Captain AB de Villiers was in tears at the post-match news conference after overseeing another South African defeat on the big stage.
South Africa captain Hashim Amla remained unbeaten after his 22nd Test hundred but off-spinner Dilruwan Perera's career best figures gave Sri Lanka a big first innings lead at the end of the third day of the second Test on Saturday.
India face a South Africa in their final World Twenty20 warm-up game in Mumbai, on Saturday.
A look at the few bright spots, the many worries, and moments that made for a distinctly indelible 2020.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 5:
The 2011 Indian Premier League Players' Auction proved to be a blessing in disguise for the top cricket stars around the world. A total of 127 players were sold in the two-day auction at the ITC Gardenia hotel in Bangalore, while 12 players were originally retained by the franchises ahead of the auction. Harish Kotian presents a list of auctioned players.
Photos from the ICC World Cup match played between South Africa and Ireland on Tuesday.
Seamer Duanne Olivier completed an 11-wicket match haul as South Africa roared back into contention in the first Test
South Africa will head to India armed with three frontline slow bowlers in their Test squad after recalling leg-spinner Imran Tahir and off-break bowler Dane Piedt for the four-match series starting in November.
Former South Africa captain Clive Rice rates the India bowling attack higher than South Africa's and said the home bowlers would struggle to take 20 wickets against a batting line-up, which boasts of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, in the Test series starting next week.
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.
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.
After a week of action at the Cricket World Cup, with each team now playing at least one match, here's an analysis of how the main contenders are shaping up.
Top India batsman Virat Kohli has maintained his second position in the latest ICC batsmen rankings while medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has moved up a place to be seventh in the bowlers' standings.
He's been one of the most consistent players in the last six months, and even towered above other Indian batsmen in the recently-concluded series in South Africa. While India's leading batsmen struggled to cope with the pace and bounce of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, Virat Kohli was rock-solid and unyielding.
Delhi Daredevils paid the price for shoddy batting as they virtually crashed out of the IPL losing to Sunrisers by eight wickets via D/L method in an encounter interrupted by intermittent showers.
Yusuf Pathan's blistering century proved in vain for India as South Africa won the fifth and decisive one-day international by 33 runs on Sunday to take the series 3-2.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that they could have thought of chasing had the target been around 260.
After entering the Champions League Twenty20 final, Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised Suresh Raina for his breezy unbeaten 48-ball 94 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in semi-final.
India need a record-breaking 340 to beat South Africa in the third and final Test in Cape Town on Thursday. Instances of 300-plus targets chased down in a single day even on flattest of tracks are rare. Attaining that against the fiery South African pace attack, led by Dale Steyn, on a fifth day's Newlands pitch will be nothing short of a miracle.
India need to carefully groom replacements for their batting 'fab four' after suffering a crushing innings defeat by South Africa on Tuesday, former captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said.
Indian middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid on Monday achieved a rare milestone in his career when he took his 200th catch in Test matches to stay on top of the list in the five-day format of the game.
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.
India were dismissed for 459 in 128.1 overs in their second innings on day five after lastman Jaidev Unadkat was caught at gully off Dale Steyn for one. The Indian innings lasted just 30 minutes and 35 deliveries on the final day, for the addition of just five runs, and the loss of two wickets.
India's master batsman Sachin Tendulkar became the first player ever in the history of Test cricket to hit 50 centuries during day four of the first Test match against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.
A look at Sachin Tendulkar's 50 centuries in Test cricket.
The opener says in the second innings things have changed drastically and the wicket is good for batting.
Rahul Dravid on Wednesday overtook former West Indian captain Brain Lara as the third highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket when he reached 11 in the first of the three-match series against South Africa in Centurion.
South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel said on Tuesday the contest between the home side's fast bowlers and India opener Virender Sehwag would be the key contest in the forthcoming three-Test series.
The Indian cricket team and its premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin held on to their numero uno status in the latest ICC Test rankings for teams and bowlers respectively.
South Africa's status as the top-ranked Test-playing nation has been dented after their crushing defeat in India last month and is in danger of being eroded completely by England over the next month or two.
South Africa set New Zealand a daunting target of 298 runs in 43 overs.
'We want to give Rohit Sharma an opportunity to open the innings in Tests'
Philander's partnership with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel has earned the trio the label as the most-balanced and penetrating attack in world cricket.
South Africa captain A B de Villiers on Saturday said his side is not too worried about the problems that India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin could pose during their ICC Cricket World Cup match in Melbourne, on Sunday.
Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi has ridiculed the safety concerns raised by it but the Australian Cricketers Association claims to have made 'some positive progress' in getting its players' security demands met by the IPL organisers.
David Miller and J P Duminy scored centuries as South Africa overcame a real challenge from Zimbabwe to record a 62-run victory in their opening World Cup Pool B game in Hamilton on Sunday.
Eden Gardens pitch curator Prabir Mukherjee on Wednesday denied reports of being under pressure from the BCCI to prepare a turning track to help India level the two-match Test series against South Africa in Kolkata.
Quinton de Kock, Faf de Plessis and AB de Villiers all scored hundreds as South Africa crushed India's bowling attack to post 438-4 and win the deciding One-day International by 214 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
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.
