Virat Kohli will be facing the toughest battle of his nascent ODI captaincy career when defending champions India take on South Africa in a do-or-die match of the ICC Champions Trophy, in London, on Sunday.
A buoyant India will look to cash in on South Africa's injury woes, compounded by the loss of captain Faf du Plessis, when the two sides meet in the second One-Day International in Centurion on Sunday.
Youngster Hardik Pandya blasted an unbeaten half-century to help Mumbai Indians edge past Kolkata Knight Riders and boost their hopes of making it to the play-offs in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Virat Kohli, on Tuesday, said performance of the pacers has been a big boost for the team and hinted at employing an all-seam attack against South Africa on a typical green Wanderers track in the third cricket Test in Johannesburg.
Kagiso Rabada said South Africa are gunning for a whitewash of India, having trampled the visitors in the first two matches.
The International Cricket Council has approved change in rules in the LBW decisions of the umpires concerning the controversial Decision Review System, which is expected to benefit the bowlers, while deferring plans for a radical shake-up of international cricket, including on the proposed creation of two divisions in Test and a new one-day league.
Shane Watson smashed an unbeaten century and then bagged two wickets as Rajasthan Royals outplayed defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by nine runs to seal a play-offs berth in the IPL tournament in Mumbai on Saturday.
'This was not the cleanest game of cricket you've ever seen -- there were too many flubs and fumbles for that. But it was certainly the semi-final this mostly blah tournament has needed -- two tough, well-rounded teams, toe to toe, slugging it out, bleeding and drawing blood until there was only one left standing.'
Factbox on the cricket World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland.
Kolkata Knight Riders are back in familiar home conditions but can ill-afford to take Kings XI Punjab lightly, who are showing signs of improvement under a newly-appointed skipper, when the two teams clash in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Images from the World Cup 'Pool B' match between India and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Mumbai Indians need to rethink their strategy; Narine boost for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Rajneesh Gupta presents a complete statistical IPL dossier.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between India and South Africa in New Delhi, on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane rallied India with a gutsy, unbeaten 89 as India's much-vaunted top-order failed yet again on the opening day of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Thursday.
Their confidence in tatters after being entangled in a spin web on a rank-turner in Jamtha, Nagpur, the South Africans seemed a bit relieved on Tuesday following a look at the Kotla strip, on which the fourth Test will be played.
The visitors won the first two matches of the series in Durban and Centurion by six and nine wickets, respectively, dismantling the home side with consummate ease.
India have never won an ODI series in South Africa, having lost 5-2 in 1992-93, 4-0 in 2006- 07, 3-2 in 2010-11 and 2-0 in 2013-14.
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.
'We have just got to play very good cricket. The T20 series is in the past. It is a whole new story now. India will try to bounce back and hopefully we will stop them' 'We have got a very balanced bowling attack. But we don't lean too much on the spinners or the seam bowlers. We have got firepower in all the departments of our bowling'
Manish Pandey played a blinder as Kolkata Knight Riders held their nerves to beat a spirited Kings XI Punjab by three wickets in an exhilarating summit clash to win the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore on Sunday.
Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers continued their sparkling show with the bat to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a commanding nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders and keep their play-off hopes alive in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, in Kolkata, on Monday.
'It has been a wonderful journey so far. Playing the 50th Test match for the country will be a proud moment for me. Yes, there have been ups and downs but looking at my recent (good) form, I will be keen to score some runs in my 50th Test'
Rajneesh Gupta throws up all the numbers from Test encounters between India and South Africa.
Penpix of the South Africa squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The second Test between India and Bangladesh at Kolkata's Eden Gardens will be the first day-night Test on Indian soil, making India the seventh country to host a day-night Test.
World champions India have consolidated their top rank on the ICC ODI Team Rankings after sweeping the series against Sri Lanka, which concluded in Ranchi on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will stand in the way of two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders' bid to make it to the play-offs in a mouthwatering Indian Premier League encounter.
England's James Anderson is the first fast bowler to take 600 Test wickets.
Rajneesh Gupta checks out the numbers for Virat and Faf and their boys.
Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front with an impressive 120 as he single-handedly took South Africa to 269 for 8 in the first One-Day International against India, in Durban, on Thursday.
South Africans take the top 3 slots in Most Valuable Player Index.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
South Africa has been perennial favourites but it hasn't helped them.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin surged to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after a superb outing in the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua which the visiting side won by an innings and 92 runs.
Reigning champion India will be bidding to gain further momentum and become only the third side in World Cup history to successfully defend its title after West Indies in 1975 and 1979 and Australia, who won the coveted prize three times in succession between 1999 and 2007.
Young opener Quinton de Kock blasted his second ODI century as South Africa crushed India by 141 runs in the first One-Day International, in Johannesburg.
His four-wicket haul guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a seven-run win over Kings XI Punjab and West Indies all-rounder Andre Russel said they bowled like champions in their Indian Premier League match in Kolkata.
Ajinkya Rahane said the key to his success was keeping a blank mind and playing one ball at a time.
