Jacques Kallis: A Modern-Day Cricketing Hero Retires

The Sports-Man suspects that nobody anywhere in the world was able to predict that the great Jacques Kallis was going to announce his retirement from Test cricket in 2013 already...!

The second test between South Africa and India in Durban at the Kingsmead oval will surely be overshadowed in many ways by this sudden, and some would say, "shock" announcement that Kallis is calling it quits after 18 illustrious years of playing Test cricket. He is apparently still determined to make the Proteas squad for the 2015 ODI World Cup tournament. 

How I will miss Kallis's stroke-play...!

I for one, though that Kallis would surely quit ODI cricket to concentrate on playing at least another two seasons, but how wrong was I...! The cricketing world would hopefully find out soon enough why arguably the best all-rounder in cricket decided to retire at this particular point of his career. 

Test Record: Jacques Kallis played 165 Test matches and scored 13174 runs (2nd after Tendulkar), taking 292 wickets and holding on to 199 catches.

At Last - South Africa vs India at Wanderers: First Test Team News

It has been a week or so since the last ODI was played between South Africa and India, and for a while The Sports-Man forgot completely about cricket. However, we are back at the Wanderers in Johannesburg for the start of the first Test. Because of the shortened tour, only two tests have been scheduled, which makes this first test crucial for both teams. 

Team selection is vital on both sides and an excellent start is required if any one of the teams wants to get the early advantage. The news is that South Africa has included Imran Tahir to play for them, which may be a surprise to many, seeing that SA has always preferred playing only seam bowlers up on the Highveld. But, Tahir has been in excellent form and I think it is the right option. 

SA Team:

Graeme Smith (captain), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morné Morkel, Imran Tahir.

(Likely) Indian Team:

Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma.

Play is starting at 10h30

AB Number One in Tests & ODI's

South African cricketers are topping various rankings in world cricket at the moment, and now our star batsmen AB de Villiers, captain of the SA ODI side, is ranked first in Tests and ODI's as batsman. He becomes the third South African batsmen (after Kallis and Amla) to rank in the top spot for both Tests and ODI's at the same time...!

We salute you AB de Villiers - you are a great leader, an amazing example for the youngsters, and an incredible fielder and batsman...!

Quinton de Kock Scores Third Hundred In a Row: 135, 106, 101

20 Year old Quinton de Kock became only the fifth ODI international player to score three ODI hundreds in a row, joining two Pakistan players, Addas and Anwar, as well as South Africans AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs in the record books. His 101 at Centurion helped the Proteas to reach another formidable total of 301 for 8. The fact that he achieved this record against the current number one ODI team in the world makes it an even bigger achievement...!

AB de Villiers (109) scored a brilliant century as well and with under pressure batsmen David Muller hitting a quick,and aggressive 53 off 34 balls, the Proteas gave the Indian cricket team something to seriously think about. 

3rd ODI - Proteas vs India: AB Won Toss For Proteas - Team Sheets

Information provided by  http://live.cricketworld4u.com

Teams:

South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Henry Davids, Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers(c), David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav

One change for India. Yuvraj Singh is back in place of Ajinkya Rahane.

MS Dhoni: 'We were looking to bat first. It looks a good wicket. When you are young, you want to play fire with fire. That's the reason they played a lot of shots. The more games they play, the more they will learn. I'm not really disappointed. We want to have wickets in hand and then accelerate in the middle. That's how it has been working for us.'

South Africa have won the toss and have opted to bat

AB de Villiers: 'We are going to bat first. It looks a good wicket. We do not have a lot of big totals here but we are looking forward to doing better here. In ODI cricket we have to be aggressive. We need to pick up wickets. We have been doing it. We have three changes. Kallis, Morkel and Steyn resting. Tahir is in, Henry Davids and Wayne Parnell are in as well.'

Pitch report: 'There is little grass and the track has a dry look to it. Win the toss and bat first,' says Shaun Pollock.

On the weather front, there is some rain around. However, it will not affect the match too much. Stay tuned. We will bring you the toss and teams in a few mintues....

Proteas Batted First In 2nd ODI vs India, Durban - Full Scorecard...

Another century by awesome youngster Quinton de Kock (118), as well as a century by opening partner and senior batsmen, Hashim Amla (100), took South Africa to a challenging total of  280/6 (49 overs - reduced due to wet outfield). The two exciting openers were involved in another huge opening stand of 194 this time around.

If the batsmen that followed, like AB and David Miller especially, did not fail with the bat, the Proteas' total would have been much higher for sure. You have to ask yourself how many more chances somebody like Miller is going to get?

If the South African bowlers bowl the way they did at the Wanders on Thursday, the Indian cricket team is once again going to struggle to surpass this total. A second ODI victory for South Africa would mean a series win over the current number one ODI team in the world.

• South Africa Innings
• Batsman

  R(B)

  4s

  6s

  SR

  de Kock(wk)	106(118)	9	0	89.83
  c Rohit b Ashwin

  Amla	100(117)	8	0	85.47
  c Dhoni b Shami

  de Villiers(c)	3(4)	0	0	75.00
  st Dhoni b R Jadeja

  Duminy	26(29)	2	0	89.66
  run out (Umesh/Dhoni)

  D Miller	0(3)	0	0	0.00
  lbw b Shami

  Kallis	10(13)	1	0	76.92
  b Shami

  McLaren	12(5)	1	1	240.00
  not out

  Philander	14(5)	3	0	280.00
  not out

• Extras 9

  (b 1, lb 2, w 6)

• Total: 280

  (49 ovrs, 6 Wkts)  RR 5.71

South Africa vs India Updated Scorecard - First ODI, Wanderers, Johannesburg

South Africa has posted a challenging score first up at the Wanderers, in the first of three ODI's against India. Typically, the "Bullring" delivered spectacular batting displays, especially from openers Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla who recorded a first wicket stand of more than 150 runs, before Amla lost his wicket. Young, but extremely talented De Kock became the first South African to score two ODI centuries before turning 21. He went on to record his highest ODI score to date (135) and fully entertained a packed Wanderers stadium. hitting the Indian bowlers at will to all corners of the Wanderers oval. 

http://m4.cricbuzz.com

• South Africa Innings - 358/4
• South Africa Innings
• Batsman

  R(B)

  4s

  6s

  SR

  Amla	65(88)	5	1	73.86
  b Shami

  de Kock(wk)	135(121)	18	3	111.57
  c & b Kohli

  Kallis	10(14)	2	0	71.43
  c R Jadeja b Shami

  de Villiers(c)	77(47)	6	4	163.83
  b Shami

  Duminy	59(29)	2	5	203.45
  not out

  D Miller	5(2)	1	0	250.00
  not out

• Extras 7

  (lb 2, w 4, nb 1)

• Total: 358

  (50 ovrs, 4 Wkts)  RR 7.16

• Did not bat:

  Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe
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• Bowling
• Bowler	O	M	R	W
  Mohit Sharma	10	0	82	0
  Bhuvneshwar	9	0	68	0
  Shami	10	1	68	3
  Ashwin	10	0	58	0
  Ravindra Jadeja	8	0	58	0
  Raina	1	0	7	0
  Kohli	2	0	15	1

• Fall Of Wickets

  Wkt	Runs	Ovs	Batsman
  1	152	29.3	Amla
  2	172	32.5	Kallis
  3	247	41.5	de Kock
  4	352	49.3	de Villiers

South Africa vs Pakistan (Third ODI): What Can the Proteas Gain Today?

The third and final ODI against Pakistan is being played at Supersport Park in Centurion and with Pakistan having already bagged their first ODI series win on South African soil on Wednesday, the Proteas are staring at the rather uncomfortable possibility of a whitewash. We can report that AB de Villiers again won the toss and elected to bat, and that Pakistan are currently batting:

Scorecard from http://live.cricbuzz.com

PAK 56/3 (13.0 Ovs) Sohaib Maqsood* 20 (28) Misbah-ul-Haq 2 (7) RSA Wayne Parnell* 1-0-3-0 Ryan McLaren 2-0-10-1 CRR 4.31   Partnership 8(12) Last Wkt U Amin 25(35)

Last 5 overs Runs 25 Wickets 1 Fours 5 Sixes 0

Apart from going down 3-0 (a whitewash) in this home ODI series against Pakistan, what is there for the Proteas to gain today?

I personally think that today is extremely important for a few players like David Miller who has not scored much runs of late. Hopefully he will be moved up the batting line-up to get sufficient time in front of the stumps. Philander and Parnell get another opportunity to prove what they can do in ODI's, therefore they have to take this opportunity with both hands, because they have been in and out of the team in the last few seasons.

Hopefully the Proteas can bounce back and win this last ODI to give them some sort of confidence before they take on the formidable India. What do you predict will be the result of today's encounter at Centurion?

ODI International Update: Proteas Only Have Themselves To Blame! (Full scorecard)

Firstly, congratulations to Pakistan for winning an ODI series in South Africa for the first time - you deserve it, especially after producing the more consistent cricket during the first and second ODI's at Newlands and St George's Park respectively.

The South Africans gave it their best shot today in Port Elizabeth, chasing a formidable total in a rain-reduced match, but unfortunately they came up short by 1 run. Yes, only one run made the difference between losing an ODI series and tying it. However, the Proteas, led by AB de Villiers had numerous chances to wrap up today's game and failed in the end.

From a bowling perspective, only Dale Steyn with 6 wickets for 39 runs, in 9 overs made the Pakistan batsmen work hard for their runs. Imran Tahir bowled well too, especially on a pitch that did not help the spinners much. The rest of the bowlers could not stick to a consistent length and the Pakistan batsmen made them pay.

The South African innings started off very slowly, with the Pakistan opening bowlers bowling a very disciplined line and length. Smith was out early for only 1, which is just perhaps an indication that his days as an ODI batsmen is over. Amla, as usual, steadied the ship and young Quinton de Kock made a very good, entertaining contribution of 47 runs off 52 balls.

South Africa was chasing hard all game long until around the 38th over, when they required only about a run a ball to win, with plenty of wickets in the bag. Skipper De Villiers was firing away and Amla was set for another ODI century. In my view the Proteas threw it away with AB, Amla, and Duminy losing their wickets through unnecessary attacking shots, which was not needed at that stage.

Especially Amla, although scoring 98, should have seen the innings through to the end and made sure South Africa won this one. Again, cricket remains a very unpredictable game and that is why The Sports-Man loves it ...!

Pakistan innings262/10(45.0)

R/R: 5.82

South Africa innings261/6(45.0)

R/R: 5.80

Batsman	Status	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Hashim Amla	c Mohammad Hafeez b Saeed Ajmal	98	131	7	0	74.81
Graeme Smith	c Umar Akmal b Junaid Khan	1	7	0	0	14.29
Quinton de Kock (W)	c Misbah-ul-Haq b Shahid Afridi	47	52	3	1	90.38
Jacques Kallis	c Saeed Ajmal b Shahid Afridi	6	12	0	0	50.00
AB de Villiers (C)	c Shahid Afridi b Junaid Khan	74	45	8	2	164.44
JP Duminy	c Anwar Ali b Junaid Khan	15	18	1	0	83.33
David Miller	not out	2	4	0	0	50.00
Ryan McLaren	not out	0	1	0	0	0.00
Dale Steyn
Lonwabo Tsotsobe
Imran Tahir

Extras: 18 (b - 1, w - 5, no - 12, lb - 0, penalty - 0)
Fall of Wickets	1/9 (Graeme Smith 4.3ov.) 2/96 (Quinton de Kock 21.4ov.) 3/117 (Jacques Kallis 25.4ov.) 4/227 (AB de Villiers 38.4ov.) 5/254 (Hashim Amla 44ov.) 6/255 (JP Duminy 44.2ov.)

Bowlers	O	M	R	WKT	NO	WD	ECON
Junaid Khan	9	0	42	3	0	0	4.67
Anwar Ali	7	1	39	0	0	0	5.57
Saeed Ajmal	8	0	46	1	0	1	5.75
Mohammad Hafeez	8	0	44	0	0	0	5.5
Bilawal Bhatti	4	0	39	0	0	2	9.75
Shahid Afridi	9	0	38	2	0	0	4.22