The 2-0 series triumph over New Zealand has propelled England to the third spot in the ICC Test Rankings, just one point behind second-placed India. Sunday's win in Nottingham, coupled with the victory at Old Trafford and the draw at Lord's means England rises above South Africa in the Test Championship table into third position.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith expects an even contest between bat and ball to set up a thrilling finale in the series-deciding third Test against Australia at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.
Virat Kohli's men ticked almost all the boxes during their 203-run win in the opening encounter in Visakhapatnam and they would like to maintain the same intensity in their bid to seal the series in Pune itself.
Dwaine Pretorius felt like an outsider, stuck on the sidelines as South Africa's World Cup went wrong but he was integral again on Friday as they claimed a morale-boosting win over Sri Lanka. The all-rounder had not featured for the Proteas since their tournament opener almost a month ago at the Oval, where he finished wicketless and ran himself out for a duck in their defeat to England.
A look at how the Indian players rated in the Test series against South Africa.
AB de Villiers has been ruled out of South Africa's two-test home series against New Zealand this month with an injured elbow and Faf du Plessis will take over the captaincy.
The Proteas are working overtime to devise a strategy to get the better of the right-hander and they believe the best way to dismiss Rohit is to get him early before he gets his eye in.
Captain Kane Williamson struck a composed unbeaten century as New Zealand edged past South Africa by four wickets in a thrilling last-over finish.
Quinton de Kock's participation in the upcoming Indian Premier League was, on Thursday, thrown into jeopardy.
India fast bowler Mohammed Shami's central contract was on Wednesday withheld by the BCCI after his wife accused him of domestic violence and adultery, charges that were denied by the cricketer.
Dale Steyn grabbed five wickets to lead South Africa to a convincing 204 run-victory over New Zealand in the second test at Centurion on Tuesday that sealed a 1-0 win in the series. Set an unlikely target of 400 to win the match, New Zealand were bowled out for 195 with a day to spare as South Africa kept in tact their record of never losing a series against the Kiwis.
Rishabh Pant's form would be an important sub-plot when India look to seize the advantage against South Africa
Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan and Wasim Jaffer will turn out for Mumbai against Maharashtra in the Elite Group 'B' match.
'... Obviously one of the best batsman in the world in Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni with his experience, so they pose a big threat. But the beauty of the game and the tournament structure is that, it doesn't matter where you are ranked or which team you are playing. It is about the performance of the day and that is the most important thing'
Moeen Ali revealed that Jofra Archer is the fastest bowler he has ever faced after watching the England newcomer rip South Africa apart at The Oval.
Keshav Maharaj took career best figures of 6-40 as South Africa romped to an eight-wicket victory over New Zealand on the extended third day of the second Test on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
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.
South Africa batsman AB de Villiers became the first player in the history of Test cricket to score a half-century in 12 consecutive Tests after he crossed 50 in the first innings on the opening day of the second Test against Australia, at St George's Park, on Thursday.
The Proteas lost the second T20 International by seven wickets after the series opener was washed out.
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The 24-year-old wicketkeeper injured the index finger on his right hand while fielding in South Africa's eight-wicket win in the second Test in Wellington and underwent scans earlier this week.
Kohli promised to up the ante in the remaining three games.
30 wickets across two games... a good day for the bowlers at last...
India moved up a rung to second spot, ahead of England, in the latest ICC Test rankings, issued on Monday, while South Africa strengthened its position as the numero uno side after the annual update of the championship table.
Agarwal, thrusted into the squad following failure of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, responded with a 76-run knock off balls, sorting out India's opening woes to some extent.
'The confidence and the momentum of that definitely helps. It just makes you raise your own bar of performance, you want to be a better player. My challenge to myself was to be a good player and now it's to become a great player. So it's just about lifting the bar and making a mind shift'
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'.
India's status as the No 1 Test side in ICC rankings will remain intact irrespective of how the series against South Africa pans out, but the Proteas will join the visitors at the top if they win all the three matches.
At stumps, on Day 2 of the third Test, South Africa, replying to India's first innings of 414, were 144 for 1.
Australia have dropped Test skipper Tim Paine from their one-day squad for next month's series against South Africa and named opening batsman Aaron Finch as captain in his place.
South Africa pace spearhead Dale Steyn has not allowed a series-ending injury to prevent him from backing his captain Faf du Plessis over allegations of ball tampering, suggesting Australia are using the incident as an excuse for losing. Du Plessis was charged with ball tampering on Friday after Australian television pictures showed him applying saliva to the ball with a sweet in his mouth during the second test, which South Africa won to clinch the series with a match to spare. The International Cricket Council (ICC) could ban Du Plessis from one test match if he is found guilty, putting him in doubt for next week's third test in Adelaide.
The BCCI also wrote a few words wishing luck to the former SA captain.
South Africa have been second-best in the One-Day International and Twenty20 series in England this year, and also suffered a first-round exit in the Champions Trophy, but Elgar believes the red ball can signal a change in fortunes.
Sourav Ganguly emphasised the need for playing day/night Tests to attract more spectators to stadiums.
'They need to be pro-active and take the pacers' challenge head on'
India retained the No 1 spot in the latest Reliance ODI team rankings while Virat Kohli maintained the number two position with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni static at the seventh place in the batting chart released in Dubai.
Conceding that South Africa's teams haven't really fulfilled their potential in World Cups, captain Faf du Plessis said the Proteas need to win the upcoming ICC World T20 to shed the tag of 'chokers' which is haunting them for quite a while now.
New Zealand paceman Southee ruled out; Proteas 'keeper De Kock doubtful starter
Heather Knight's majestic maiden T20I century helped England to a record-breaking 98-run victory over Thailand in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup match at Manuka Oval, in Canberra, on Wednesday. In the day's second match, played later, Pakistan claimed the scalp of the West Indies outplaying the 2016 winners in an eight-wicket victory.
