The fourth Test will not just be about how the Australian team perform, but how their behaviour is viewed by the watching world as they look to put the recent scandal behind them.
Litmus test awaits India and MS Dhoni in second ODI against South Africa.
Australia moved one wicket from victory in the first Test against South Africa on Sunday after Mitchell Starc's swing bowling decimated the hosts' lower order and dampened their hopes of an unlikely recovery.
All-rounders Ryan McLaren and Wayne Parnell were named in South Africa's 15-man squad on Wednesday for the three-match Test series against Australia starting on February 12.
After the 72-run loss in the opening Test, the margin got bigger as the visitors handed the home side a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
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.
Expressing disappointment over his team's second consecutive loss in the Indian Premier League on Saturday, Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody said they would reflect on the performance and try to turn around the fortunes quickly.
Rain and an on-field injury which prevented South African opener Hashim Amla from batting spurred Sri Lanka to a 17-run win under the Duckworth-Lewis method in the second One-dayer in Colombo on Tuesday.
Top India batsman Virat Kohli has maintained his second position in the latest ICC batsmen rankings while medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has moved up a place to be seventh in the bowlers' standings.
PCB Chairman, Najam Sethi is in the UK meeting with the British legal firm for advise. PCB's chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmad has also flown to London for the same purpose.
Soon after landing in Lahore, the World Eleven players and officials were taken to a five-star hotel on the main Mall road which was closed for traffic from all sides.
Photos from Day 2 of the 3rd Test match played in Nagpur on Thursday
Outwitted in both the T20 and the ODI series, India will seek redemption in the Test format by trying to spin a web around the formidable South Africans in the four-match series starting in Mohali, on Thursday.
The ICC Cricket Committee chaired by India's head coach Anil Kumble made a host of recommendations at its annual meeting with the notable ones being the use of DRS for all T20 Internationals.
Surprised at the call up, Kolkata Knight Riders' South African recruit Johan Botha, who was brought in as replacement for injured Aussie Chris Lynn, said he's fresh after a three-week break and ready for the rigours of IPL-8.
India's R Ashwin back in top-10 in ICC's ODI bowling rankings
Openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen weathered a difficult 45 minutes to take South Africa to tea at 38 without loss chasing an unlikely victory target of 458 on the fourth day of the first Test against India at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Pakistan outclassed South Africa by 19 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-hit match in the ICC Champions Trophy match, in Birmingham, on Wednesday.
Pakistan's wily spinners gave a masterclass in slow bowling to bamboozle South Africa's batting line-up and lead their side to a 66-run victory in the second one-day international in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
A phenomenal knock from Yusuf Pathan, who blasted his way to a 22-ball 72, catapulted Kolkata Knight Riders to the second-place in the point table as the hosts hammered Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets in their final IPL match in Kolkata on Saturday.
David Miller and J P Duminy scored centuries as South Africa overcame a real challenge from Zimbabwe to record a 62-run victory in their opening World Cup Pool B game in Hamilton on Sunday.
Putting up an all-round show, Kolkata Knight Riders consolidated their fourth position in the points table with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
JP Duminy hit a timely unbeaten 52 after skipper Dinesh Karthik set the foundation with a fighting 56-run knock as Delhi Daredevils edged out Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in a thrilling IPL Twenty20 cricket match on Saturday.
Jacques Kallis hit a 46-ball 72 and Sunil Narine claimed four wickets as Kolkata Knight Riders scored a 41-run victory over Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the seventh season of the IPL, in Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday.
India's lower order put on a rock-solid show to help the hosts take a slender lead.
Titans skipper Henry Davids (64) and Jacques Rudolph (49 not out) put on a century stand to lead their side to a crushing eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Champions League Twenty20 Group B match in Ranchi on Saturday.
Post tea, play was possible for 20 minutes before a thunderstorm washed away nearly an hour.
South Africa resorted to dogged stonewalling in their pursuit of an improbable 481-run victory target after Ajinkya Rahane stroked his second century of the match to tighten India's grip on the fourth and final Test on Sunday.
Winning Test matches outside the sub-continent has been an 'Achilles Heel' for the Indian teams over the years but skipper Virat Kohli made it clear that they have "nothing to prove to anyone" during the upcoming South Africa series, starting January 5.
India lead South Africa by five points and need to win two matches in order to stop falling behind the Proteas.
South Africa head coach Ottis Gibson, on Tuesday, hinted that Dale Steyn might have to wait longer to make his comeback as it would be a risk to field the rusty pacer in the first Test against India, beginning, in Cape Town, on Friday.
Vernon Philander's brilliant all-round show played a major role in South Africa's recovery against India on the second day of the first Test.
Indian touring parties that have left Australia empty-handed over the last 70 years
South African pacer Morne Morkel has fired the first salvo ahead of the two-match Test series, starting here December 18, stating that the young Indian batsmen will miss 'Sachin Tendulkar's patience' in the middle and they should be prepared to face some hostile bowling from the home side.
Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a clinical performance to seal their place in the Qualifier 2 as they crushed the hopes of two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders with a comfortable 22 runs win in the IPL Eliminator.
Steyn bowled one of the great final overs in the history of T20 International cricket to earn South Africa their first victory of the ICC World Twenty20 by a nail-biting two runs against New Zealand.
Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to earn two valuable points and move up to second spot in the points-table when they take on struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Carlos Brathwaite's inclusion will lift the spirits of Delhi Daredevils.
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
The Wanderers' pitch has coming under criticism from former cricketers and commentators for its dangerous nature.
