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 Africa captain Temba Bavuma feels facing an Indian side with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is nothing new.
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.
South Africa all-rounder Marco Jansen says stopping world-class batters like Virat Kohli becomes almost impossible once they settle in.
Virat and Rohit have made oppositions look silly, fun to see them in dressing room: KL Rahul
South Africa pulled off a sensational victory inside three days of the opening Test against India on Sunday and the manner of it would go a long way in silencing those who doubted their credentials as the reigning world test champions.
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.
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.
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.
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".
Australia, who won the preceding T20 series between the sides, lost opener Travis Head and number three Marnus Labuschagne inside four overs.
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.
South Africa will be without striker-bowler Kagiso Rabada for Tuesday's opening One Day International against England at Headingley, captain Temba Bavuma revealed ahead of the clash.
Nitish Reddy released from India squad for India A one day series
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.
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.
Gill may miss ODI series due to unhealed neck injury; Rahul, Pant in line for ODI captaincy
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.
South Africa A humble India A by 73 runs to avoid series whitewash
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.
'You don't come to a country to win a Test match, you obviously want to win the series.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
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.
Noman collected a 10-wicket haul during Pakistan's 93-run triumph over South Africa in Lahore recently and moved up four places.
Sourav Ganguly believes India's biggest selection dilemma ahead of the upcoming Test series against South Africa could centre around one man - Dhruv Jurel.
Conversations might have been different if Pant got his execution right: Jansen
Namibia pulled off a shock four-wicket win over South Africa in a one-off Twenty20 international on Saturday that marked the opening of the new cricket stadium in Windhoek.
After a forgettable debut series in India in 2019, Senuran Muthusamy had to wait for four years to get another chance in Test cricket.
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.
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.
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.
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.
India's strategy of playing two fast bowlers, one pace bowling all-rounder, and three spinners could possibly come in handy on this surface.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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