Spinner Amit Mishra and pacer Dale Steyn scalped two wickets each as Deccan Chargers knocked Rajasthan Royals out of the Indian Premier League by inflicting on them an upset five-wicket defeat in a must-win match in Hyderabad.
Iconic Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has bagged the fifth ESPNcricinfo best batting performance award in Tests, beating the likes of compatriot Rahul Dravid and Australia skipper Michael Clarke. Tendulkar, whose 146 at Cape Town in 2011 came under testing conditions and in the face of sublime swing bowling by Dale Steyn, was the No 1 choice of seven jurors of 11 who had him in their top three.
It's worse than a nightmare but letting the youngsters in the team wallow in self-pity is the last thing skipper Faf du Plessis would want ahead of their crucial game against world No 2 India.
Galle has built a reputation as a spinners' paradise but Australia captain Steve Smith hopes there will be substantial reverse swing at the venue as his top-ranked team bid for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second test. Sri Lanka inflicted a 106-run defeat on the touring side at Pallekele last week in the opening match of the three-test series with the spinners taking 18 out of 20 Australian wickets to fall.
Legendary South African batsman Barry Richards feels Virat Kohli is a few notches above his contemporaries in the Indian team but still has some way to go before one can compare him with the iconic Sachin Tendulkar.
New Zealand's nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the second Test was a closer match than the result suggests and the hosts' captain Ross Taylor believes his team is not far away from being competitive in the third Test in Wellington.
Chris Martin struck back for New Zealand with two quick wickets to leave South Africa on 27 for 2 at the close of play on a rain-hit first day in the second Test in Hamilton on Thursday after the hosts' middle order had collapsed.
Buttler departed after an angry exchange with Ashwin and his exit condemned the Royals to a 14-run defeat in their IPL opener in Jaipur.
Having decimated South Africa inside three days on a turning track in Mohali, India will again look to unleash their troika of spinners to spoil A B de Villiers's landmark 100th match when the two sides meet in the second Test, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
Australia captain Michael Clarke said helping his team when they were under pressure was the best part of his century on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa on Wednesday.
Australia captain Steve Smith expects his touring batsmen to be given a thorough test of their credentials when they face South Africa's formidable attack on pace-friendly pitches in a four-Test series beginning in March.
Sri Lanka, looking to square the three-match series 1-1, were in complete command after 14 wickets tumbled on the second day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead, on Tuesday.
Explosive all-rounder Ben Stokes and relentless run accumulator Steve Smith could not be more different in their approaches to the game but both roared back from personally adversity to bestride an extraordinary cricketing year. Virat Kohli and his men top the confused and confusing World Test Championship table with seven wins in as many matches, including their first pink-ball Test against Bangladesh last month. That victory marked their 12th consecutive Test series win at home.
South Africa paceman Morne Morkel thrived on a fast WACA pitch to capture five wickets but the tourists made hard work of a three-wicket victory over Australia in the second one-day international in Perth on Sunday.
How many Tests has India won in South Africa? Who first captained India in South Africa in 1992-1993? Rajneesh Gupta answers all your questions.
The likes of Virender Sehwag, David Miller and Glenn Maxwell have not managed to live up to expectations for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 8.
Seamer Duanne Olivier completed an 11-wicket match haul as South Africa roared back into contention in the first Test
India have extended their lead at the top of ICC Test rankings courtesy to second-placed Pakistan's defeat in the third and final Test against West Indies on Thursday. Kraigg Brathwaite and Shane Dowrich struck unbeaten half-centuries to guide West Indies to a first Test victory in 14 matches as the Caribbean side beat Pakistan by five wickets in Sharjah.
Unheralded teenagers Prabh Simran Singh and Prayas Ray Barman attracted astonishing bids during the IPL Players' Auction on a day when superstar Dale Steyn went unsold and once a hot-property Yuvraj Singh went for his base price.
The South Africans seem to be making the most of it on the Indian soil as both their batsmen and bowlers have proved their worth in the IPL so far and even look set to dominate the fifth edition of the tournament.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming on Saturday exuded confidence that the defending champions have enough firepower in their batting to take on Deccan Chargers pace attack which played havoc against Kochi Tuskers Kerala in their last IPL match.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar praised New Zealand for playing "outstanding" cricket throughout the World Cup, saying the Kiwis thoroughly deserved to be in the final after edging past South Africa in a battle of nerves at Auckland. It was ironic that the Johannesburg-born Elliott, 36, played a stellar knock to push his country of birth out of the World Cup race.
'We want to give Rohit Sharma an opportunity to open the innings in Tests'
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
India's new batting sensation Shikhar Dhawan will captain Sunrisers Hyderabad in this year's Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament to begin on Tuesday.
Ryan Harris claimed the last two wickets at the fag end of the match as South Africa were bowled out for 265 and lost the third and final Test by 245 runs at Newlands on Wednesday. Australia won the series 2-1.
David Miller blasted an unbeaten century as South Africa chased down a massive target of 372 in the third One-Day International against Australia at Kingsmead in Durban on Wednesday to clinch the series.
Bangladesh teenage spin sensation Mehedi Hasan rocketed into the 33rd position in the rankings for Test bowlers after bowling Bangladesh to their first-ever victory over England on Sunday
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 5:
Winning Test matches outside the sub-continent has been an 'Achilles Heel' for the Indian teams over the years but skipper Virat Kohli made it clear that they have "nothing to prove to anyone" during the upcoming South Africa series, starting January 5.
# Suresh Raina has registered 11 fifties in the IPL -- a tally exceeded only by Jacques Kallis (13).
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.
India face a South Africa in their final World Twenty20 warm-up game in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Graeme Swann became the world's number one ODI bowler for the first time in his career after the off-spinner's eight-wicket haul helped England to a 3-2 series win against Sri Lanka.
South Africa's pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada feels the upcoming T20I and Test series against India is a chance for his embattled team to figure where it stands against the world's best in a tough transition journey.
Former players were effusive in their praise for Sachin Tendulkar who on Sunday became the first man in the history of Test cricket to post 50 centuries.
Pacers Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn caused havoc, claiming seven wickets among them, to put South Africa in command against India on a rain-hit opening day of the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday. At stumps on day one, India were reeling at 136 for nine from 38.1 overs after play was called off early due to bad light.
Captain AB de Villiers was in tears at the post-match news conference after overseeing another South African defeat on the big stage.
If South Africa was able to restrict India to under 300, it was mainly due to the bowling of Dale Steyn, says Jacques Kallis.
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq is baffled by his team's batting failure, which has left the side struggling to stay alive in the Champions Trophy after two successive defeats.
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