'Zarine spent her last autumn this year with my sister in Kashmir.' 'There, almost as a gentle premonition, Zarine said to my sister, "When I go, let my ashes be scattered across this valley".'
Not handing the ball to lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah to start the third day's play on a challenging Eden Gardens surface was "questionable", said the legendary Anil Kumble.
The Proteas have included three frontline spinners in the squad with Keshav Maharaj leading the attack, while also consisting of Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy, who was the player of the series against Pakistan.
South Africa's head coach Shukri Conrad is backing his spin troika of Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer to match their seasoned counterparts from India and "make history of our own" in the upcoming Test series
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
South Africa completed a memorable 2-0 series sweep against India after off-spinner Simon Harmer claimed 6/37 to bowl the Proteas to a comprehensive 408-run victory in the second Test,
Jannik Sinner's tennis may be making headlines, but his off-court life is drawing just as much curiosity especially after his ATP Finals win, where a smiling Laila Hasanovic was the first person he hugged.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul perished early as India fumbled in the chase of a mammoth 549-run target on Day 4 of the second Test.
Shubman Gill retired hurt after suffering a neck sprain while attempting a slog-sweep off Simon Harmer on the second day of the first Test against South Africa, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
South Africa's Aiden Markram created a new world record for the most catches by a fielder in a Test match, during the second Test against India in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Vice-captain Rishabh Pant said India's batters should have adapted to the challenge of playing on a tricky pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Spin great Harbhajan Singh said India don't have a specialist off-spinner for Test cricket.
South African captain Temba Bavuma on Sunday said his game is built around an unshakeable defence, which stood him in good stead on a disintegrating Eden Gardens track, where 38 wickets fell inside eight sessions.
Former players Irfan Pathan and Venkatesh Prasad have questioned the Indian team's muddled approach, lack of stability and the increasing reliance on all-rounders.
How Mumbai Maidan coach Patwal's tough-love sessions gave Harmer his second wind
'Jassi bhai just told me that the wicket-taking option was if you bowl at the stumps...'
Little-known ambidextrous Bengal spinner Kaushik Maity seamlessly doubled up for both roles during the optional practice session.
'Constant changes to the playing XI, batting orders, and frequent rotations prevent stability.'
Sack Gambhir before he damages any more careers, if you must. But it cannot stop there. The project ahead must be bigger, more ambitious, and far more urgent: Rebuilding the spine of Indian cricket from the grassroots up, and giving the Test team the seriousness it deserves. Only then will Indian cricket stop lurching from one crisis to another and begin, once again, to imagine greatness, suggests Prem Panicker.
On a surface offering little assistance for bowlers, South Africa's top order had frittered away starts but number seven Muthusamy marshalled a lower-order surge with a composed 109.
Marco Jansen picked 12 wickets in the two Tests at an average of 10.08 including a six-wicket haul in the first innings of the Guwahati Test, while Jasprit Bumrah managed eight wickets in the series.
Germany secured a place at next year's World Cup by crushing Slovakia 6-0 in their final qualifier on Monday.
India have long curated home tracks that accentuate turn, but the assumption their own batters would master such conditions no longer appears safe following their defeat in the opening Test against South Africa.
South Africa coach Shukri Conrad was overwhelmed to see his spinners rule the roost in the first Test against India at the Eden Gardens, signalling to him that the Rainbow Nation is no longer an exclusive "fast bowling country" and hoped that a lot more slow bowlers will emerge.
'You saw Yashasvi Jaiswal start in the second innings, did you see the first three balls, the kind of shots that he attempted?'
Armed with a potent spin attack, taking on South Africa seems like competing against a "subcontinent team", Ten Doeschate said, admitting that they need to get better at negotiating the challenge posed by tweakers.
Daryl Mitchell becomes only the second player from New Zealand to hold the top the ICC ranking for ODI batters.
The second and final Test starts in Guwahati from Saturday with India trailing 0-1 after the defeat on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata.
'When you are playing on spin-friendly pitches, you need to prepare differently.'
South Africa fought a rearguard action to turn the second Test against Pakistan on its head and take the upper hand after an enthralling third day's play on Wednesday.
At Paris Fashion Week 2025, she didn't just walk the ramp -- Aishwarya Rai made fashion history.
South Africa pulled off a sensational victory inside three days of the opening Test against India on Sunday and the manner of it would go a long way in silencing those who doubted their credentials as the reigning world test champions.
Eberechi Eze scored a majestic hat-trick as Arsenal trounced north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 to open up a commanding six-point lead.
K L Rahul on Saturday conceded that Indian batters' repeated struggles against spin, especially on home tracks, remain a concern.
South African captain Temba Bavuma mixed grit with humour after his team's shock win over India in Kolkata, celebrating his hard-fought fifty and the "small hands" catch that turned the match on its head.
'You don't come to a country to win a Test match, you obviously want to win the series.
Shubman Gill might just want to be fit enough to bat, as even a half-fit skipper is seen as more effective than Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sarfaraz Khan.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
Gill stretchered out with neck injury; ''just bad timing'', says Morne Morkel
Ravichandran Ashwin exposed India batters' lack of quality to battle ball tweakers by claiming that if legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar or past domestic heroes Amol Muzumdar, the India women's team head coach and Mithun Manhas had played against spinners on such a track, the Test would have gone to four days, unlike India's harrowing 30-run defeat against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
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