Perhaps, another Ranji title with Mumbai will be a fitting send off for Ajinkya Rahane.
The Pakistan Cricket Board in a bid to attract more crowds to the Test match have for the first time announced free entry for several enclosures.
Imam was in a hurry to reach his ton and, attacking the bowling, got an inside edge to Senuran Muthusamy's left-arm spin and was snagged at short leg by Tony de Zorzi's sharp catch.
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.
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.
The short turnaround time from the high of winning a controversy-marred Asia Cup notwithstanding, Shubman Gill's India will be outright favourites against a struggling and under-strength West Indies when the teams face-off on a green-top in the first Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Pakistan's loss has had a detrimental impact on their WTC aspirations. India continues to lead the WTC table with a commanding 68.52 points in 9 games.
The win propelled New Zealand from sixth to fourth in the updated standings, with a win-loss percentage of 44.44%,
Spinner Keshav Maharaj took five wickets as South Africa secured a 109-run victory over Sri Lanka on the last day of the second Test.
With South Africa's seam attack featuring Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Marco Jansen and Australia having Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and the ever-dependable Josh Hazlewood in their lineup, the battle between the two sides' fast bowlers is likely to be critical in determining the outcome of the World Test Championship final, as per ICC website.
'Every series is important, as simple as that, when you are playing for your country..'.
The over rate regulations must be modified according to the playing conditions in different continents, England Test captain Ben Stokes said on Tuesday, arguing that current rules unfairly penalise pace-heavy attacks.
Rishabh Pant posted a heartfelt message for Chris Woakes, who had left him with a severe injury during the fifth Test in Manchester early this year.
South Africa have eight wickets in hand and are now overwhelming favourites to finish off the job, and take the title away from champions Australia, who had set them a daunting fourth innings target of 282 in the final on Friday.
South Africa are confident they can chase down a spot in next year's World Test Championship final, even if they must win four of their remaining five Tests in the current two-year cycle
'There is a lot of inspiration we can draw from in the brand of cricket we have played in the last three or four years.'
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj believes his team deserves to lift the World Test Championship trophy after their consistent performances throughout the cycle.
A B de Villiers described South Africa's squad as a well-balanced unit and backed them to pull off an upset against defending champions Australia.
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.
Pant equals Sehwag's six-hitting record, surpasses Rohit Sharma in WTC Test runs
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon termed Indian players as superstars' while hoping to revive his on-field rivalry with India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
He has taken nine five-wicket hauls in SENA conditions.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit will captain India in the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in Pakistan and the WTC Final which will be played at Lord's in June 2025.
Stead, who guided New Zealand to the WTC title, T20 World Cup final in 2021, 2019 ODI World Cup final and 2025 Champions Trophy title clash, is now entrusted with the task of giving a fillip to Andhra cricket.
The series marks the beginning of a new cycle for both India and England in the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC).
Aus ODIs: Bumrah, Gill workload to be discussed, battle between Jaiswal and Abhishek
Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for penalising only England for slow over rates during the third Test against India at the Home of Cricket, Lord's.
New Zealand climbed to the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings following their thumping 281-run victory over South Africa
Change will be a key theme for both the West Indies and Australia in their upcoming three-Test series in the Caribbean with the visitors set to field a remodelled batting line-up and the hosts being led out for the first time by Roston Chase.
While this may not secure qualification outright, it would certainly keep them in contention. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead drew inspiration from the inaugural WTC cycle in 2019-21, when New Zealand won six consecutive matches enroute to securing the title.
Australia's sensational eight-run defeat to the West Indies in Brisbane on Sunday did not have much impact on them as they continued to lead the WTC rankings.
Joe Root is not only inching closer to Sachin Tendulkar's World record tally of 15,921 Test runs, he also has a shot at overtaking Rahul Dravid's record for the highest-ever batting average in India-England Tests.
Kagiso Rabada stamped his class on the biggest stage-rocking Australia and leapfrogging legends in the record books.
WTC Final-bound SA players likely to miss IPL playoffs
Cheteshwar Pujara's retirement from Indian cricket on Sunday prompted an outpouring of tributes, none more heartfelt than Jaydev Unadkat's.
Australia is on the cusp of scripting another milestone. If the Baggy Greens trounce the Proteas, they will become the first team to defend the WTC mace successfully.
So far in the four matches of the ongoing five-match series against the Three Lions, India Test captain Shubman Gill has managed to score 722 runs in the eight innings at an average of 90.25.
A calf injury forced Josh Hazlewood to miss being part of Australia's World Test Championship win two years ago and the fast bowler is keen to avoid a second such heartbreak.
In the recently concluded five-match Test series against England, India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant stood tall as a beacon of determination, battling through injuries to deliver a string of gutsy, crowd-pleasing knocks that underlined his value to the side.
Pat Cummins, who is down with a back injury, will miss the upcoming white-ball games against New Zealand and India and also the Sheffield Shield matches in the run-up to the Ashes.
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