It was mind over matter for Mohammed Siraj, as he pushed his physically indisposed self to the limits to earn the 'Player of the Match' award in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's four-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans in the IPL match in Bengaluru on Saturday.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will begin training on Wednesday as he seeks to prove his fitness ahead of the four-match home Test series against Australia starting on March 1.
'Never would have thought 3-0 would have been possible against this Australian side'
The squad includes representatives from seven nations for the games, which will have international status, in Lahore on September 12, 13 and 15.
South Africa have retained Faf du Plessis as captain of their T20 squad for the two-match cricket series against Pakistan starting on March 1 after AB de Villiers asked not to be considered for the role.
A resurgent Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look for their fourth consecutive victory when they face an unpredictable Punjab Kings as the two sides fight for survival in the Indian Premier League, in Dharamsala on Thursday.
Australia dismissed South Africa for 225 despite another dogged rearguard action from Faf du Plessis before moving shakily to 33-2 at the close of play on a thrilling first day of the third Test at the WACA on Friday.
Faf du Plessis smashed a third century in four matches as South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 63 runs on Thursday to set up a final showdown with Australia in the triangular series tournament.
With the IPL 2024 season heading towards its business end, and RCB finding themselves in a must-win situation, Player of the Match Mohammad Siraj put up a stellar show with the ball in front of home fans.
'They have proved that in the Test series and they are a quality team. So I expect the same (challenge and intensity) in the ODIs coming up'
Summing up South Africa's dismal show at the World T20 Championships, captain Faf du Plessis said small mistakes like conceding loads of extras in the games against England and the West Indies made a big impact and led to his team's early exit from the mega-event.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's fairytale resurgent run will be up against the might of five-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the weather gods when the two sides clash in an epic do-or-die match to decide the fourth and final team for the IPL play-offs, in Bengaluru on Saturday.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
Kohli, dismissed for 18 off 7 balls, was convinced the delivery from Harshit Rana was a no-ball due to its height.
Chennai Super Kings' future in the Indian Premier League may be uncertain following the two-year suspension, but South Africa's Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis feels the five seasons he played under 'Captain Cool' Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Indian Permier League transformed him as a cricketer.
For the first time, no Indian superstar will lead an IPL team.
Rising Pune Supergiants were dealt a telling blow as star batsman Faf du Plessis announced that he is out of the ninth edition of Indian Premier League due to a fractured finger, which will take six weeks to heal.
A century from stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis lifted South Africa to a huge 142-run win over Australia and a 2-0 lead in the five-match One-day International series at The Wanderers on Sunday.
'Unfortunately, sport is not a fairytale and our remarkable run in #IPL2024 came to an end.'
Other than the batters, some excellent catching from both teams was the highlight at the hallowed Eden Gardens.
It rained fours and sixes in Bengaluru as a total of 549 runs were scored -- the highest aggregate in a T20 match.
Some of the best fielding moments from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders match on Friday, March 29, 2024.
SRH-RCB rewrote the record books in a high-octane IPL encounter.
The complete list of players sold in the IPL 2025 Auction in Jeddah.
Images from the IPL 2024 opener between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru
It was a game the bowlers would like to forget in a hurry as not a single bowler from either side managed an economy rate of under 10.
South Africa's Faf du Plessis smashed a career-best 185 off 141 balls as the hosts beat Sri Lanka by 40 runs after surviving a fierce onslaught in a high-scoring fourth one-day international to take a 4-0 series lead on Tuesday.
After his side clinched a 35-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting allrounder Cameron Green said that they have to celebrate such little wins.
Karn Sharma's brilliant effort in the field saw Axar Patel's strong knock come to an end.
Images from the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis has been fined 50 percent of his match fee after he was found guilty of ball tampering in the second Test against Pakistan.
Rajasthan Royals accomplished a nervy chase to stay alive in the Indian Premier League
Rising Pune Supergiants batsman Faf de Plessis said his side was 10 runs of setting up a challenging target in their Indian Premier League match against Gujarat Lions in Rajkot.
South African batsmen AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis are the only candidates to replace retiring captain Graeme Smith as the Test skipper of their team, according to a report.
South African skipper Faf du Plessis said that the 2015 series loss in India on raging turners motivated their team to win the series in Centurion, on a pitch that 'should have suited the visitors more'.
South African cricketer Faf du Plessis has now reportedly turned the tables on the visitors by claiming that something was amiss about the ball reversing so early on the third day of the decisive third Test at Newlands.
Pradosh then forged an alliance with Shardul Thakur (70 not out) as the duo added another 152 runs to overhaul South Africa A's total and take a 58-run lead.
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.
On a day when the fielders had a quiet outing, Cameron Green picked up a stunner during the GT vs RCB contest.
Shreyas Iyer, who led KKR to the IPL 2024 title, could be headed for the players' auction after failing to make a breakthrough in negotiations, while K L Rahul is also unlikely to be retained by LSG.
