Having punched above their weight, Afghanistan now face England in the Super League semifinals of the U-19 World Cup
The win at Wanderers against India is a move in the right direction for the South Africa team, according to skipper Dean Elgar, who revealed that while there is room for improvement, the hosts won't be tinkering with their game plan heading into the final Test.
Ravichandran Ashwin can play the all-rounder's role in any condition, India skipper Virat Kohli said on Monday, impressed by the premier off-spinner's consistency with both bat and ball in recent years.
As Sachin Tendulkar completes his 50th birthday, an A-Z listing about the 'Little Master'.
Iyer's teammate pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar jumped three spots to 17th on the bowler rankings, while former captain Virat Kohli, who was rested for the Sri Lanka T20Is, fell out of the top 10 - he dropped five places to 15th.
Legendary South Africa batter Hashim Amla says more "collective experience" in the Indian side was one of the key factors in the visiting side's comfortable victory in the series-opener at Centurion.
The Faf du Plessis-led side would be aiming to win their third match to stay alive in the 50-over tournament.
Images from Day 3 of the third Test between South Africa and India, in Cape Town, on Thursday.
While India and South Africa have identical points (120) against their name, India are placed second on the basis of decimal points.
South Africa have slipped to number six in the world, behind fifth-placed Sri Lanka, and have a host of questions to answer, not least around a brittle top six and the balance of the side.
Rookie opener Sarel Erwee savoured a maiden century as South Africa dominated day one of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch to be 238 for three at the close on Friday.
Australia were a different side when they crashed to their first T20 series loss to Bangladesh in August and are not expecting a repeat of their troubles when they face the south Asians in the World Cup, spinner Ashton Agar said.
Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher, Daryl Cullinan, and Faf Du Plessis are the other Proteas batsmen who have more than 4000 runs in Test cricket.
Needing 392 runs to avoid the follow-on, after the South Africans posted a mammoth 542 in their first innings, the hosts were shot out for a meagre 204 in 66.3 overs in their first essay, conceding a huge lead of 338 runs.
'Obviously it's disappointing to miss a hundred but I think 93 was a big contribution to the team. It was very important to give the momentum to the team and keep the team in the zone so that there's less pressure on the next batters.'
'We ended up getting a result in four days is a testimony to the fact that we have become the side we have become today and strength of the squad was on full display.'
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.
De Kock, 23, became the youngest player to record 10 ODI hundreds
Skipper Rohit Sharma will look to feast on a Zimbabwe bowling attack in his bid to play an innings that is long overdue in a must-win game of the T20 World Cup match in Melbourne on Sunday.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Monday announced a new partnership with dairy major Amul for the T20I series in India.
Besides Agarwal, New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel and Australian pacer Mitchell Starc were also short-listed for the award.
South Africa captain Dean Elgar has opened up about his behind the scene conversation with Kagiso Rabada that fired up the senior pacer to deliver a game-changing spell in the second Test against India.
South African batting consultant Justin Sammons hailed Dean Elgar's stubborn resistance against a fearsome Indian attack, saying the skipper's show with the bat will be key if the hosts have to win the Wanderers Test.
'I'm back at the hotel recovering'
Stokes now holds the record score for an England number six, beating Graham Hick's 187 against India in 1993, and became the first English centurion at Newlands for 50 years.
With four days lost in the drawn second Test, South Africa captain Hashim Amla candidly admitted that he is unable to find many positives from the rain-truncated game apart from AB de Villiers's knock of 85 in his 100th game.
For some teams, this will be the start of their quest for World Cup glory but for others, it will be the culmination of what has already been a long journey.
Images from the third One-Day International between South Africa and India, in Cape Town, on Sunday.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between India and South Africa, in Pune.
Proteas skipper said that the match getting called off was not ideal as every game is crucial heading into next year's T20 World Cup in Australia.
The home side were in the game at 107 for three when left-arm spinner Maharaj (5-36) claimed the scalp of Kieran Powell (51), who tried to launch him to the midwicket boundary but picked out lone fielder Anrich Nortje.
With this thrilling win, Pakistan has taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
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.
Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are expected to spit fire on a track that will offer steep bounce as India's top-order gears up for its toughest test in adverse conditions against a top-notch South African side in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.
Markram's good form augurs well for the Proteas
Local hero Sanju Samson struck a blistering 48-ball 91 as India A romped to a 36-run victory over South Africa A in the fifth and final unofficial ODI, helping the hosts claim the series 4-1, in Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday.
'Even DK was finding it a little bit difficult at the start. The wicket played a huge role in this game. And as for that strategy, we can and we will be going with it in the next matches as well.'
While the batting looks in perfect shape, India's new-look pace department needs to come up with something special against the Proteas in Cuttack on Sunday.
IMAGES from the 4th T20I between India and South Africa played in Rajkot on Friday.
