The result is a boost for South Africa, who need a clean sweep of the series to stay on course for guaranteed qualification for the World Cup in India this year.
From Royal Challengers Bengaluru's historic first IPL title to star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finally breaking the iconic 90-meter mark to India women winning their first cricket World Cup, this was the year of long-awaited victories and record-breaking feats.
'The next game is obviously a big one for us against the Netherlands in Adelaide. Have to put this one behind quickly, take whatever learnings we can.'
South Africa beat Australia by five wickets to win World Test Championship
Captain Rishabh Pant conceded that India needed to get better as a Test team.
The collapse, India's lowest failed chase at home, has left behind deeper fault lines than a dry Eden Gardens wicket can conceal.
Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma is looking for his front-line batsmen to score quicker when they take on the West Indies in the second match of their two-test series, starting in Georgetown, Guyana on Thursday.
Former South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini has lavished praise on Temba Bavuma after he became the first black African batsman to score a century for his side, saying that he has opened the door for rest of black batsmen.
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.
Player of the Match De Kock said they assessed the conditions perfectly and played to their strength to come out on top against Australia.
Rishabh Pant's return to competitive cricket after a three-month injury-enforced hiatus will be the primary focal point of India A's four-day match against South Africa A.
South Africa have recalled all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy to their 15-player squad for next month's two-Test tour of Bangladesh as one of three frontline spin options.
'There is not much we can do as players, but there is that disparity in the number of games. We have to find a way mentally to meet the challenge.'
Pat Cummins tore through South Africa before a Proteas fightback left the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 on a knife-edge at the end of an absorbing second day at Lord's.
Dhruv Jurel made a strong case for his continued presence in the senior Test eleven with his second hundred in as many innings against South Africa A while fortifying India A's position on the third day of the four-day match in Bengaluru on Saturday.
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.
Keshav Maharaj took 4/22 as South Africa thrashed a woeful England side by seven wickets after dismissing the hosts for just 131 runs in the first One-Day International.
Top-order batter Rassie van der Dussen will lead South Africa during next month's Twenty20 tri-series with New Zealand and hosts Zimbabwe, with four uncapped players in the squad, Cricket South Africa said on Thursday.
India, South Africa pretty close on bowling, batters will face big test in getting runs: Amla
Australia, who won the preceding T20 series between the sides, lost opener Travis Head and number three Marnus Labuschagne inside four overs.
South Africa's batting hero Aiden Markram has taken longer than expected to deliver on his promise, but a match-winning century against Australia in the World Test Championship final is being hailed as the biggest in the country's cricketing history.
South Africa have now won six successive Tests, starting with success in the West Indies in August and following it with two-Test series wins in Bangladesh and then home to Sri Lanka last month.
Kuldeep slips to third in ODI rankings, Maharaj regains top spot
Seamer Dane Paterson took a career-best 5-71 and Temba Bavuma was unbeaten on 48 as South Africa closed the third day
The 2025 final will be played between Australia and South Africa at Lord's from June 11.
Australia and South Africa, two teams renowned for their batting prowess, will go head-to-head in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, aiming to secure a place in the Champions Trophy semifinals.
Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green smashed blistering hundreds as Australia steamrollered South Africa by 276 runs in the third and final One-Day International.
Salman Agha and Mohammad Rizwan both struck centuries as Pakistan completed their highest successful run chase in ODIs with a six-wicket win over South Africa.
Ashwell Prince, South Africa's batting coach, labelled Aiden Markram as the "man for the big occasion" after the opener steered the Proteas towards what could be a famous run-chase in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia on Friday.
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".
'We would like to believe and back ourselves to know these conditions or adapt to these conditions a lot faster even if we find them slightly different, as compared to, say, somebody who is brought up in Johannesburg and has played all his cricket at the Wanderers ground.'
'I think it's an ongoing process, just continuously putting in hours of work and speaking to people that have played in these conditions, have done well in these conditions.'
Despite the impressive record that the WTC finalists are in possession of, Bangar doesn't believe the Proteas or the Baggy Greens will receive an edge over the other in the Ultimate Test, which is scheduled to kick off on Wednesday.
South Africa have a chance of reaching the 2025 World Test Championship final but would likely have to win both Tests against Sri Lanka, and the two-match home series with Pakistan that includes Boxing Day and New Year fixtures.
'We could have pushed harder at certain stages of our innings, but everyone chipped in to make sure we had competitive total.'
Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored 153 on debut and Corbin Bosch an unbeaten maiden century as a much-changed South Africa reached 418 for nine on the opening day of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Saturday.
Quinton de Kock has reversed his retirement from ODI cricket and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
South Africa roped in left-arm spin bowling all-rounder George Linde as a cover for the injured Aiden Markram ahead of their Champions Trophy semi-finals against New Zealand.
South Africa's two-test series success over Sri Lanka on Monday catapulted them to first place in the World Test Championship and put them firmly on course for next year's final in what would have been unthinkable less than a year ago.
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