South Africa set New Zealand a daunting target of 298 runs in 43 overs.
India lead South Africa by five points and need to win two matches in order to stop falling behind the Proteas.
Among the Indians, while Robin Uthappa was bought by Rajasthan Royals for 3 crore, Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari went unsold.
Australia scrambled over the line for a two-wicket victory in the fifth one-day international against South Africa on Sunday to move back to the top of the world rankings less than three months before the World Cup.
Jacques Kallis marked the end of his Test career with an emotive farewell century on Sunday to give South Africa a chance of victory over India going into the last day of their brief two-match series.
Images from Wednesday's World Cup match between India and South Africa, at Southampton.
India have a chance to hold the Proteas by the scruff of their neck with the latter seemingly at their weakest following back-to-back defeats,
Cheteshwar Pujara was the highest-ranked Indian batsman despite dropping a rung to eighth while R Ashwin held on to his eighth position in the bowlers' chart of the ICC Test rankings.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
South Africa survived a batting collapse precipitated by a hat-trick from spinner Prosper Utseya to beat Zimbabwe by 61 runs in the third match of the triangular series on Friday.
Riding on his stupendous performance in the series against South Africa, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, on Thursday, rose to a career-high first in the International Cricket Council's Test rankings for bowlers.
Reaction after Australia's Steve Smith, who has stepped down as captain, confessed on Saturday that the team's "leadership group" had hatched a plan to alter the condition of the ball during the third day of the third Test against South Africa.
An upbeat Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to carry on their winning momentum to book a berth in the play-offs when they take on an equally-keen Royal Challengers Bangalore in a crucial IPL match at Uppal, in Hyderabad, on Friday.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum called him 'The King' but Kane Williamson swatted aside the praise after his record-breaking century capped a five-wicket victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
Kumar Sangakkara remained unbeaten after a sparkling half-century as Sri Lanka responded well to the challenge of scoring 370 runs in four sessions in order to win the first Test against South Africa on Saturday.
South Africa routed Australia for 85 and then weathered a batting crisis of their own before pushing to a lead of 86 runs after a bowler-dominated opening day of the second Test in Hobart on Saturday.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
Kagiso Rabada claimed five wickets as South Africa crushed Australia by a huge margin of 177 runs, to win the first Test against Australia, on Day 5 in Perth, on Monday.
Former New Zealand fast bowler Geoff Allott says the national team's performance in the World Cup has brought the 'lost fans' back to the game.
The calm, assured manner in which New Zealand chased down South Africa's imposing total on Tuesday to advance to their first cricket World Cup final is a hallmark of a team that has developed into a cohesive unit over the last two years.
India's Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin thrived on a spinners' paradise in Mohali, bamboozling South Africa's batsmen in the first Test to secure a 108-run victory with more than two days to spare on Saturday.
Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 63 gave India a firm hold on the opening Test against South Africa after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 13th five-wicket haul to restrict the touring side to 184 on the second day on Friday.
As Ashwin plays his 50th Test, Rajneesh Gupta gives us the offie's awesome numbers.
Architect-turned-cricketer Varun Chakravarthy, with a base price of Rs 20 lakh, went to Kings XI Punjab for a massive Rs. 8.4 crore, while Rajasthan Royals retained Jaydev Unadkat for the same amount.
Spectators at the Sydney Cricket Ground were repeatedly treated to the sight of leg-spinner Imran Tahir throwing his head back, screaming with joy and pumping his arms before setting off on an uncoordinated run across the outfield on Wednesday as South Africa thrashed Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the first quarter-final at the World Cup.
Looking forward to the challenge of facing Dale Steyn in the upcoming four-match Test series against South Africa, Indian opener Lokesh Rahul has said playing the speedster in the longer format is a "different ballgame" as one has to counter the late movement he gets.
Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq, who is often blamed for his slow approach to game, showed that he can be an attacking skipper when situation demands. In the crucial game against South Africa, the 40-year-old was seen adopting a carefree approach, which helped the sub-continent nation stun the one of the pre-tournament favourites by 29 runs.
A hostile trio of Pakistan left-arm fast bowlers took full advantage of a pitch freshened by rain to hand pre-tournament favourites South Africa their second defeat in the ICC World Cup.
The 'helicopter shot' has disappeared, the boundaries are not flowing from his bat and the whisper is now growing louder that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is no more the middle-order finisher.
The waiting ends for England's new Test captain Joe Root on Thursday when he leads his side out for the start of a four-match series against South Africa at Lord's on Thursday, nearly four months after his appointment.
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.
South African opener Aiden Markram is of the opinion that the pitch at Supersport Park, although aiding more pace and bounce, will also be good for batsmen.
South Africa went through several anxious moments before their bowlers clinched a nail-biting six-run victory over minnows the Netherlands in their World Twenty20 match in Chittagong on Thursday.
'Losing wickets in bunches is something have to plug'
India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara credited all-rounder Hardik Pandya for helping India stay afloat in the first Test against South Africa, in Cape Town, on Saturday.
David Warner took over from Mitchell Johnson as South Africa's tormentor-in-chief as the Australian opener blitzed a quickfire century to extend his team's huge lead on the third day of the first Test on Friday.
The South Africa pacer played six matches for Delhi Daredevils in the ongoing tenth edition of the 2017 Indian Premier League before returning home and he said the Twenty20 tournament is "a huge network of ideas."
Ryan 'Ryno' Harris made a crucial contribution to Australian cricket at a critical time.
Fitness clouds and selection dilemmas could hamper South Africa's chances ahead of next month's series against Australia.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers on India's biggest Test triumphs, Virat's victories and Ashwin's achievements.
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