India opener Lokesh Rahul says the Test series against South Africa beginning next month will be the "biggest challenge" of his burgeoning career.
The series loss to South Africa notwithstanding, India held on to their second spot in the team list, while star batsman Virat Kohli rose up a rung to second in the batsmen's table of the latest ICC ODI cricket rankings.
Swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag, who announced his retirement from international cricket, will be the star attraction as Haryana takes on Karnataka in a Group A Ranji Trophy match, starting in Mysuru, on Thursday.
Dale Steyn claimed six for 100 to bowl out India for 334 in their first innings. In reply, South Africa got off to a positive start, scoring 82 for no loss, at stumps on the rain-hit second day in Durban, on Friday.
South Africa coach Russell Domingo says the Proteas will rely on their pace battery to rattle India's formidable batting in the upcoming series, which kicks-off with a Twenty20 warm-up match against an India 'A' team in Delhi on Tuesday.
'You have to just adjust to the conditions quickly because there is a big difference in the 50-over and 20-over cricket.' 'Even in Test cricket you can't be a classical spinner, which you were 20 years ago.' 'If I want to hide myself from my limitations, then I don't want to play this game.'
New Zealand entered their maiden ICC World Cup final, beating South Africa by five wickets in a thrilling rain-reduced World Cup semi-final at Eden spoPark in Auckland on Tuesday. Set 298 to win from 43 overs, the Kiwis, led by fine knocks from captain Brendon McCullum (59 off 26 balls) and Grant Elliott (84 off 73) got across the finish line with one ball to spare. Elliott hit the winning run with a six over long-on off the bowling of Dale Steyn.
India might have begun their World Cup campaign with a morale-boosting win over Pakistan but Jonty Rhodes feels that South Africa are a better all-round side and tipped them to win their high-profile clash against the defending champions in Melbourne on Sunday.
"I don't know what to say. It is really a dream come true. I was confident of being picked for my base price of Rs 10 lakh but never thought of the crores. I just hope I get to play in the eleven," a soft-spoken Cariappa said.
On a pitch offering extensive lateral movement, a target of 175 could prove to be a match-winning one for India.
IMAGES from the 4th ODI played between India and South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada and wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock have achieved career-high positions in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings after firing South Africa to an emphatic 177-run victory over Australia in the opening Test of the three-match series in Perth on Monday.
India retained the No 1 spot in the latest Reliance ODI team rankings while Virat Kohli maintained the number two position with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni static at the seventh place in the batting chart released in Dubai.
With the teams entering the final phase of their preparations for next year's World Cup, former batting great Ian Chappell said defending champions India, Australia and South Africa are the favourites to win the game's showpiece event.
Mohammed Shami led India's fight-back with a career-best five-wicket haul as India snapped nine wickets for 53 runs to dismiss South Africa for 177 and avoid a humiliating whitewash in the three-match series.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith said his team will step on the field for the Boxing Day Test match against India with an aim to set right its poor record in Durban, having lost their last four games at the venue.
Help coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli in selecting India's best 11 for the first Test against the West Indies.
Facing early elimination, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders need to record a win to stay afloat when they take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad.
ujarat Lions face the challenging task of gathering themselves and bounce back when they square off against the consistent Kolkata Knight Riders.
A steadily improving Delhi Daredevils look all set to challenge the might of title contenders Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams clash for the second time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
For a visiting cricketer, an India tour conjures up the image of a batsman surrounded by a shoal of fielders and facing relentless spin from both ends and South Africa should not expect anything different in the four-test series starting on Thursday.
South Africa coach Russell Domingo said that a couple of crucial partnerships and performance of the spinners were the key to India's success in the fourth One-Day International in Chennai.
Teams play safe, retain star players, total purse at Rs 148 crore versus Rs 198 crore last year
Virat Kohli says he doesn't want any tags attached to his name and performances. We'll respect his request -- we'll only attach numbers!
Rajasthan Royals head coach Paddy Upton termed their final league encounter of the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders as a virtual quarter-final as it would decide on their team's chances of getting into play-offs.
Half-way through the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League, the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament has witnessed some top quality catches. Rediff.com takes a look at some memorable ones.
Half-way through the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League, the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament has witnessed some top quality catches. Rediff.com takes a look at some memorable ones.
West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine got complete backing of his Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir who termed him as an asset and said there can be no back-up for the mystery bowler.
Publicly labelled 'soft' by former Test bowler Shane Warne only a few months ago, paceman Mitchell Starc has come of age.
Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are India's highest-ranked batsman and bowler in third and 13th positions respectively.
Ponting said that he has never been more impressed by a young cricketer than Hughes.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look to assert their supremacy, while Sunrisers Hyderabad will have revenge on mind when the two teams clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator in New Delhi on Wednesday. Both Sunrisers and KKR finished their league engagements on 16 points each but the Gautam Gambhir-led side ended fourth behind Sunrisers due to inferior net run rate. But going into the do-or-die game, KKR have psychological advantage over the Sunrisers having beaten them on both the occasions during the league stage. KKR thrashed Sunrisres by eight wickets in their first meeting this season and came out victorious by 22 runs in a must-win match last Sunday to qualify for the play-offs.
Youngster Hardik Pandya blasted an unbeaten half-century to help Mumbai Indians edge past Kolkata Knight Riders and boost their hopes of making it to the play-offs in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Thursday.
The players auctions for this year's IPL is scheduled for this weekend. Rajneesh Gupta looks at the players retained and released by the teams for IPL 2017.
Images from the India v SA, second Test, day 1, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru.
Rohit's 115 off 126 balls was his first century on South African soil as came after failures in the earlier matches in the series - his total score was 40 before the 5th ODI on Tuesday.
Perhaps for the first time, India's pace strength is not centred on any one individual, or set of individuals.
India aim to stay afloat against daunting South Africa in the second Test
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji figure out who are the most valuable players after the league phase of the World Cup intheir latest update.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances