South Africa sharpen spin game in attacking net session ahead of Eden Test
Vice-captain Rishabh Pant said India's batters should have adapted to the challenge of playing on a tricky pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Pant took a bit to settle into his rhythm behind the stumps, and once he came to terms with the surface and bowlers the wicketkeeper was quite tidy.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
After bowling out SA A for 309, overnight 299/9, in the first session, India succumbed to their own waywardness, and the relentlessness of off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen (5/61), to concede an innings lead of 75.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test between India and West Indies in New Delhi on Sunday.
South Africa thrashed Bangladesh by an innings and 273 runs to secure a 2-0 series sweep after enforcing the follow on and dismissing the hosts for 143 on day three of the second Test
South Africa coach Shukri Conrad was overwhelmed to see his spinners rule the roost in the first Test against India at the Eden Gardens, signalling to him that the Rainbow Nation is no longer an exclusive "fast bowling country" and hoped that a lot more slow bowlers will emerge.
Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will be playing an ODI World Cup final for the third time, having finished runners-up in 2005 and 2017 to Australia and England, respectively. This will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the final.
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt said that once their Women's World Cup contest against Sri Lanka was reduced to 20 overs a side, she treated it like a T20 game and came out to bat with the same mindset, in Colombo, on Friday.
The Indians have not featured in ODIs in recent months but Kuldeep Yadav (650) and Ravindra Jadeja (616) still remained static at number three and number nine in the latest ODI rankings for bowlers.
The Aussies also named a 14-player group for the first two T20I matches against India, with Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis earning recalls after they missed the recent T20I series with South Africa.
Sack Gambhir before he damages any more careers, if you must. But it cannot stop there. The project ahead must be bigger, more ambitious, and far more urgent: Rebuilding the spine of Indian cricket from the grassroots up, and giving the Test team the seriousness it deserves. Only then will Indian cricket stop lurching from one crisis to another and begin, once again, to imagine greatness, suggests Prem Panicker.
India have a mounting worry in the lack of runs so far from talismanic Smriti Mandhana, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the energetic Jemimah Rodrigues.
Quinton de Kock has reversed his retirement from ODI cricket and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
Uncapped left-arm seamer Ben Lister is likely to make his debut in the 2nd Test
Chasing targets has been their Achilles heel throughout the tournament. The same batters who've plundered the bowling and scored daddy hundreds batting first, have resembled pale shadows of themselves chasing targets.
Ravichandran Ashwin paid a heartwarming tribute to batter Cheteshwar Pujara following his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket, calling his batting a "symphony".
Tim David, Dwarshuis shine as Australia beat Proteas by 17 runs in T20 series opener
Sonny Baker's dream moment turned into an absolute walking nightmare after he went at the top of an unwanted record
England's torrid run in the 50-over format has plunged to alarming depths after they lost their first ODI series to South Africa since 1998.
A look back at some of the most painful moments when South Africa came heartbreakingly close -- but always fell short -- before finally breaking the curse at Lord's.
Victory for South Africa followed Test success over West Indies in Guyana in August and Bangladesh in a two-Test series in October.
South Africa's two heaviest defeats have transpired when they fielded first and were accompanied by a lack of discipline as well as dropped chances.
South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder has revealed that legendary West Indies batter Brian Lara told him that he should have tried to break the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket.
'Did you see the ICC video?? Meant to be celebrating the WTC final -- but instead has 11 shots of Jay Shah in it.'
From 'hope to history': Cricketing world explodes with joy as SA finally win major ICC title
South Africa completed an innings and 236-run victory over hosts Zimbabwe on the third day of the second Test on Tuesday to convincingly sweep the two-match series.
South Africa's young batting sensation became the most expensive batter in the history of SA20
South Africa stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder felt he had no right to dislodge West Indies great Brian Lara from the summit of highest Test innings scores.
While Delhi was set to host the opening Test against South Africa from November 14-18, it will now host the second Test against West Indies starting October 10.
Wiaan Mulder was 34 runs shy of a record for the most runs in a Test innings when he declared South Africa's first innings on 626/5 at lunch on the second day of the second Test against Zimbabwe.
Chris Gayle has criticised South Africa's stand-in skipper Wiaan Mulder for declaring the innings despite being within reach of Brian Lara's world record Test
South Africa crushed Australia by 134 runs to cruise to their second victory at the World Cup, as Quinton de Kock struck back-to-back tons and Aiden Markram made a half-century before the bowlers ripped through the five-times champions on Thursday.
Australia will be aiming to become the first-ever side to defend their ICC WTC mace as they take on Proteas in the 'Ultimate Test' from June 11 onwards at Lord's.
Pat Cummins tore through South Africa before a Proteas fightback left the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 on a knife-edge at the end of an absorbing second day at Lord's.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma is looking for his front-line batsmen to score quicker when they take on the West Indies in the second match of their two-test series, starting in Georgetown, Guyana on Thursday.
Third-placed India close in on England in latest Women's ODI rankings update
