Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers to take note of at the end of the first day's play in the third Test between India and South Africa.
Hashim Amla's third double-ton for South Africa and Stiaan van Zyl's unbeaten century on debut against West Indies helped the hosts declare on 552 for five before rain brought an early end to day two of the first Test on Thursday.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel scalped five wickets as India 'A' spinners shot out South Africa 'A' for 260 on Day 1 of the second and final unofficial 'Test' in Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday.
Talented Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane's century was in vain, as India fell just four runs short of the target when the umpires called off play in the three-day match against South Africa at the Emerging Players' Meet. The teams got three points each from the match.
Rains took some sheen off Kane Williamson's record batting display of scoring the fastest ever century in Champions League Twenty20 as New Zealand side Northern Knights beat Cape Cobras of South Africa by 33 runs under Duckworth-Lewis method in Raipur.
Opener Dean Elgar provided stubborn resistance as South Africa finished the second day of the first Test on 137 for four in reply to England's 303 at Kingsmead on Sunday.
Opener Reeza Hendricks, wicketkeeper Dane Vilas, spinner Aaron Phangiso and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who have all previously represented the country in the limited overs formats, picked for Bangladesh Tests
South Africa have named teenage speedster Kagiso Rabada in a 14-man squad for their three-match home Test series against West Indies, Cricket South Africa announced on Tuesday.
Batsman AB de Villiers will return to the role of wicketkeeper for South Africa in the opening two Tests of their four-match home series against England starting in Durban on Boxing Day.
Rajneesh Gupta has some interesting numbers from the second day's play in the third Test between India and South Africa at Nagpur.
Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah scored half-centuries to give their team hope of taking a first-innings lead over South Africa on the second day of their opening Test at Chittagong on Wednesday.
A venomous spell of fast bowling from Stuart Broad led England to an emphatic seven- wicket win over South Africa in the third on Saturday to clinch the series. Broad's brilliant return of 6-17 on a lively wicket skittled the Proteas for 83 in their second innings on the third day. England reached their modest victory-target of 74 with relative ease as captain Alastair Cook (43) top-scored in guiding them to 77 for three from 22,4 overs under gloomy skies. The tourists now have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series, with the final game to be played in Pretoria. South Africa bowled out England for 323 in the morning session for a slender first-innings deficit of 10 runs, but were no match for the bounce and movement of a rampant Broad as they crumbled to their second lowest score since returning to international cricket in 1991.
India defeated South Africa, the No 1 Test side, in perfect home conditions, in the first Test, at the PCA stadium, in Mohali, on Saturday. Join us in congratulating Team India on its success.
England's Steven Finn took three wickets as South Africa, chasing an unlikely 416 for victory, struggled to 136 for four on the fourth day of the first Test.
South Africa made a sedate start to their second innings after conceding a 78-run first innings lead to a spirited Bangladesh on day three of the opening Test at Chittagong on Thursday.
Part-time spinner Dean Elgar ripped through India's batting line-up with four wickets as South Africa made the hosts rue their decision to bat first on the opening day of the first Test in Mohali, on Thursday.
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.
Dale Steyn became South Africa's second highest wicket taker as West Indies reached 276 for six on the first day of the third Test on Friday.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Saturday.
Middle-order batsman Omphile Ramela struck an attractive century as South Africa 'A' posted a comfortable 293 for 4 on the opening day of the first unofficial 'Test' against India 'A', in Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday. Riding on the left-hander's 112 off 197 balls, the Proteas dictated terms after skipper Dane Vilas chose to bat.
Faf du Plessis scored his fourth test century but rain ruined the morning session as South Africa went to lunch on 289 for three on day two of the second Test against West Indies at St George's Park on Saturday.
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.
A clinical Kings XI Punjab crushed Cape Cobras by seven wickets for their fourth win in a row as they ended their Group B engagements with a flourish in the Champions League Twenty20 in Mohali.
In spite of winning both the T20 and One-Day International series, South Africa don't hold any significant psychological advantage going into the four-Test rubber against hosts India, said visiting team opener Stiaan Van Zyl.
After a dream ODI debut last month, teenaged paceman Mustafizur Rahman announced his Test arrival by claiming three wickets in four balls as Bangladesh bowled out South Africa for 248 on the opening day of the first Test in Chittagong on Tuesday.
India's Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin thrived on a spinners' paradise in Mohali, bamboozling South Africa's batsmen in the first Test to secure a 108-run victory with more than two days to spare on Saturday.
Lokesh Rahul enhanced his case for inclusion in India's first Test XI with a composed half century, guiding Board President's XI past a difficult period on day one of the two-day practice game against visiting South Africa on Friday.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur, on Wednesday.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who claimed five for 32 in South Africa's paltry first innings of 79, says the home side needs to be patient on Day 3 as things will be different in the second innings. Harish Kotian reports from Nagpur.
South Africa slid to 105 for six on the third day of the second and final test against New Zealand on Monday but were still firmly in command at Centurion, holding a 372-run lead. After bowling the Kiwis out for 214, the hosts did not enforce the follow-on as the pitch is getting more and more difficult for the batsmen. New Zealand's bowlers took six wickets in the last session of the day with only stand-in opener Quinton de Kock (50) offering any resistance as Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, captain Faf du Plessis and Stiaan van Zyl went cheaply.
Ben Stokes claimed a wicket for England in the first session of the third cricket test at the Wanderers on Thursday, but South Africa dealt with the early swing from the bowlers and advanced to 73 for one at lunch. South African wicketkeeper Dane Vilas was forced to make a desperate dash to the ground, including a police escort from the airport, after being called up as a late replacement for the injured Quinton de Kock. Stiaan van Zyl was the only wicket to fall for South Africa as he top-edged an attempted pull straight up in the air and was caught by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow off Stokes' bowing for 21.
South Africa have named an unchanged squad for the remaining two Tests against England as AB de Villiers prepares to lead the five-day team for the first time in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Ravichandran Ashwin displayed his magic yet again to record career-best figures of 7 for 66 as India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-Test series against South Africa after an emphatic 124-run victory in the third match in Nagpur on Friday.
Having made an impression with his efforts in the drawn warm-up match between Indian Board President's XI and South Africans, Mumbai medium pacer Shardul Thakur said he is confident of taking wickets anywhere except on rank turners.
The 22-yard strip at the Feroz Shah Kotla will be the cynosure of all eyes as a buoyant India seeks their biggest series triumph against South Africa when they square off in the final Test of the four-match rubber in Delhi on Thursday.
South Africa removed the West Indian openers in Sunday's last session at Newlands to build on AB de Villiers' superb century and take the initiative in the final Test.
Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur pushed South Africa to the backfoot before the classy AB de Villiers rallied the tourists with a typically aggressive century on the second and last day of the practice game against Board President's XI which ended in a draw, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Outwitted in both the T20 and the ODI series, India will seek redemption in the Test format by trying to spin a web around the formidable South Africans in the four-match series starting in Mohali, on Thursday.
Test cricket's most successful captain is contemplating a return to the international game almost two years after he bid adieu to the game. Graeme Smith, South Africa's greatest Test captain, retired in March 2014, but after signing with the UAE-based Masters Champions League Twenty tournament on Monday, he expressed his desire to play again at the highest level.
AB de Villiers' masterly 85 in his 100th test could not gloss over South Africa's spin frailty as India took charge of the second Test after dominating the opening day at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
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