Advancing into the Super 10 stage for the first time in three attempts, minnows Afghanistan will face a formidable challenge when they clash with South Africa in the ICC World Twenty 20 Championship at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
'Duminy was the key factor to my whole innings. Second over or the first over I faced, he told me this over needs to go for 10. He told me to just play my normal game and take the bowlers on. Luckily today it worked out'
South Africa middle-order batsman JP Duminy said the Proteas need to go back to the drawing board and re-work their plan to tackle the Indian wrist-spin duo.
Australian captain Michael Clarke made his expected declaration overnight and then his bowlers worked their way through the South African batting line-up to dismiss them for 287 and claim an overall lead of 207 runs.
South Africa were 140 for six wickets in their first innings when rain brought an early close to play on the second day of the first test at SuperSport Park on Thursday. Mitchell Johnson had figures of 4 for 51.
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.
Australia ripped through South Africa's top order in the first hour, dismissed the tourists for 242 by tea and reached 105 without loss at close on the back of some Dave Warner fireworks on the opening day of the first Test on Thursday.
With a record that was anything to be proud of, the only way India could have beaten the South Africans in the ongoing Test series was by using 'home advantage' to the optimum, says Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews weathered a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling from Dayle Steyn to take his team past the follow-on mark on the third day of the first Test against South Africa on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from first T20 match between India and South Africa.
Bangladesh continued their giant-killing exploits with a nine-wicket victory over South Africa in Wednesday's rain-hit final one-day international to clinch the three-match series 2-1.
Opener Kusal Perera stroked a fluent half-century before Sri Lanka's bowlers produced a brilliant display in the death overs to help their team pull off a thrilling five-run victory against South Africa.
Rohit's 115 off 126 balls was his first century on South African soil as came after failures in the earlier matches in the series - his total score was 40 before the 5th ODI on Tuesday.
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav credited Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his success in his first outing on South African soil, saying the former India skipper eased 50 per cent of his workload by providing useful advice from behind the stumps.
Two-time former champions and the most consistent team of the season, Chennai Super Kings will lock horns with late bloomers Mumbai Indians in a high-voltage Indian Premier League summit clash in Kolkata, bringing the 47-day T20 extravaganza to a relatively controversy-free end.
Even as rain continued unabated spectators were glued to their seats hoping the downpour will subside and the evening's proceedings, to be hosted by Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, will get underway. Finally, it did.
Delhi Daredevils' chief coach Gary Kirsten has pointed out that he was the one who wanted multi-million dollar signing Yuvraj Singh in the team.
It remains to be seen if he gets a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the BCCI, which has maintained a tough stance in not allowing Indian cricketers to participate in T20 leagues such as BBL, CPL and BPL.
South Africa's coach Russell Domingo lists reasons for South Africa's batting collapse on Day 1 of the second Test against India in Bangalore on Saturday. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in...
South Africa captain AB de Villiers anchored his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand, whose bowling and fielding was far superior to a poor batting performance in the first game of their three match one-day series on Tuesday.
'I think it's a great reality check for us. It is about each and every player seeing themselves in the mirror and how they can improve, to try and stake a claim for that 15-man squad in a year's time'
Bowler Jaydev Unadkat in another player to watch out for as the three-match series in the shortest format kicks off in Johannesburg on Sunday
Having won the series, India would like to carry on momentum forward, especially with the three-match T20I series to follow soon after. Yet, the visitors would also like to find a balance between going all out in a dead rubber and resting a few players keeping in mind a long overseas schedule later this year.
Kohli's decision didn't work as the spin duo failed to contain Proteas
South Africa captain AB de Villiers blamed his batting unit for their 22-run defeat to India in the second cricket One-Dayer in Indore on Wednesday, on the placid wicket at Holkar Stadium.
With India being outplayed in the Twenty20s, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will face added pressure to perform and lead India from the front against a formidable South African unit in the five-match ODI cricket series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.
Comprehensively outplayed by South Africa in both the T20 internationals of the just-concluded three-match series, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that he does not want a lot of grass cover for the upcoming five-match ODI series, beginning October 11 in Kanpur.
Under-fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni marked his return to form with an unbeaten 92 as India recorded a 22-run victory over South Africa in the second One-Day International to level the five-match series 1-1 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, in Indore, on Wednesday.
South Africa reclaimed top spot in the Test rankings after grimly hanging on for a draw in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, on Monday to win the series 1-0.
Outstanding centuries from Quinton de Kock and captain AB de Villiers helped South Africa coast to a series-clinching 82-run win over Sri Lanka in the third and final one-day international on Saturday.
After a dream ODI debut last month, teenaged paceman Mustafizur Rahman announced his Test arrival by claiming three wickets in four balls as Bangladesh bowled out South Africa for 248 on the opening day of the first Test in Chittagong on Tuesday.
Young batsman Krunal Pandya produced a blinder of an innings scoring 86 runs off only 37 balls as Mumbai Indians defended their massive 206-4 against Delhi Daredevils to record a convincing 80-run victory at Visakhapatnam on Sunday. This win by a huge margin has also boosted the net run-rate of Mumbai at a crucial time as they move above Gujarat Lions to third place in the points table. Pandya's knock was laced with half a dozen towering sixes and seven boundaries as he shared a 98-run fiery stand with opener Martin Guptill to power Mumbai to a commanding 206 for four.
Delhi Daredevils produced an all-round effort and defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets to jump to the third spot in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Delhi Daredevils' final IPL outing was as woeful as their opening one, with table-toppers Kings XI Punjab inflicting a seven-wicket defeat on the tournament's wooden spooners in Mohali on Sunday.
Quinton de Kock smashed the first century of the ongoing Indian Premier League to power Delhi Daredevils to a comprehensive seven wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Perennial under-achievers Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab will look to recover from opening losses and put their campaign back on track.
South Africa's success in Australia is often put down to their comfort on the hard local tracks, which can be similar to those at home, but they could face some unfamiliar conditions this year.
South Africa were left to rue the loss of cheap wickets after battling to 214 for five on the opening day of the second Test against Australia on Thursday.
The most consistent team across all seasons of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings would look to put behind the off-field distractions and do what they are best at when they take on previous edition's bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils in their opening match of the Twenty20 league.
Suresh Raina says he wants to use the opportunity to regain his place in ODIs ahead of the 2019 World Cup.