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.
Cape Cobras held their nerve at key moments to get the better of Barbados Tridents via the 'Super Over' in the Champions League T20 match in Mohali on Friday to keep their slender hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive. Chasing a fighting target of 175, Cobras started in whirlwind fashion but lost momentum before scrambling up 174 for five to tie the scores. Jonathan Carter's brilliant unbeaten 111 for Tridents went in vain as the South African outfit came up trumps in a pulsating affair.
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 reclaimed top spot in the Test rankings after grimly hanging on for a draw in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, on Monday to win the series 1-0.
Australia's 111-ball 60 against England in the fourth Ashes Test is the shortest all-out first innings ever in Test cricket history. Rajneesh Gupta presents other such shocking collapses on the first day of a Test in recent times.
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.
Praising his players for the emphatic win over South Africa in the World Cup, team director Ravi Shastri said the management's decision to stick with Shikhar Dhawan, despite his poor form in the run-up to the showpiece event, proved right.
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.
All-rounder Andre Russell smashed a match-winning half-century as West Indies claimed a nail-biting one-wicket victory over South Africa in the fourth one-day international at St George's Park on Sunday.
'It's Test cricket and (Shannon) is an emotional guy trying to do everything he can to win a Test match. Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret'
Factbox on major ball-tampering incidents in cricket
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.
South Africa captain Hashim Amla remained unbeaten after his 22nd Test hundred but off-spinner Dilruwan Perera's career best figures gave Sri Lanka a big first innings lead at the end of the third day of the second Test on Saturday.
South Africa took 16 Sri Lanka wickets in a little over two sessions to secure a ruthless victory by an innings and 118 runs in the third and final Test at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Both teams will hope to banish some unwanted baggage that has dogged them for years.
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.
Saker took the unusual step of publicly criticising his bowlers in the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney last month, revealing discord with staff over tactics.
Former South African fast bowler Fanie De Villiers has praised Mohammed Shami as India's best Test bowler and added that the Proteas could easily fit him in their highly-competitive pace attack.
Injured South Africa pacer Dale Steyn bowled for a short while in the nets, raising hopes of him being included in the playing XI in the third Test against India in Nagpur, but his fast bowling partner Morne Morkel said the team is keeping its fingers crossed.
'I try to play my best and put India in a good position.'
South Africa will have to dig deep if they are to avoid defeat in the first Test after being reduced to 72 for four wickets in their second innings, still trailing Pakistan by 121 runs, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Dismissing the notion that the Mohali pitch was a vicious turner, South Africa captain Hashim Amla on Saturday said most dismissals in the opening Test match was due to lack of spin rather than excess of it. He also came down hard on his batsmen, saying they could have applied themselves better.
The Proteas are working overtime to devise a strategy to get the better of the right-hander and they believe the best way to dismiss Rohit is to get him early before he gets his eye in.
South Africa will head to India armed with three frontline slow bowlers in their Test squad after recalling leg-spinner Imran Tahir and off-break bowler Dane Piedt for the four-match series starting in November.
After condemning Steve Smith's conduct during the Cape Town Test on Sunday, Shane Warne struck a more supportive tone on Wednesday.
Factbox on the cricket World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Saturday said he always feared being labelled as a player who excels only in domestic cricket and desperately wants success at international level.
An unbroken second-wicket century stand between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara put India in command on a curtailed opening day in the second Test against South Africa in Durban, on Thursday. Bad light forced play to be called off early, with India sitting pretty on 181 for 1 in 61 overs after electing to bat first.
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.
AB is a cricketer like none other, says Dhruv Munjal, adored by Indian fans just as they did Sachin Tendulkar. 'His name chanted by thousands of otherwise ridiculously partisan fans at stadiums across India.'
'In the future, you will get pacers who will bowl even faster than the current lot because these guys are currently setting new standards.'
In terms of days, Dale Steyn has spent 2,320 days at the top of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, the most by any bowler since World War II.
Rajneesh Gupta checks out the numbers for Virat and Faf and their boys.
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com explains why skipper Virat Kohli is backing his opening batsman to carry on the good form in the next two Tests of the series.
South Africa coach Russell Domingo says India have a seriously good batting line-up and it's not the Proteas' style to target one individual player.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Friday.
India might have wasted the advantage of winning the toss after being bundled out for a paltry 201 against South Africa, on Thursday, but batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels the hosts' first innings total is 'much bigger' than it looks on a slow and low pitch.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali, on Saturday.
Dale Steyn claimed six for 100 to bowl out India for 334 in their first innings. In reply, South Africa got off to a positive start, scoring 82 for no loss, at stumps on the rain-hit second day in Durban, on Friday.
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