Australia captain Steve Smith expects his touring batsmen to be given a thorough test of their credentials when they face South Africa's formidable attack on pace-friendly pitches in a four-Test series beginning in March.
AB de Villiers has been ruled out of South Africa's two-test home series against New Zealand this month with an injured elbow and Faf du Plessis will take over the captaincy.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be eager to break the sequence of reverses and get Rising Pune Supergiants' campaign back on track when they lock horns with in-form Kolkata Knight Riders.
A resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad have been on a slow but sure climb but it is defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders who hold a psychological edge when the teams face-off in their Indian Premier League match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
SunRisers Hyderabad beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs (via Duckworth/Lewis method) in their rain-curtailed Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam.
'We are at this stage where we have lost almost all of our experience'
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets at the Eden Gardens to begin their Indian Premier League (IPL) defense on an emphatic note.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the test series against Australia with a shoulder injury. Steyn left the field before lunch on day two of the first Test in Perth and scans revealed he had suffered a stress fracture, Cricket South Africa said in a statement on Friday.
The pacer took 4-60 as India were bowled out for 307 runs in their first innings, conceding a 28-run lead. The hosts finished at 90/2, leading overall by 118.
Captain Virat Kohli roared back to form with a scintillating unbeaten 83 as India further consolidated their position with whopping overall lead of 403 runs at stumps on Day 3 of the fourth and final Test against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Saturday.
Pacer Vernon Philander claimed six for 21 as South Africa thrashed Australia by a huge margin of 492 runs to claim the four-match series 3-1, in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
South Africa have retained the same 15-man squad that saved the series with Pakistan in October for their two home Tests against India later this month.
Having pocketed the series 4-1, with a match still to go, India snatch ICC ODI top rank from Proteas
Dale Steyn became the second South African bowler to claim 400 Test wickets.
Cheteshwar Pujara, India's batting mainstay in Test cricket, has surged to a career-high third position in the ICC Rankings after scoring back to back centuries against Sri Lanka in the ongoing three-match series.
With an unassailable 3-0 lead in hand, India need just one more win to claim their maiden ODI series triumph on South African soil.
Chahal and Yadav (3/20) continued their wrist-spin magic and shared eight wickets for 42 runs between them to rattle the hosts in 32.2 overs after Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl.
Suresh Raina's return could not have been better-timed as Gujarat Lions, jolted by the tournament's biggest ever defeat, seek to revive their campaign when they face off with Kolkata Knight Riders.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has named Dean Elgar in the list of its contracted players, in place of the retired Test captain Graeme Smith.
Faf du Plessis pointed out that they were missing out on their best players due to the Kolpak deal.
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.
South Africa have recalled fast bowler Kyle Abbott for the second Test against India in his home town of Durban starting on Boxing Day (December 26).
Paceman Vernon Philander became the fastest South African to take 100 Test wickets on Friday but India can claim the ascendancy at lunch on the third day of the first Test at the Wanderers.
Kagiso Rabada produced a sublime spell of bowling to take five wickets as Australia were dismissed for 243 in their first innings on the opening day of the second Test on Friday.
The 33-year-old, who has taken a break from Tests to manage his workload, missed the final of South Africa's domestic 50-overs tournament with a back injury, which also kept him out of Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL opener against Delhi.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored a sparkling unbeaten 135 as India took a stranglehold over South Africa in the first Test in Johannesburg on Friday. The top-order displayed remarkable application on Day 3, as the tourists, after dismissing the hosts for 244 in the first innings, swelled their overall lead to 320.
South Africa will be hoping to ease new coach Ottis Gibson into his job in a two-Test series against Bangladesh where the home side defend a one-sided record against their opponents but are light on fast bowlers and still tinkering with their top order.
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.
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.
The Pretoria wicket is likely to be similar, with perhaps not the same sideways movement of Newlands, and will provide another test of the Indian batsmen's bravery against a seam bowling barrage.
The three-Test South Africa series is the first of a gruelling 2018-19 season that includes tours to England and Australia.
Indian pacer Ishant Sharma, English batting star Kevin Pietersen and South African speedster Dale Steyn were among the biggest names to be released by their respective franchises ahead of the Indian Premier League's 10th edition next year. As many as 140 cricketers, including 44 overseas players, have been retained, while 63 were let go by the eight franchises for season 10.
Du Plessis revealed on Wednesday that all-rounder Chris Morris and seamer Duanne Olivier had been released from the expanded 17-man squad, but that the home side were still mulling over two positions.
South Africa coach Ottis Gibson believes the world's best Test bowler Kagiso Rabada has learnt from his brush with suspension and expects more mature on-field behaviour in the third Test against Australia starting in Cape Town on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Starc finished with a match haul of nine for 109, enabling him to overtake South Africa's new-ball bowlers Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander among others, eclipsing his previous best sixth position that he enjoyed in December 2016.
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 recalled hard-hitting all-rounder Albie Morkel on Monday in their squad for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh starting next month.
South Africa's talismanic captain AB de Villiers has recovered from injury and been included in the Proteas squad for the One-day series at home against Australia starting later this month.
'Game-changer' Yusuf will do something special, says Gautam Gambhir.
A resurgent Delhi Daredevils squad will look to continue with their winning momentum when they take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the team's fifth match of the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi on Monday.
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