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South Africa captain Dean Elgar felt vindicated after his "bold" decision to bat first paved the way for a dominant second Test win over New Zealand that levelled the series on Tuesday. The Proteas' batsmen had been routed for 95 and 111 in the series-opener at Christchurch on the way to their second-worst Test defeat after being sent in to bat first by New Zealand's stand-in skipper Tom Latham.
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj said that he is grateful for the opportunity of playing in the Test series against New Zealand. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen were the standout performers with the ball in the final innings as South Africa defeated New Zealand by 198 runs in the second Test at the Hagley Oval on Tuesday. "It's always nice to end up on the winning note. Luckily the rain gods were on our side and managed to get us back on the field. Thanks to the coaching staff, I'm just working on my game and always waiting for the opportunity. I just want to make an impact in the team's win, I just keep bowling and bowling when I'm not playing and try to follow a routine," said Keshav Maharaj after the final day.
Games between Scotland and Italy always seem freighted with significance and the match in Rome a week on Saturday will have extra edge after the results at the weekend.
New Zealand's hopes of defending their World Test Championship suffered a major setback when South Africa crushed them by 198 runs in the second Test in Christchurch on Tuesday. It was New Zealand's third defeat in six Tests over the past three months, and their second at home, where they have enjoyed being almost unassailable in recent years. A defeat in India in December was followed by a shock first defeat to Bangladesh at Mount Maunganui in January before being outclassed by South Africa at Hagley Oval.
Proteas skipper Dean Elgar was audibly relieved as he let out a telling "Very!" after being asked if he was satisfied with the drawn series result following their second Test 198-run win over New Zealand.
Hockey India (HI) that labelled India's performance since the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal as "unacceptable". Socks needed to be pulled up, even if the reaction after a one-off defeat appeared surprising. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra, who also heads the International Hockey Federation (FIH), had written that letter to HI -- citing performances in the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Dhaka and the Pro League tour of South Africa. India finished as the bronze medallists in Dhaka. The team won three of its four matches in South Africa, beating the hosts and France comprehensively, but the 2-5 defeat in the second match against France fueled these words: "I will not accept Team India to be mishandled and mismanaged, such incompetence will have to make way," Batra wrote in the letter.
India will enter the ICC Women's World Cup with their tails up after opener Smriti Mandhana's 67-ball 66 and the bowlers' disciplined show powered them to an 81-run win over West Indies in their final warm-up game here on Tuesday. Kept under observation after taking a blow to her head during the team's first practice match against South Africa on Sunday, the elegant Mandhana was in her element within two days from the injury, laying the foundation for India's challenging total of 258 all out in the allotted 50 overs.
Hosts New Zealand shocked tournament favourites Australia by chasing 322 to win their Women's World Cup warm-up match in Lincoln.