A rampaging Kolkata Knight Riders stand in the way of Delhi Daredevils' revival plan as the two teams, with contrasting runs so far, gear up to clash in an Indian Premier League (IPL) fixture in Kolkata on Friday.
The paceman had injury problems in the recent ICC Champions Trophy in England, forcing him to miss the semi-final defeat by the hosts, and that has weighed heavily on the minds of the selectors with Test series coming up against Pakistan, India and Australia.
Opener Quinton de Kock slammed an unbeaten half-century as Mumbai Indians thrashed Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets, in the IPL match, in Delhi on Thursday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2021's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 29.
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn will miss the second Test against England, which starts at Newlands on Saturday, after failing to recover from a shoulder injury, captain Hashim Amla said.
Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would strive for a handsome win over struggling Rajasthan Royals in their last round-robin game to stay ahead in the IPL play-offs race in Sharjah on Thursday.
Under-fire South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said his "hurting" team is trying to fight but is just not able to avoid mistakes in what is turning out to be a horror World Cup campaign.
South Africa will head to India armed with three frontline slow bowlers in their Test squad after recalling leg-spinner Imran Tahir and off-break bowler Dane Piedt for the four-match series starting in November.
'When he comes to the crease a lot of pressure is created for other teams. When he is not in the team, we see the difference'
Rabada, the number one ranked Test bowler, could still play if he succeeds in his appeal against an International Cricket Council (ICC) decision to award him three demerit points for his reaction to dismissing Steve Smith in the second Test.
South Africa have included the world's number one test bowler Vernon Philander in their preliminary 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 tournament to be played in Bangladesh in March and April next year.
The 30-year-old leg-spinner said watching Yuzvendra Chahal and Sundar bowl during RCB's thumping 82-run win over KKR a few days before helped him find the right length at the same small Sharjah ground.
Bangalore have been on a roll with skipper Virat Kohli enjoying one of the best phases of his career as he has four centuries under his belt.
Faced with a do-or-die situation, the inconsistent Delhi Daredevils will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in their penultimate Indian Premier League match.
A determined Delhi Daredevils will make another push to stay in the hunt to make the playoffs when they take on bottom-placed Rising Pune Supergiants in the Indian Premier League in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
Chennai Super Kings' future in the Indian Premier League may be uncertain following the two-year suspension, but South Africa's Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis feels the five seasons he played under 'Captain Cool' Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Indian Permier League transformed him as a cricketer.
Delhi Daredevils would look to continue the new-found momentum against a struggling Gujarat Lions in New Delhi on Thursday.
As coach Ricky Ponting pointed out, he would expect a better "on his feet" thinking from the young captain.
Images from the Indian Premier League 10 match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils on Wednesday
Their confidence restored after a bumpy start, a transformed Delhi Daredevils will look to stretch Kings XI Punjab to the limit when they face off in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in New Delhi, on Saturday.
Four out of eight franchises will be captained by wicket-keepers and Buttler feels the credit should go to Dhoni for setting the trend.
Sanju Samson hit the first century in this season's Indian Premier League to help Delhi Daredevils demolish Rising Pune Supergiant by 97 runs in Pune on Tuesday.
Featuring Santer, Jordan, Faulkner, Morris, Zampa.
Faced with the prospect of a humiliating 0-3 series whitewash, a desperate India would be aiming to bounce back to winning ways against an unrelenting South Africa in the third and final Test, starting in Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Dubai, on Monday.
JP Duminy struck a fluent 92 after being elevated to number three in the batting order in South Africa's 73-run victory over a Sri Lankan Cricket Board President's XI in Colombo on Wednesday.
Off-spinner Dane Piedt raised hopes of an unlikely South African victory as he grabbed three wickets on Wednesday to leave England on 155 for six at tea on the final day of the high-scoring second Test.
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.
Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan stroked solid half-centuries to power Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore and qualify for the play-offs.
Skipper Virat Kohli insisted Royal Challengers Bangalore deserved a qualification spot in the Indian Premier League play-offs and said his team would make full use of the opportunity.
Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore go into the virtual quarter-final, having lost four and three games on the trot respectively
Here's the complete list of which team bagged who, and for how much!
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli described team-mate AB de Villiers's unbeaten 33-ball 73, which set up a comprehensive victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League on Monday, as "superhuman" effort.
The middle-order continues to remain a concern for CSK with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself not being at his best.
Mayank Agarwal hammered a 49-ball 87 as India 'A' beat the touring South Africans in their opening warm-up T20 game by eight wickets, with two balls to spare, at the Air Force ground, in Palam, Delhi, on Tuesday.
For the visitors, the game against the Mandeep Singh-led India 'A' side will be more about getting into the match simulation mode before they get going against Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team in the opening T20 International at Dharamsala on October 2.
The Proteas bowlers took part in a thorough session under the watchful eyes of Langeveldt with the aim of increasing their workloads and mapping out expectations and game plans ahead of the 72-day tour which starts with the first Twenty20 match in Dharamsala on October 2.
The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League will commence, on Saturday, April 7 and will end on 27th May
A look at Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL record over the years.
IMAGES from the 4th ODI played between India and South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday
