India captain Virat Kohli will end the year at the top of the ICC Test ranking chart for batsmen but five-day specialist Cheteshwar Pujara slipped a place to fifth. With 928 points, Kohli is way ahead of second-placed Australian maestro Steve Smith (911) and New Zealand's inspirational skipper Kane Williamson (822), while Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, who has amassed 1,085 runs in 11 Tests this year, improved a place to grab the fourth spot.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the fourth Test between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg on Monday
South African speedster Dale Steyn will miss the fourth and final test against India with a lingering groin injury that has limited his participation in the four-match series to a solitary contest in the series-opener in Mohali.
South Africa were 224 for six at the close of play in a chilly Dunedin with a lead of 191 runs entering the final day on a pitch that is turning but offering little assistance for the pace bowlers and is proving difficult to score from.
Dale Steyn will join a select group of bowlers to claim 400 wickets with the South African paceman requiring four scalps in the two-Test series against Bangladesh to reach the milestone.
A wicketkeeper rarely earns kudos purely for his glovework but Wriddhiman Saha enjoyed that rare acclaim during the second Test against South Africa at Pune.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Thursday.
Dean Elgar scored an unbeaten century but an excellent spell of bowling from Australia seamer Pat Cummins restricted South Africa to 266 for eight at the close of play on the opening day of the third Test at Newlands on Thursday.
India put up yet another dismal batting display, on seam-friendly conditions, to suffer a humiliating 134-run defeat in the second one-dayer against South Africa in Durban on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Starc finished with a match haul of nine for 109, enabling him to overtake South Africa's new-ball bowlers Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander among others, eclipsing his previous best sixth position that he enjoyed in December 2016.
South Africa have named uncapped batsman Theunis de Bruyn in their injury-hit squad for the three-match home Test series against Sri Lanka that starts on December 26.
Seamer Duanne Olivier completed an 11-wicket match haul as South Africa roared back into contention in the first Test
Debutant Lungi Ngidi took six wickets as South Africa defeated India by 135 runs for victory in the second Test in Pretoria on Wednesday and also claim the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match contest.
For the Proteas, the emphasis is on all 15 players instead of 11.
Cricket will venture into new territory when South Africa tackle Zimbabwe in the first official four-day Test match to be played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth starting on Tuesday.
A spectacular collapse has raised the prospect of a nervous finale for a brittle West Indies after they finished on 275 for nine on day four of the second Test against South Africa on Monday.
South African paceman Dale Steyn played down his rift with Australia captain Michael Clarke on Tuesday, saying their supposed feud had been "a bit silly".
Ravichandran Ashwin is the lone Indian to feature in the top 10 of the latest Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings as he continues to lead the way in the all-rounders list.
Firebrand fast bowler Dale Steyn will seek to become South Africa's greatest wicket-taker in Tests when they take on Pakistan in the first match of a three-game series at Centurion Park in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Images from the Day 2 of the second Test at Newlands on Saturday.
England paceman Jofra Archer escaped being banned from bowling for the rest of the first Test against South Africa after delivering two successive beamers late in the twilight at the end of a frustrating day for his team on Friday. Archer bowled two full tosses at South Africa nightwatchman Anrich Nortje in the penultimate over of the day which were both no-balled by umpire Paul Reiffel, only for his decision on the second no-ball to be rescinded.
James Anderson marked his 150th Test and return to the England attack with the first-ball wicket of home opener Dean Elgar, and Sam Curran also grabbed four wickets before Quinton de Kock rallied the Proteas. Images from Day 1 of the opening Test played between South Africa and England at Centurion on Thursday.
Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler
South Africa took 16 Sri Lanka wickets in a little over two sessions to secure a ruthless victory by an innings and 118 runs in the third and final Test at the Wanderers on Saturday.
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.
The 34-year-old Steyn, currently on a short-term contract with Hampshire having been plagued by injury over the last two-and-a-half years, is three wickets short of a milestone that has frustratingly eluded him in recent times.
Du Plessis had a tough time in 2015, scoring just 60 runs in seven innings.
A change from spin-friendly wickets in India to ones favouring seamers means South Africa's pace attack are keenly looking forward to the Test series against England, which starts on Saturday.
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.
Pakistan lost a few early wickets before completing a convincing seven-wicket victory over South Africa in the first Test, in Abu Dhabi, on Thursday.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis lauded his "relentless" bowlers for their match-winning performance against Australia in Hobart on Tuesday and dedicated the series win to absent Proteas Dale Steyn and AB De Villiers.
South Africa will have to dig deep if they are to avoid defeat in the first Test after being reduced to 72 for four wickets in their second innings, still trailing Pakistan by 121 runs, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Tendulkar and Dravid came close to the 900-point mark, but were unable to break the barrier
Kagiso Rabada regained his top spot among bowlers crossing the coveted 900-point mark in ratings even as Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin climbed up a couple of notches to be placed fourth in the ICC Test Player Rankings, released on Tuesday.
Hardik Pandya stood tall amid ruins with his all-round prowess but hosts South Africa were still very much in command with a current lead of 142 runs against India after an enthralling second day in the first Test in Cape Town
The countries will pin their hopes of victory on their quicks with seamer friendly wickets on order for the Tests in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and the contests set to be dominated by fiery exchanges of fast bowling.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada took three wickets as South Africa bowled India out for 187 to take the opening day honours on a seaming wicket in the third and final Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
South Africa seamer Dale Steyn grabbed his first Test wicket after an injury absence of 14 months as the hosts fought back against a fired-up India on an enthralling first day of cut-and-thrust cricket in the opening Test at Newlands in Cape Town on Friday.
South Africa still believe they are the best team at the World Cup despite defeats to India and Pakistan and will be out to prove it in their final pool match against United Arab Emirates, skipper AB de Villiers said on Wednesday.
India captain Virat Kohli on Monday lost his number one position in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen, dropping to second after a forgettable performance in the second Test against England.
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