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.
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.
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.
Temba Bavuma scored an unbeaten half-century as South Africa reached 233 for four at end of Day 1
Australia, who won the preceding T20 series between the sides, lost opener Travis Head and number three Marnus Labuschagne inside four overs.
South Africa moved cautiously on to 214 for five in reply to England's 458 at the close on the second day of the first Test helped by a gritty performance from Temba Bavuma at Lord's in London on Friday.
Kuldeep slips to third in ODI rankings, Maharaj regains top spot
Openers De Kock (78) and Janneman Malan (91) excelled with the bat as South Africa easily overhauled India's total of 287 for 6 and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
As the battle for semi-final berths intensifies in Group B, top-ranked South Africa will aim to assert their dominance and secure a spot in the final four when they face a struggling England in a high-stakes Champions Trophy clash in Karachi on Saturday.
South Africa's Temba Bavuma struck his maiden Test century in quick time (102 off 148), and in so doing, became the first black South African to crack a Test ton.
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.
With the top two teams in each pool advancing to the semi-finals, the victor of Tuesday's clash in Rawalpindi will have one foot in the knockout rounds.
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.
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.
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.
The loss of Bavuma will further weaken their top six, especially as the experienced Reeza Hendricks has withdrawn from the squad after the birth of his first child, while the in-form Rassie van der Dussen is doubtful for the first match of the series, at least, with a grade one left quadriceps strain.
The 30-year-old De Kock, who has already retired from Test cricket, confirmed he will not play One-Day Internationals beyond the World Cup.
India, South Africa pretty close on bowling, batters will face big test in getting runs: Amla
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.
Batsmen Temba Bavuma and Keegan Petersen, left-arm seam bowler Beuran Hendricks, and all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo will join the team in Johannesburg on Wednesday
'I don't know what the maths looks like but we're playing good cricket and we want it to continue.'
Debutants Afghanistan will aim to continue their impressive rise in white-ball cricket, while South Africa will once again attempt to shed the 'chokers' tag when the two sides kick-off their Champions Trophy campaign in Karachi on Friday.
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 insist they are confident of chasing down a tough target to win the World Test Championship at Lord's even if the contest against Australia has been dominated by the bowlers.
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy second Semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Wednesday
South Africa won their T20 series against world champions West Indies and Ireland, and will once again be captained by Temba Bavuma in both formats.
South Africa ended 27 years of hurt by beating Australia at Lord's to win the ICC World Test Championship 2025.
New Zealand and South Africa, both laden with world-class talent but often falling short in ICC tournaments, will face off in a tightly contested Champions Trophy semifinal.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes South Africa has a slight edge over New Zealand in their Champions Trophy semifinal clash.
'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.'
Sri Lanka used the seamer friendly conditions at Kingsmead to reduce South Africa to 80/4 before rain stopped play on the opening day of the first Test
Afghanistan earned a first-ever One Day International victory over a depleted South Africa when they romped to a comfortable six-wicket triumph in the first game of the three-match series in Sharjah on Wednesday.
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".
Australia will have to dust off the cobwebs but are still fancied to successfully defend their World Test Championship crown against equally ring-rusty South Africa in the final at Lord's.
'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.'
They have looked more comfortable setting targets than chasing one though, and they will expect more penetration from their bowlers against a resurgent Australia.
Captain Temba Bavuma hailed what he termed South Africa's brave decision to bat first in their comprehensive 107-run Champions Trophy win over Afghanistan on Friday
South Africa will look to fix their chasing troubles before the semifinals while Afghanistan will back themselves to beat another top team
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma wanted a clinical performance from his bowlers after posting the highest total in World Cup history of 428/5 against Sri Lanka in their tournament-opener, adding that he was satisfied with individual achievements of his players.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
