But the hosts will be a confident group as star batter Virat Kohli made a return to run-making ways after an all too brief blip.
Virat Kohli's nearly two-decade long agonising wait to lay his hands on an IPL trophy with Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be up against Shreyas Iyer's resolve to make first-time winners out of the tenacious Punjab Kings.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the opening Test, played between South Africa and India at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday.
Struggling Mumbai Indians will be hoping their batters get their act together and shoulder responsibility when they take on an inspired Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League match in Mumbai on Monday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's bowling unit will face a different challenge when they take on Gujarat Titans in an IPL match on Wednesday.
South African pacer Kagiso Rabada and Test captain Temba Bavuma, who are not part of the Proteas white-ball cricket mix to gear up for the Test series against India, won't feature in domestic cricket.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Jofra Archer, who smashed 27 from eights, helped Royals hammer 30 runs off the final over to finish on a massive 216 for seven in their 20 overs.
Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi reckons the upcoming home series against India can set the "ball rolling" in the right direction for South African cricket, which has gone through a transition phase over the past few years while enduring upheavals.
Lungi Ngidi decimated India's top order as South Africa triumphed by five wickets
For the world, it is another victory of a cricket team, but for all those Black South Africans, who suffered during apartheid, it come as a sweet redemption.
A flawless maiden hundred from opener Ryan Rickelton helped South Africa crush Afghanistan by 107 runs.
Royal Challengers Bangalor will attempt to break a 17-year jinx at the Chepauk stadium when they face Chennai Super Kings in the IPL match on Friday.
As the battle for semi-final berths intensifies in Group B, top-ranked South Africa will aim to assert their dominance and secure a spot in the final four when they face a struggling England in a high-stakes Champions Trophy clash in Karachi on Saturday.
The depth of fast bowlers at South Africa's disposal was no better evidenced than on Thursday as Corbin Bosch and Dale Paterson took nine of the 10 wickets to dismiss Pakistan for 211 on the opening day of the first Test at Centurion.
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy second Semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Wednesday
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Lucknow, on Friday.
Images from the ICC World Cup match between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
South Africa 'A' fast bowler Lungi Ngidi, on a comeback trail after injury, bowled Gill, who made a classy 90 in the first innings to leave India 'A' at 10 for one.
Devon Conway scored a half-century to guide New Zealand to a seven-run victory over South Africa in a rain-affected World Cup warm-up game on Monday.
Jansen replaces injured Dwaine Pretorius, who fractured his left thumb in the recent series in India.
23 wickets and several records fell on the opening day of the second and final Test in Cape Town on Wednesday.
After the 72-run loss in the opening Test, the margin got bigger as the visitors handed the home side a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
India and South Africa shared honours in the five-match T20I series after the last game here on Sunday was called off due to rain
Kohli completed 1,000 runs at ICC T20 World Cup events
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Australian team will be aiming to put up a much better batting performance with a rejigged playing eleven against an upbeat South Africa
The former skipper called Rohit an "old-school" long-format batter. He added that there will be np competition if Rohit extend his career.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has been criticised for failing to meet "transformational targets" with only one black African in Kagiso Rabada part of the T20 World Cup squad.
WATCH the training sessions of South Africa and Team India, on Wednesday, the eve of the first ODI in Durban
South Africa are hopeful that both fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will be available for selection in the first Test against India that gets underway in Pretoria on Tuesday, coach Shukri Conrad has confirmed.
Images from Sunday's IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings, in Abu Dhabi.
The country's woes at World Cups, be it the 50-over or shortest format, are well documented and so the expectations back home have been tempered
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12 match between South Africa and India, in Perth, on Sunday.
South African pace duo Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje joined the Delhi Capitals squad in Mumbai on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League, starting on April 9.
South Africa broke their 24-year World Cup jinx against Pakistan with a nervy one-wicket victory and inched closer to securing a semi-final place with their fifth win in six matches.
Images from the World Cup match between South Africa and England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Several high-profile international cricketers have pulled out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to the overlapping of dates with other franchise-based tournaments and many cricket boards denying permission to their players to compete in domestic T20 competitions.
England have been largely rusty and inconsistent despite having a dangerous squad on paper.
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