India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is likely to make a comeback for India against South Africa in the upcoming T20I series starting from December 9. Hardik is set to play for his domestic side Baroda first in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) against Punjab on December 2 to asse
Team India players were full of praise for Virat Kohli after his scintillating century guided India to a 17-run win over South Africa in the first ODI in Ranchi. Kohli's 135 off 120 balls, his 52nd ODI hundred, set the tone for India's strong start to the series, and his teammates spoke open
"I have put in considerable amount of work over the years, so I would say that yes, I am in that place now. I can say that I am still looking to get better every day of my life, that's where I am," he added.
"But he's in a place mentally where he's eager to be out there playing for India. You can see it when he's running between the wickets, fielding and diving. He's mentally young, fresh, and wants to be here," he noted.
"If you see this innings, you will notice two Virat Kohlis, one an aggressor in the powerplay, and the other after the powerplay, when wickets were falling. Then he became an adamant batter who was not ready to give up his wicket," Pathan explained on his YouTube channel.
Be it the 'Ro-Ko' show, the signature fighting spirit of South Africans or Kuldeep Yadav's spin web, the crowd at Ranchi was a witness to this all during the first ODI of the three-match series.
During the Ranchi ODI, both sides scored a massive 681 runs, outdoing their 662 runs scored during the clash at Wankhede in the 2015 series, which saw SA pile up 438/4 with centuries from Quinton de Kock (109), Faf Du Plessis (133) and AB de Villiers (119) and India crumbling to 224 all out
Virat continued to mesmerise fans amidst all the chatter about his ODI future heading into the 2027 ODI World Cup, hitting his 52nd ODI century and achieving the record for most centuries in a single format by a batter. During his 120-ball stay, Virat smashed 135 runs with 11 fours and seven
Kuldeep Yadav continued his brilliant run with the ball in ODIs against South Africa as he helped India secure a 17-run win over the Proteas in the first ODI of the series in Ranchi on Sunday. Kuldeep also became the 11th Indian bowler to take 350 international wickets.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram expressed pride in his team's ability to get really close to India's target of 350 despite the top-order failure in the first India vs South Africa match of the series on Sunday in Ranchi.
Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said that Indian aircraft have evacuated stranded people in Sri Lanka, including citizens from Germany, South Africa, Slovenia and United Kingdom.
Former India cricketer Atul Wassan said that comparing Rohit Sharma's record of most sixes in ODIs with that of the former Pakistan batter Shahid Afridi, who held the record before the Indian batter, is like "comparing apples with oranges."