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.
Perhaps for the first time, India's pace strength is not centred on any one individual, or set of individuals.
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.
All-rounder JP Duminy claimed a hat-trick as South Africa stormed into the World Cup semi-finals with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
India aim to stay afloat against daunting South Africa in the second Test
Pakistan side put its World Cup campaign back on track with an upset 29-run win via Duckworth/Lewis method over South Africa
South Africa put one foot in the World Cup quarter-finals by batting past the 400-run mark for the second successive match to hand Ireland a thumping defeat by 201 runs with five overs to spare at Manuka Oval on Tuesday.
Images from the World Cup first quarter-final between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Sydney, on Wednesday.
Former captain Graeme Smith feels South Africa's 'powerful' bowling attack will put the Indian batting line-up under serious pressure in the upcoming Test series, starting January 5 in Cape Town.
Images from Day 1 in the fourth Test between India and South Africa, at New Delhi, on Thursday.
Teams play safe, retain star players, total purse at Rs 148 crore versus Rs 198 crore last year
Help coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli in selecting India's best 11 for the first Test against the West Indies.
The series loss to South Africa notwithstanding, India held on to their second spot in the team list, while star batsman Virat Kohli rose up a rung to second in the batsmen's table of the latest ICC ODI cricket rankings.
Here is a fact-box on Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, who died on Thursday. He was 25.
Swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag, who announced his retirement from international cricket, will be the star attraction as Haryana takes on Karnataka in a Group A Ranji Trophy match, starting in Mysuru, on Thursday.
Following his impressive batting show in India's 5-0 series win over Sri Lanka, where he was named the man of the series, Virat Kohli has moved to second place in the ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen.
India will look to crush a South African revival before it becomes a threat to their pursuit of a maiden ODI series triumph here when the two sides clash in the fifth one-dayer, on Tuesday.
Facing early elimination, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders need to record a win to stay afloat when they take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Mohammed Shami led India's fight-back with a career-best five-wicket haul as India snapped nine wickets for 53 runs to dismiss South Africa for 177 and avoid a humiliating whitewash in the three-match series.
ujarat Lions face the challenging task of gathering themselves and bounce back when they square off against the consistent Kolkata Knight Riders.
Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell launched an incredible counter-attack after the fall of quick wickets in the start to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to an entertaining five-wicket victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. Chasing a challenging 186-run target set by RCB, Yusuf smashed an unbeaten 60 off only 29 balls to guide KKR home with five balls remaining.
English cricketers can "forget" about the shorter format unless they embrace the Indian Premier League, according to the maverick Kevin Pietersen, who says his efforts to get his countrymen to play in the IPL have fallen on "deaf ears".
A steadily improving Delhi Daredevils look all set to challenge the might of title contenders Kolkata Knight Riders when the two teams clash for the second time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match, in New Delhi on Saturday.
While South Africa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, the visitors squandered a golden opportunity to script a memorable win outside the sub-continent.
Brilliant bowling by the pace duo of Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel, followed by skipper Gautam Gambhir's superb half-century, powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Saturday.
Keshav Maharaj took career best figures of 6-40 as South Africa romped to an eight-wicket victory over New Zealand on the extended third day of the second Test on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Kolkata Knight Riders speedster Morne Morkel says one has to think on his feet to contain someone like AB de Villiers, considered the most dangerous batsman in contemporary cricket.
'You have to just adjust to the conditions quickly because there is a big difference in the 50-over and 20-over cricket.' 'Even in Test cricket you can't be a classical spinner, which you were 20 years ago.' 'If I want to hide myself from my limitations, then I don't want to play this game.'
Earlier, on the back of Virat Kohli's 160 (not out), India reached a total of 303 for 6 in their 50 overs.
New Zealand entered their maiden ICC World Cup final, beating South Africa by five wickets in a thrilling rain-reduced World Cup semi-final at Eden spoPark in Auckland on Tuesday. Set 298 to win from 43 overs, the Kiwis, led by fine knocks from captain Brendon McCullum (59 off 26 balls) and Grant Elliott (84 off 73) got across the finish line with one ball to spare. Elliott hit the winning run with a six over long-on off the bowling of Dale Steyn.
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.
Sri Lanka thrashed South Africa by 128 runs in Colombo on Wednesday to wrap up the one-day series 4-1.
The Indian opener tops the Champions Trophy MVP table. But Hasan Ali, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma aren't too far behind, note Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
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.
"I don't know what to say. It is really a dream come true. I was confident of being picked for my base price of Rs 10 lakh but never thought of the crores. I just hope I get to play in the eleven," a soft-spoken Cariappa said.
For a visiting cricketer, an India tour conjures up the image of a batsman surrounded by a shoal of fielders and facing relentless spin from both ends and South Africa should not expect anything different in the four-test series starting on Thursday.
South Africa coach Russell Domingo said that a couple of crucial partnerships and performance of the spinners were the key to India's success in the fourth One-Day International in Chennai.
Half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels steered a battling West Indies to 147 for two at the close on day three of the second Test against South Africa on Sunday.
India opener Lokesh Rahul says the Test series against South Africa beginning next month will be the "biggest challenge" of his burgeoning career.
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