South Africa sharpen spin game in attacking net session ahead of Eden Test
Vice-captain Rishabh Pant said India's batters should have adapted to the challenge of playing on a tricky pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
South Africa will be without striker-bowler Kagiso Rabada for Tuesday's opening One Day International against England at Headingley, captain Temba Bavuma revealed ahead of the clash.
South African stand-in captain Aiden Markram said home side Pakistan were well within their rights to prepare extreme turning wickets for their two-Test series, which starts in Lahore on Sunday, as they did last year to beat England.
Ryan Rickelton struck a career-best unbeaten 176 and his captain Temba Bavuma scored 106 as South Africa pummelled Pakistan's seamers at Newlands to finish the first day of the second and final Test on 316 for four on Friday.
South Africa were dealt a major blow before the first ball was even bowled, with pace ace Kagiso Rabada ruled out of the opening Test against India due to a rib injury.
Top-order batters subjugate India A's Test bowlers as SA A register five-wicket win
Australia's senior batter Steve Smith has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's after suffering a compound dislocation of his right pinkie on Friday.
With Bumrah leading the charge, India prised out five wickets in the second session to snuff out South Africa's hopes of reaching the 200 mark.
Application required in Test cricket was missing, says Kumble after India's batting collapse
South Africa's dream start to the World Test Championship final quickly turned into a nightmare at Lord's, as their batters failed to back up Kagiso Rabada's five-wicket masterclass.
The Indian men ruled white-ball cricket, while South Africa ended decades of hurt by winning the World Test Championship at Lord's. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted their maiden IPL title, though the celebrations were dimmed by a deadly stampede. Above all, it was India's women who won a billion hearts by finally adding an ICC World Cup trophy to the cabinet.
Simon Harmer picked up four wickets as South Africa staged an incredible fightback to shock India by 30 runs in a low-scoring first Test match.
South Africa's experienced pacer Kagiso Rabada said their young team are ready for the challenge.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma will miss Cricket World Cup warm-up matches against Afghanistan and New Zealand after returning home for family reasons, officials confirmed on Thursday.
Prem Panicker and Faisal Shariff discuss the World Test Championship final, where South Africa pulled off a magnificent win against favorites Australia.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul perished early as India fumbled in the chase of a mammoth 549-run target on Day 4 of the second Test.
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir mounted a strong defence of the tough Eden Gardens pitch despite losing to South Africa in the first Test.
India will look to reprise their home template of big first-innings totals and sustained spin in the short two-Test series against South Africa beginning in Kolkata on Friday.
India will look to address several lingering selection puzzles when they take on South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday in the first ODI of the three-match series, where Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the set-up for a short audition that could well shape their 2027 World Cup fate.
South African captain Temba Bavuma has said that the ICC Champions Trophy is a bigger challenge than the 50-over World Cup because the lesser number of matches makes it tough for teams to make a comeback.
A record-extending 52nd ODI century by Virat Kohli and a rapid 57 from Rohit Sharma paved the way for India's victory in the series-opener in Ranchi.
Keshav Maharaj couldn't hide his pride after South Africa stunned India in Kolkata, reserving his highest praise for Simon Harmer's heroics and describing their partnership as nothing short of a 'privilege.'
Bavuma said his hamstring was 'feeling good' ahead of his return, and the South African skipper also confirmed he would bat at number three for the opening match of the three-game series behind openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram.
South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been named in their Twenty20 International squad for the five-match series against India next month, the first time he will have played for the side since the 2024 T20 World Cup final.
South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, who missed the first Test against India in Kolkata due to a rib injury, is in awe of his team's ability to rebound from setbacks.
South Africa picked an experienced 15-man squad for next month's Champions Trophy in Pakistan with 10 players having competed at the last World Cup in India in late 2023.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa, in Kolkata, on Friday.
This is the first time in nearly seven decades that India have suffered two successive series whitewashes at home.
India skipper KL Rahul said his side needed to be sharper in key moments but felt the toss played a decisive role in the home team's four-wicket loss to South Africa in the second ODI, in Raipur, on Tuesday.
Jason, who also served as Pakistan's head coach in 2024 from April to December, was interacting with his followers on X handle.
Aiden Markram scored an unbeaten century as South Africa edged tantalisingly close to an unlikely success in the World Test Championship final, needing 69 runs to dethrone Australia after reaching 213-2 at stumps on the third day at Lord's on Friday.
Kohli finished the series with 302 runs at an astonishing average of 151 and a strike rate of 117-plus, including two centuries and a fifty.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has denied speculation that the Board has approached batting great V V S Laxman to take over as Team India's Test coach and replace Gautam Gambhir.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
Rabada spent a month on the sidelines at the Indian Premier League after testing positive for a recreational drug at this year's SA20 competition.
South Africa's two heaviest defeats have transpired when they fielded first and were accompanied by a lack of discipline as well as dropped chances.
From 'hope to history': Cricketing world explodes with joy as SA finally win major ICC title
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma's participation in the on-going first Test against India was thrown into jeopardy after he limped off the field with a left hamstring strain in Centurion on Tuesday.
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