings batter Shashank Singh revealed that the team collectively 'manifested' a top-two finish after the mini-auction.
Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh struck half-centuries, while left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar took three wickets as Punjab Kings outclassed Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs.
RCB fans had little to cheer about on Friday night as their team crumbled under pressure in a rain-shortened clash against Punjab Kings at the Chinnaswamy.
Delhi Capitals will be desperate to arrest their slump and stay in contention for a play-off berth when they take on high-flying Punjab Kings in a crucial IPL match in Dharamsala on Thursday.
Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape registered their fourth successive victory with a 14-run win over Joburg Super Kings.
Head coach Ricky Ponting hailed Punjab Kings' incredible spirit and resilience after they pulled off a sensational 16-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have very little time to pick up the pieces after a debilitating loss as they eye a much-improved display from their batting unit in a return Indian Premier League match against in-form Punjab Kings in Mullanpur, Punjab, on Sunday.
Shreyas Iyer had led KKR to their first IPL title in a decade last year. However, on Saturday, he returns as captain of a rejuvenated Punjab Kings chasing a play-off spot.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's bid for a maiden home victory this IPL season will depend on their batters' ability to handle the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell when they face the Punjab Kings on Friday.
'If one can be brutally honest, he is part of this set-up more because of his reputation.'
Jofra Archer, after disappointing outings in the first two matches, bowled with great pace and accuracy and put the opposition on the back foot right from the word go.
Yuzvendra Chahal led a stunning comeback for Punjab Kings with 4/28 as they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs in their low-scoring Indian Premier League thriller on Tuesday.
With the announcement of IPL resumption imminent, Punjab find themselves well-placed with majority of their star Indian and foreign players already in the country and on standby.
If Punjab goes for a flat deck, there is no guarantee that the bowling unit can defend anything in the 220 range, especially when KKR have the likes of Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, and Venkatesh Iyer in their ranks.
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