India will look to address several lingering selection puzzles when they take on South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday in the first ODI of the three-match series, where Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the set-up for a short audition that could well shape their 2027 World Cup fate.
South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, who missed the first Test against India in Kolkata due to a rib injury, is in awe of his team's ability to rebound from setbacks.
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes said that Team India does not need to prepare turning wickets as they can bowl out their opponents with their pace line-up and having another spin-friendly wicket for the second Test against South Africa will be a "big test of their ability".
Simon Harmer led South Africa's lion-hearted bowling effort as the Proteas registered a thrilling 30-run victory against India inside three days of the low-scoring opening Test.
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Matthew Breetzke became the first player to score half centuries in each of his first five One-Day International appearances as South Africa beat England by five runs in the second ODI at Lord's on Thursday.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma feels facing an Indian side with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is nothing new.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his maiden ODI hundred to power India to a 2-1 series win after they thrashed against South Africa by nine wickets in the third and final ODI.
Shami, 35, was left out of India's 15-member squad for the two home Tests against South Africa, scheduled to commence on Friday at the famed Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Before his most recent snub, Shami had openly expressed his disappointment about being sidelined from India's recent Test fixtures.
South Africa all-rounder Marco Jansen says stopping world-class batters like Virat Kohli becomes almost impossible once they settle in.
Marco Jansen demolished the Indian batting line-up with a six-wicket haul before South Africa extended their lead on Day 3 of the second and final Test.
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Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul perished early as India fumbled in the chase of a mammoth 549-run target on Day 4 of the second Test.
Veteran allrounder Marizanne Kapp excelled with both bat and ball, while skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus also smashed fine half-centuries as South Africa defeated Pakistan by 150 runs (DLS Method) in a rain-affected Women's World Cup match to go top of the table, in Colombo, on Tuesday.
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Sourav Ganguly believes India's biggest selection dilemma ahead of the upcoming Test series against South Africa could centre around one man - Dhruv Jurel.
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Architect of South Africa's series-levelling win in the second ODI against India here, Aiden Markram says scoring runs matters only when the team wins and he felt responsible for the visitors' defeat in the first ODI by a small margin.
Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen made Indian finger spinners' look ordinary in good batting conditions with invaluable lower-order contributions as South Africa seized control of the second Test.
'You don't come to a country to win a Test match, you obviously want to win the series.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt scored a hundred for the ages before the seasoned Marizanne Kapp made the ball talk in good batting conditions to script a 125-run victory over England and enter their maiden Women's ODI Cup final, in Guwahati, on Wednesday.
Abhimanyu Easwaran made the future path all the more tough with his second duck of the match, while Sai Sudharsan concluded his lukewarm preparation for the South Africa Test series with an underwhelming 23 off 38 balls.
South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad wholeheartedly admitted that the use of the word 'grovel' took the sheen away from his team's landmark Test victory over India.
Wolvaardt played eight ODIs in October at the Women's World Cup, amassing 470 runs at a stunning average of 67.14 and an impressive strike rate of 97.91.
Virat Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit Sharma has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
Ravindra Jadeja said the looming series defeat to South Africa will have no bearing on India's next Test assignment in Sri Lanka in August next year.
With Bumrah leading the charge, India prised out five wickets in the second session to snuff out South Africa's hopes of reaching the 200 mark.
South African captain Temba Bavuma mixed grit with humour after his team's shock win over India in Kolkata, celebrating his hard-fought fifty and the "small hands" catch that turned the match on its head.
Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma's superb all-round showing powered India to a historic first-ever Women's ODI World Cup title after they outclassed South Africa by 52 runs in the final.
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Not handing the ball to lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah to start the third day's play on a challenging Eden Gardens surface was "questionable", said the legendary Anil Kumble.
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After a forgettable debut series in India in 2019, Senuran Muthusamy had to wait for four years to get another chance in Test cricket.
Having played the most defining knock of her career to ensure South Africa's maiden entry into Women's ODI World Cup final, skipper Laura Wolvaardt found the feeling to be surreal.
India's strategy of playing two fast bowlers, one pace bowling all-rounder, and three spinners could possibly come in handy on this surface.
Ravichandran Ashwin exposed India batters' lack of quality to battle ball tweakers by claiming that if legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar or past domestic heroes Amol Muzumdar, the India women's team head coach and Mithun Manhas had played against spinners on such a track, the Test would have gone to four days, unlike India's harrowing 30-run defeat against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
Conrad conceded that South Africa were a "batter light" but explained that if the players they have were willing to play with a little more self-confidence, it could work in Proteas' favour.
Pakistan collapsed from 362-5 to 378 all out as Muthusamy finished with Test best figures of 6-117.
Deepti Sharma, the World Cup's leading wicket-taker who took a magnificent 5/39 in the final, is joined by teammates Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues in World Cup's Team of the Tournament.
