A mouth-watering India-South Africa warm-up at the D Y Patil stadium did exactly that, igniting anticipation and hopes among fans.
Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen made Indian finger spinners' look ordinary in good batting conditions with invaluable lower-order contributions as South Africa seized control of the second Test.
Kagiso Rabada discusses South Africa's successful cricket campaign, emphasizing the importance of team performance over individual statistics and highlighting the contributions of key players like Lungi Ngidi and Corbin Bosch.
Senior batter Virat Kohli's awesome genius in 50-over format was on full view during his 52nd hundred that guided India to a strong 349 for eight against South Africa in the first ODI of the three-match series in Ranchi on Sunday.
India require a victory in the third and final ODI to avoid a second successive series defeat against the Proteas after succumbing 0-2 in the preceding Tests.
South Africa unveils T20 World Cup 2026 squad; Markram named captain
Senuran Muthusamy became only the third South African batter to register a Test century batting at No 7 or below against India in India.
Sri Lanka were dismissed for their lowest test total of 42 after South Africa's Marco Jansen produced bowling heroics to help the hosts take a firm grip on the first Test.
Simon Harmer picked up four wickets as South Africa staged an incredible fightback to shock India by 30 runs in a low-scoring first Test match.
Jansen has turned it around with bat, and now he''s a premium all-rounder: Jacques Kallis
India opener Rohit Sharma bettered Pakistan's Shahid Afridi's record for maximum sixes (352) by a batter in the history of One-Day Internationals in the first ODI against South Africa, in Ranchi, on Sunday.
Sikandar Raza's superb all-round show, a blazing 73 and three key wickets, kept Zimbabwe in the contest before South Africa steadied nerves to seal a five-wicket win and book a T20 World Cup semi-final clash with New Zealand.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2026 after Game 52.
Clinical South Africa hammer West Indies by nine wickets, seal semifinal spot
'India is struggling against spin. So how do you solve that? Try to rearrange the batting order in a way that naturally good players of spin are batting up the order, and people like Tilak Varma, who is struggling a little bit, can come down the order.'
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2026 after Game 48.
South Africa registered one of the most thrilling victories in T20 Internationals when they edged past Afghanistan in a tense finish in the second Super Over.
Application required in Test cricket was missing, says Kumble after India's batting collapse
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2026.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa, in Kolkata, on Friday.
The Proteas had kept the decision on playing Rabada open until Friday morning.
Alishan Sharafu's resilient 45 enabled UAE to reach a total of 122 for 6 in their T20 World Cup match against South Africa, despite Corbin Bosch's impressive bowling performance.
Temba Bavuma discusses the no-handshake policy in India-Pakistan cricket, South Africa's T20 World Cup chances, and Indian batters' struggles against spin.
New Zealand's Matt Henry experienced a week of highs and lows, from witnessing the birth of his son to delivering a match-winning performance in the T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa.
Hard-hitting left-handed batter David Miller also returns to the T20 squad, as does Donovan Ferreira.
The controversial decision to select Shubman Gill in place of a well-settled Sanju Samson as the opener has backfired for the Indian team so far.
Skipper Aiden Markram led from the front with a flamboyant half-century as South Africa registered a comprehensive 57-run win over Canada in their opening Group D T20 World Cup match.
A struggling, but promising South African unit will be aiming to avenge the heartbreak of 2024 by securing the grandest prize in T20I cricket on Indian soil, with the Proteas' 'Gen-Next' of Dewald Brevis, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kwena Maphaka in the spotlight.
Images from the second T20 International between India and South Africa, at the PCA's New Chandigarh Stadium, Mullanpur.
Hardik Pandya made a memorable comeback to the Indian team, smashing a blistering half-century to power India to a thumping 101-run win over South Africa in the first T20 International.
Hardik Pandya marked his return to the Indian team from a two-month injury layoff with a match-winning half-century.
This was Virat Kohli's 84th century in international cricket only behind Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the world record with 100 hundreds.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma feels facing an Indian side with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is nothing new.
Fan breaches security to greet Virat Kohli following his 52nd ODI ton during Ranchi ODI vs SA
Afghanistan faces a must-win situation against South Africa in their Group D match of the T20 World Cup after a defeat to New Zealand. South Africa, with a strong win over Canada, leads the group. The match is crucial for Afghanistan's chances of advancing to the Super Eight stage.
A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
South Africa all-rounder Marco Jansen says stopping world-class batters like Virat Kohli becomes almost impossible once they settle in.
Throughout the Test series, Indian batters struggled against a strong South African bowling attack. Indian batters averaged just 15.23 across the two-match Test series against South Africa.
India begin their Super 8 journey against South Africa at the Narendra Modi stadium in a thrilling clash where a single mistake could change the course of the semifinals.
With Bumrah leading the charge, India prised out five wickets in the second session to snuff out South Africa's hopes of reaching the 200 mark.
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