South Africa need six more wickets with two days still to play to win the second Test against Sri Lanka, who closed the third day at Newlands on Wednesday on 130 for four, still 377 runs behind the mammoth target set them. Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada both took two wickets in the Sri Lankan second innings as the home team closed in on victory and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. South Africa have ample time to whittle away the rest of the Sri Lankan batting while the visitors, set 507 runs to win, must survive six more sessions if they are to force a most improbable outcome.
Fast bowler Dale Steyn has been ruled out of South Africa's four-match Test series in England after being forced to withdraw from his country's A team tour as he has yet to regain full fitness following a fractured shoulder.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis walked for the toss along with Temba Bavuma as the proxy captain, who was given the responsibility of calling the toss.
Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun had a close look at the pitch which wore a dry look, indicating that it would have something for the spinners.
JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Wayne Parnell and Vernon Philander put South Africa on top as they reduced Australia to 112 for four on the second day of the second Test at St George's Park on Friday.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the test series against Australia with a shoulder injury. Steyn left the field before lunch on day two of the first Test in Perth and scans revealed he had suffered a stress fracture, Cricket South Africa said in a statement on Friday.
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.
On a pitch offering extensive lateral movement, a target of 175 could prove to be a match-winning one for India.
Skipper Aiden Markram and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder hit superb hundreds as South Africa 'A' fought their way to 400 all out against India 'A' on day three of the second unofficial Test, in Mysuru, on Thursday.
Skipper Virat Kohli's weakness outside the off-stump was again exposed as India plunged into deep trouble at 28 for three, after their bowlers dismissed South Africa for a modest 286, on the opening day of the first Test in Cape Town on Friday.
The Proteas have been named Team of the Year at the 2013 South African Sports Awards function at Sun City.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada and wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock have achieved career-high positions in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings after firing South Africa to an emphatic 177-run victory over Australia in the opening Test of the three-match series in Perth on Monday.
Team India may have had decent run in the World Cup reaching semi-final but there is no such good news as far as the longer version is concerned where Virat Kohli's men are currently languishing at seventh place in the 10-team table.
'As Test team, we stand in a good position. Whole credit goes to Virat'
Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front with a hard-earned century to give South Africa a commanding 205-run advantage at the end of the second day of the second Test against Pakistan, at Newlands, on Friday.
England continued to hold the upper hand in the first Test against South Africa by taking a first innings lead of 97 and extending it to 216 by the close on the third day at Lord's on Saturday with nine wickets in hand.
Ryan Harris claimed the last two wickets at the fag end of the match as South Africa were bowled out for 265 and lost the third and final Test by 245 runs at Newlands on Wednesday. Australia won the series 2-1.
In the batsmen's rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara is the top-ranked Indian at the fourth position while opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed 21 places to be ranked 39th.
South Africa remained on course for victory at the close at Kingsmead on Friday.
Bavuma tried to put up a brave face when he said that this South African team is not here to make up numbers but compete hard.
Rohit Sharma scored a century in his first innings as India's new Test opener and gave the hosts a flying start along with partner Mayank Agarwal of Day 1 of the first Test in Visakhapatnam.
Shubman Gill shone again with a fine 92 as India 'A' reached 233 for three at stumps on Day 1 in the second unofficial Test against South Africa 'A' in Mysuru.
There will still be plenty of needle in the third Test between South Africa and Australia whether or not Kagiso Rabada wins his appeal against suspension, opener Dean Elgar said on Monday.
'We have the likes of (captain) Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma, who have the ability to dig in and score big runs and I also like the way that Rassie (van der Dussen) has come in and grown in that team.'
JP Duminy scored his fourth Test century and his first in the subcontinent to steer South Africa to a first innings total of 455 for nine wickets declared on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Sri Lanka's slow bowlers spun a web around South Africa who collapsed for a meagre 126 to concede a significant first innings lead on a spin-dominated second day of the opening Test.
India might have begun their World Cup campaign with a morale-boosting win over Pakistan but Jonty Rhodes feels that South Africa are a better all-round side and tipped them to win their high-profile clash against the defending champions in Melbourne on Sunday.
Uncapped spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi were named in South Africa's squad for next month's three-match test series in Australia on Monday as the Proteas seek to exploit a perceived weaknesses in their hosts' batting. Faf du Plessis will again captain the team in the absence of injured AB de Villiers after leading the side in the two-test series against New Zealand last month, which they won 1-0. "Basically, we are following a horses for courses policy as we feel that spinners who turn the ball away from the right-hander are going to be particularly useful under Australian conditions and against the test batsmen we are likely to face," selector Linda Zondi said in a statement.
South Africa's Anrich Nortje took the vital wickets of captain Joe Root and talisman Ben Stokes as England struggled to 262 for nine at stumps on the first day of the second Test on Friday. Pace bowler Nortje, playing his fourth Test, finished with 2-54 off 17 overs as the home side restricted the tourists on a Newlands wicket that was expected to be full of runs. Images from the opening day of the second Test at Newlands on Friday.
Kane Williamson fought hard to establish his innings before cashing in during the final session to lead New Zealand to 177 for three at close of play on the second day of the first test against South Africa on Thursday.
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.
'We often in England, talk about express pace, but that's not what I'm seeing. It's relentlessness with the ball. It's (Glenn) McGrath-like that you do for a long period of time. It's not bowling bad balls and releasing the pressure.'
David Warner thumped a run-a-ball century as Australia dominated the opening day of the third and final Test against South Africa, piling up 331 for three at Newlands on Saturday.
The touring side reached 75-1 in their second innings at the close, a lead of 205, with Dean Elgar (38 not out) and Hashim Amla (23 not out) bringing some order to the final hour and ensuring their team are well-placed to force the victory that would level the four-match series at 1-1.
Australia captain Steve Smith expects his touring batsmen to be given a thorough test of their credentials when they face South Africa's formidable attack on pace-friendly pitches in a four-Test series beginning in March.
We note the criticism aimed at Lungi for expressing his views -- and we hope that CSA, together with fellow cricketers both present and past will come out strongly in support of #BLM.
Morkel removed Zimbabwe's most experienced batsman Hamilton Masakadza with the first ball of their innings and Chamu Chibhabha and Brendan Taylor were also dismissed as the visitors made a tentative start under lights.
Fast bowler Dale Steyn took four wickets as South Africa seized control of the first Test against Sri Lanka on Day 2 and went to the close on 126 for four, an overall second innings lead of 170 runs.
Vijay in 11th spot; Kohli falls five places
India's batting woes in South Africa continued as the visitors folded up for 187 on Day 1.
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