WATCH the training sessions of South Africa and Team India, on Wednesday, the eve of the first ODI in Durban
Opener Fakhar Zaman smashed his second century in as many matches as Pakistan beat a much-changed South Africa by 28 runs in the third and final One-Day International, in Pretoria on Wednesday, to clinch the series 2-1.
A lot of grey areas are yet to be addressed, but a young Indian team, with an admirable collective temperament, will start as favourites in the series-deciding fifth T20 International against South Africa, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
The Punjab bowlers led by Kagiso Rabada have fared well. But the likes of Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh along with Rahul Chahar, who has nine wickets, would need to be on the money.
While Ishan Kishan has done well so far, Ruturaj Gaikwad (23, 1) has pulled the team down with questions being raised over his technique against quality pacers and his ability to force the pace early on.
Their winning streak halted by defending champions Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore will hope Harshal Patel returns to the playing eleven and contribute in bringing their campaign back on track when they face Delhi Capitals in the IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs
It was imperative for Pandey and Warner to go score quickly in the middle overs, something they didn't manage -- a score around 200 would have had CSK thinking.
Kieron Pollard singlehandedly took Mumbai Indians to an astonishing four-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL match in Delhi on Saturday.
However, South Africa have lot of openers stacked on top (Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks) with a light middle order which is still a huge concern.
Lungi Ngidi was full of praise for the Pune surface where he wrecked Kings XI Punjab on Sunday in a stellar display of pace bowling in the batsman-dominated format.
The teams for both the matches are a mix of experience and youth.
Wicketkeeper Kona Bharat has showcased his skills with the gloves and bat in the several games he has played for India 'A' in the past year or so and is close to selection in the Test team.
Here is a complete list of players, who failed to attract any bid in the IPL 2022
Rabada broke through Hasan Ali's defense to get to the milestone, making him the third fastest after former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis (7,730) and compatriot Dale Steyn (7,848) in terms of balls bowled.
Under-fire South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said his "hurting" team is trying to fight but is just not able to avoid mistakes in what is turning out to be a horror World Cup campaign.
Rabada, in a recent interview to a cricket website, had recalled an incident during an IPL game when he felt that Kohli lacked maturity.
At the halfway point, after winning just two games out of seven, CSK are looking set to miss the play-offs for the first time in their history. Harish Kotian tells Captain M S Dhoni and Coach Stephen Fleming how to get CSK back to its winning ways.
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.
Faf du Plessis feels that Dhoni should play in the tournament as he is still fit and motivated.
Chennai Super Kings put up a huge 220 for 3, riding on a 60-ball 95 from Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad's 64.
Two-time World Cup-winning Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has no doubt that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be a 'successful' India captain if he is handed the responsibility in the future.
De Villiers and Kohli's dismissals end RCB's hopes of getting to 150 odd that would have been a par score.
Seniors like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara came in for a lot of flak for their below-par showing with the bat, while Jasprit Bumrah also failed to live up to expectations.
Captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday slammed the Indian batsmen, saying that they were responsible for India's crushing loss in the second Test against South Africa in Pretoria.
Meanwhile, South Africa have included uncapped off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen and seamer Lizaad Williams in their squad for the two-Test series in the West Indies that starts on June 10.
Chennai Super Kings will be determined to erase their IPL 2020 nightmare when they failed to make it to the IPL play-offs for the first time.
The Men in Blue are on a 12-match winning streak and come Thursday, they can create an all-time record of winning 13 T20I games in a row.
Kagiso Rabada produced a sublime spell of bowling to take five wickets as Australia were dismissed for 243 in their first innings on the opening day of the second Test on Friday.
The much-vaunted Indian top order struggled yet again against quality fast bowling as the visitors stared at a series defeat at the close of fourth day in the second cricket Test against South Africa in Pretoria, on Tuesday.
The Indian team's strategy is expected to undergo paradigm shift with some players getting a subtle yet stern message to lift their games as they face an embarrassing possibility of a clean sweep against South Africa in the third ODI, in Cape Town on Sunday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the Chennai Super Kings record in the IPL over the years.
South Africa will be led by captain Quinton de Kock as they come off a 2-0 home series win over Sri Lanka that concluded on Tuesday.
Smarting from opening game losses, a good batting display will be high on the agenda for South Africa and defending champions West Indies when the two teams lock horns in a Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Tuesday.
His childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, says he never really had to do anything special to mould the driven all-rounder except for "working on his mental strength".
Collingwood 'amazed' by questions about Root's captaincy
CSA have however not handed players a final contract
A look at how the teams stack up ahead of the mega auction.
KL Rahul will have to show drastically improved leadership acumen when he leads India against a buoyant South African side in the second ODI on Thursday.
Prince also said that when the players told the leadership about the racial abuse they have been suffering, the reply was "it's only some people, not the majority".
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