Kolkata Knight Riders' bowling coach Wasim Akram has said that captain Gautam Gambhir's leadership and the team bonding is responsible for its success in the IPL and the ongoing Oppo Champions League T20.
Dale Steyn became South Africa's second highest wicket taker as West Indies reached 276 for six on the first day of the third Test on Friday.
Zimbabwe were bowled out twice on Wednesday as South Africa swept to an easy victory by an innings and 120 runs as the inaugural four-day Test finished inside two days at St George's Park.
Cricket will venture into new territory when South Africa tackle Zimbabwe in the first official four-day Test match to be played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth starting on Tuesday.
Moeen Ali took three wickets on Wednesday as England made quick work of securing victory in the first Test by bundling out South Africa for 174 before lunch and ensure a 241-run victory on the last day at Kingsmead.
South Africa's hopes of victory on day five of the second Test against West Indies were thwarted in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday by heavy overnight rain and a wet outfield which prevented any play.
AB de Villiers' masterly 85 in his 100th test could not gloss over South Africa's spin frailty as India took charge of the second Test after dominating the opening day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
South African speedster Dale Steyn will miss the fourth and final test against India with a lingering groin injury that has limited his participation in the four-match series to a solitary contest in the series-opener in Mohali.
South Africa have named teenage speedster Kagiso Rabada in a 14-man squad for their three-match home Test series against West Indies, Cricket South Africa announced on Tuesday.
India failed to make the best of first use of the wicket, their batsmen capitulating against both pace and spin as they were dismissed for 215 in the first innings in the third Test against South Africa at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium, in Nagpur, on Wednesday. However, the hosts hit back immediately, claiming two early scalps, leaving the Proteas reeling on 11 for 2 after nine overs at the end of Day 1.
A humdinger on cards as South Africa chase first series win in India
South Africa have named uncapped batsman Theunis de Bruyn in their injury-hit squad for the three-match home Test series against Sri Lanka that starts on December 26.
Galle has built a reputation as a spinners' paradise but Australia captain Steve Smith hopes there will be substantial reverse swing at the venue as his top-ranked team bid for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second test. Sri Lanka inflicted a 106-run defeat on the touring side at Pallekele last week in the opening match of the three-test series with the spinners taking 18 out of 20 Australian wickets to fall.
'In what could be a watershed series, they have also caused a change in the way Australia will play their cricket in the future following the ball-tampering furore for which this series will long be remembered.'
Opener Aiden Markram led the way with a career-best 152 as South Africa had the better of the opening day of the fourth Test against a much-changed Australia, reaching the close on 313 for six on Friday.
The pacer injures ankle during warm-up session; Kyle Abbott has been called up as replacement
Photos from the ICC World Cup match played between South Africa and Ireland on Tuesday.
Virat Kohli (fourth), Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ninth) have also maintained their respective positions in the ICC ODI batting chart.
Delhi Daredevils are expected to get a boost ahead of their IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday with pacer Zaheer Khan.
The countries will pin their hopes of victory on their quicks with seamer friendly wickets on order for the Tests in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and the contests set to be dominated by fiery exchanges of fast bowling.
South Africa built a sizeable second-innings lead after reaching 65 for two against India at the close on day two of the opening Test at Newlands on Saturday but were sweating over another potential injury blow for experienced seamer Dale Steyn.
It would be Pakistan-born Imran Tahir's first One-Day International against India.
Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their title defence against a formidable Mumbai Indians side in the opening match of the eighth edition of Indian Premier League at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
The vagaries of the World Cup draw may have helped Pakistan rediscover their swagger at just the right time to push them to the brink of a quarter-final, according to captain Misbah ul-Haq.
Faf du Plessis pointed out that they were missing out on their best players due to the Kolpak deal.
Robin Uthappa was elegance personified during his 52-ball 80 as he powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in Cuttack on Wednesday.
On paper, Kolkata Knight Riders are overwhelming favourites against King's XI Punjab.
Having decimated South Africa inside three days on a turning track in Mohali, India will again look to unleash their troika of spinners to spoil A B de Villiers's landmark 100th match when the two sides meet in the second Test, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
England, with a series win already secured, can complete South Africa's ignominious fall from the top of the rankings when the final Test of the four-match series starts at Centurion Park in Pretoria on Friday.
An unbeaten half century from Joe Root helped England into a commanding position on the third day of the first Test as they opened up a 261-run lead over South Africa on Monday.
Ravichandran Ashwin displayed his magic yet again to record career-best figures of 7 for 66 as India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-Test series against South Africa after an emphatic 124-run victory in the third match in Nagpur on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers to take note of at the end of the first day's play in the third Test between India and South Africa.
South Africa will have to dig deep if they are to avoid defeat in the first Test after being reduced to 72 for four wickets in their second innings, still trailing Pakistan by 121 runs, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Dean Elgar doubts Australia can keep up their 'docile' approach to Test cricket as the tourists slip towards a heavy defeat and a series loss in the fourth and final Test at the Wanderers.
England ended a well contested first day of the fourth and final Test against South Africa on 260 for six with the late loss of Ben Stokes giving heart to the tourists.
Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris, who bowled his country to a series victory in South Africa last week, is hoping knee surgery will prolong his Test career through the 2015 Ashes at least.
JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Wayne Parnell and Vernon Philander put South Africa on top as they reduced Australia to 112 for four on the second day of the second Test at St George's Park on Friday.
A superb all-round show by J P Duminy earned South Africa a 12-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 international in Colombo on Friday. The tourists, after putting up a modest 115-6 after electing to bat, restricted Sri Lanka at 103-9 at the Premadasa stadium.
An explosive unbeaten 85 from David Miller and some hostile bowling by the fast bowlers helped South Africa to beat Sri Lanka by 56 runs in Pallekele on Friday and stay alive in the five-match series.
India secured their first ever series win in South Africa across formats when they beat the hosts by 73 runs in the fifth ODI on Tuesday.
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