South Africa's dramatic 231-run victory over Australia in the second Test set up an enticing decider at Newlands which could see the hosts seal a first home series win over the tourists in 44 years.
Playing against India behind closed doors in the much-anticipated Test series at the end of the year might end up being an advantage for the home side, according to Australia batsman Usman Khawaja. Cricket Australia are desperate for the tour, scheduled for December and January, to go ahead as the lucrative Indian TV rights for the series would go a long way to easing a financial crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
When Ryan Harris hobbled into Newlands for the final day of the third Test against South Africa on Wednesday, it seemed unlikely he would end up being the man to clinch the series for Australia.
Australia won the third and final Test against South Africa by 245 runs at Newlands in a nailbiting finish with just 27 balls to spare after a day of epic home resistance.
Australia, who host the T20 World Cup from October 18 to November 15, had won eight games in a row before losing to South Africa by 12 runs in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane's India have a mountain to climb, even if a draw would be enough to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy two years after their breakthrough 2-1 win in the 2018/19 series in Australia.
Dean Elgar's century and a quick-fire unbeaten 68 from Quinton de Kock lifted South Africa to 297 for six on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Newlands on Monday.
South African Test captain Graeme Smith has reportedly completed his first competitive outing since May in a warm-up match between Indian side Madhya Pradesh and Proteas domestic side Cape Cobras at Newlands.
The International Cricket Council's response to the Australian ball tampering incident in the third test at Newlands is firmly under the spotlight with strong punishment expected for the culprits, South Africa coach Ottis Gibson said on Sunday.
Indian cricket has been told to not keep the shower open for more than two minutes.
South Africa's Farhaan Behardien reckons that the batsmen will have to be smart with shot-selection
The Pretoria wicket is likely to be similar, with perhaps not the same sideways movement of Newlands, and will provide another test of the Indian batsmen's bravery against a seam bowling barrage.
Ahead of their departure, the skipper shared a picture on Twitter and captioned it as: "Next stop, New Zealand."
The three-Test South Africa series is the first of a gruelling 2018-19 season that includes tours to England and Australia.
David Miller helped South Africa blast 14 runs from their super over, before the wily Tahir restricted Sri Lanka to only five in reply, two of which were wides.
Opener Dean Elgar hit an unbeaten 60 as South Africa coasted to a comfortable eight-wicket win over the West Indies in the final Test at Newlands on Tuesday to take the three-match series 2-0 and retain their ranking as the top side in Tests.
South African seamer Vernon Philander, who missed the last Test against New Zealand owing to a hamstring injury, has returned to the squad for the first cricket Test match against Pakistan.
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn became the third fastest bowler to pick 300 wickets in Test cricket when he bowled Doug Bracewell in the first session of the first Test against New Zealand at Newlands on Wednesday.
Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) chief executive Tony Irish has advocated the use of educational programs to check the menace of ball-tampering in the game.
In the space of two days, top batsman Smith has gone from Australia's cricketing golden boy to national pariah and it looks likely that he has played his last Test as captain.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) congratulated South Africa's Graeme Smith for his glorious career, saying he has been an inspiring sportsman and would go down in cricket's history as one of its most respected captains.
Batsmen Cameron Bancroft has been charged by the International Cricket Council and Smith told reporters that it was a deliberate plan from the "leadership group" of the side, but added he would not step down as captain.
Graeme Smith described South Africa's four-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second Test as one of the most rewarding wins in his 100 matches as captain of the side.
Robin Peterson and AB de Villiers hauled South Africa back into the game on the third day of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands on Saturday.
Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq made fine centuries as Pakistan recovered from a poor start to reach 253 for five on the opening day of the second Test against South Africa at Newlands on Thursday.
Skipper Graeme Smith believes South Africa have possibly the best top-six among contemporary batting line-ups as they prepare to face Pakistan in the second Test at Newlands starting on Thursday.
Veteran South African all rounder Jacques Kallis requires just 184 runs over the course of the next two Test matches against Pakistan to move above retired Indian batsman Rahul Dravid into the third place for most runs in a Test career.
The left-hander underwent scans on his jaw after being struck by an Andre Russell bouncer in the second over of Australia's innings
Mumbai Indians found themselves on the brink of exit from the Champions League Twenty20 after rain washed out their Group B match against Yorkshire in Cape Town.
Back-to-back wins over two star-studded Indian Premier League teams -- Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings -- have made the Highveld Lions a force to reckon with in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament, feels senior batsman Neil McKenzie.
In-form Sydney Sixers produced a clinical all-round performance and romped to a crushing eight-wicket win over Yorkshire in their Champions League Twenty20 match in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Quinton de Kock scored a rapid half-century as South Africa defeated Pakistan by seven wickets at Newlands to claim the five-match one-day series 3-2.
England are thinking of bringing a specialist spinner back into the line-up after going with an all-pace attack in their last two outings, coach Chris Silverwood said as they arrived in Cape Town for their second Test against South Africa starting on Friday. That means a seamer such as record wicket-taker James Anderson or Stuart Broad may be dropped for a contest expected to be played on a much flatter deck than the first Test in Pretoria, which South Africa won by 107 runs inside four days on Sunday.
Kagiso Rabada proved the destroyer-in-chief with 4-103, assisted by Anrich Nortje who took three wickets for 56 runs as England fell short by 107 runs.
Steve Smith's defiant century on day one of the Ashes series restored the former Australian captain to hero status in the eyes of a grateful nation.
Shane Watson's dream run in shortest format continued as the all-rounder smashed a quickfire 47 after claiming two wickets as Sydney Sixers beat Highveld Lions by five wickets as they inch closer to semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20 in Cape Town.
It will be a battle of the elites when Sydney Sixers take on Highveld Lions in a Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 at Newlands in Cape Town on Thursday to maintain their supremacy at the points table.
Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front with a hard-earned century to give South Africa a commanding 205-run advantage at the end of the second day of the second Test against Pakistan, at Newlands, on Friday.
'They need to be pro-active and take the pacers' challenge head on'
England captain Eoin Morgan will lead England against South Africa at Newlands on Tuesday in their first One-day international since they claimed the World Cup in dramatic fashion at Lord's in July, and he said the aim now is to make sure that was not a one-off success.
