'Losing wickets in bunches is something have to plug'
The fourth Test will not just be about how the Australian team perform, but how their behaviour is viewed by the watching world as they look to put the recent scandal behind them.
Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
It is time again to return to the shortest format of cricket as leading players, including India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, get ready to represent their respective franchises in the sixth edition of the Champions League T20.
Australia moved one wicket from victory in the first Test against South Africa on Sunday after Mitchell Starc's swing bowling decimated the hosts' lower order and dampened their hopes of an unlikely recovery.
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.
Having earned a maiden call-up in the Indian one-day side for the upcoming South Africa series, Punjab all-rounder Gurkeerat Singh Mann said that captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh are his batting and bowling role models respectively.
An unbroken second-wicket century stand between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara put India in command on a curtailed opening day in the second Test against South Africa in Durban, on Thursday. Bad light forced play to be called off early, with India sitting pretty on 181 for 1 in 61 overs after electing to bat first.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir again led by example with a match-winning half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders remained in contention for play-off berth with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over table toppers Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter, in Cuttack on Sunday.
A threat issued by the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti or Patel agitation could affect the game temporarily
Litmus test awaits India and MS Dhoni in second ODI against South Africa.
All-rounders Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell were named in South Africa's 15-man squad on Wednesday for the three-match Test series against Australia starting on February 12.
Spectators at the Sydney Cricket Ground were repeatedly treated to the sight of leg-spinner Imran Tahir throwing his head back, screaming with joy and pumping his arms before setting off on an uncoordinated run across the outfield on Wednesday as South Africa thrashed Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the first quarter-final at the World Cup.
Expressing disappointment over his team's second consecutive loss in the Indian Premier League on Saturday, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody said they would reflect on the performance and try to turn around the fortunes quickly.
PCB Chairman, Najam Sethi is in the UK meeting with the British legal firm for advise. PCB's chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmad has also flown to London for the same purpose.
Soon after landing in Lahore, the World Eleven players and officials were taken to a five-star hotel on the main Mall road which was closed for traffic from all sides.
Rain and an on-field injury which prevented South African opener Hashim Amla from batting spurred Sri Lanka to a 17-run win under the Duckworth-Lewis method in the second One-dayer in Colombo on Tuesday.
Top India batsman Virat Kohli has maintained his second position in the latest ICC batsmen rankings while medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has moved up a place to be seventh in the bowlers' standings.
The ICC Cricket Committee chaired by India's head coach Anil Kumble made a host of recommendations at its annual meeting with the notable ones being the use of DRS for all T20 Internationals.
Photos from Day 2 of the 3rd Test match played in Nagpur on Thursday
Outwitted in both the T20 and the ODI series, India will seek redemption in the Test format by trying to spin a web around the formidable South Africans in the four-match series starting in Mohali, on Thursday.
Pakistan outclassed South Africa by 19 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-hit match in the ICC Champions Trophy match, in Birmingham, on Wednesday.
India's R Ashwin back in top-10 in ICC's ODI bowling rankings
Surprised at the call up, Kolkata Knight Riders' South African recruit Johan Botha, who was brought in as replacement for injured Aussie Chris Lynn, said he's fresh after a three-week break and ready for the rigours of IPL-8.
Openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen weathered a difficult 45 minutes to take South Africa to tea at 38 without loss chasing an unlikely victory target of 458 on the fourth day of the first Test against India at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Post tea, play was possible for 20 minutes before a thunderstorm washed away nearly an hour.
Pakistan's wily spinners gave a masterclass in slow bowling to bamboozle South Africa's batting line-up and lead their side to a 66-run victory in the second one-day international in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
David Miller and J P Duminy scored centuries as South Africa overcame a real challenge from Zimbabwe to record a 62-run victory in their opening World Cup Pool B game in Hamilton on Sunday.
Winning Test matches outside the sub-continent has been an 'Achilles Heel' for the Indian teams over the years but skipper Virat Kohli made it clear that they have "nothing to prove to anyone" during the upcoming South Africa series, starting January 5.
India's lower order put on a rock-solid show to help the hosts take a slender lead.
A phenomenal knock from Yusuf Pathan, who blasted his way to a 22-ball 72, catapulted Kolkata Knight Riders to the second-place in the point table as the hosts hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets in their final IPL match in Kolkata on Saturday.
Indian touring parties that have left Australia empty-handed over the last 70 years
Putting up an all-round show, Kolkata Knight Riders consolidated their fourth position in the points table with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
JP Duminy hit a timely unbeaten 52 after skipper Dinesh Karthik set the foundation with a fighting 56-run knock as Delhi Daredevils edged out Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in a thrilling IPL Twenty20 cricket match on Saturday.
Jacques Kallis hit a 46-ball 72 and Sunil Narine claimed four wickets as Kolkata Knight Riders scored a 41-run victory over Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the seventh season of the IPL, in Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday.
South Africa head coach Ottis Gibson, on Tuesday, hinted that Dale Steyn might have to wait longer to make his comeback as it would be a risk to field the rusty pacer in the first Test against India, beginning, in Cape Town, on Friday.
South Africa resorted to dogged stonewalling in their pursuit of an improbable 481-run victory target after Ajinkya Rahane stroked his second century of the match to tighten India's grip on the fourth and final Test on Sunday.
South African pacer Morne Morkel has fired the first salvo ahead of the two-match Test series, starting here December 18, stating that the young Indian batsmen will miss 'Sachin Tendulkar's patience' in the middle and they should be prepared to face some hostile bowling from the home side.
Titans skipper Henry Davids (64) and Jacques Rudolph (49 not out) put on a century stand to lead their side to a crushing eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Champions League Twenty20 Group B match in Ranchi on Saturday.
India lead South Africa by five points and need to win two matches in order to stop falling behind the Proteas.
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