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The hosts dominated the first two matches in all the three aspects of the game and dented the confidence of the Proteas severely. They won the first Test by 203 runs in Vizag and went on to better their performance in the next game, registering a comprehensive victory by an innings and 137 runs in Pune.However, the visitors can hardly expect any respite in Ranchi as Virat Kohli's men would like earn another 40 points and extend their lead in the World Test Championship."We are not going to take the foot off the gas in the third Test. We are looking for a result and hopefully make it 3-0. No one is going to relax at any stage, that is a guarantee," Kohli had said after the Pune Test.The Indian team has ticked all the boxes in the series so far. Their batsmen are scoring heavily, the spinners are picking wickets at regular intervals and the pacers who have been on a roll in the last two-three years have been relentless.South Africa, on the other hand, have just not been able to cope up with the conditions on offer. The tracks, on which the two matches have been played so far, were by no means rank turners. They have been just not been able to come with a performance to match that of the Ind.Their batters seem to be out of form. Barring contributions from the lower order, the top order batsmen have not been able to score big and put pressure on the Indian bowlers.The Proteas have not been able to make use of their first innings, a thing which skipper Faf du Plessis wants his batsmen to focus upon."We need to put big runs on the board in the first innings," said du Plessis in the pre-match presser. "When you get runs in the first innings anything from there is possible. For us first innings runs will be vital and then anything could happen in the second innings," he added.However, their batting woes have been compounded following the loss of Aiden Markram, who has been ruled out of the Ranchi Test after he injured his wrist by lashing out at a solid object following the culmination of the Pune Test.Their bowling unit, despite consisting the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander, has been ineffective to put pressure on the Indian batters. And in the absence of their most experienced spinner Keshav Maharaj, du Plessis can find it even more difficult to contain the Indian batters.It would be highly surprising if the Proteas can stop the Ind from making it 3-0 and earn their first points in the championship.Squads: India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini.South Africa: Quinton de Kock (capt/wk), Rassie van der Dussen (vc), Temba Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde.( With inputs from IANS )

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South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has said that he is 'very positive' about the standard of Mzansi Super League. ...

Former Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher believes South Africa cricket is in a dire state at the moment. ...

South African captain Faf du Plessis has suggested that if there was no toss in Test cricket and the away side were allowed to bat first, his team would have stood a better chance against India in the recently concluded Test series between the two si ...

In the last two-three years, one of main talking points in Indian cricket has been the performance of the pacers. And what has come as the icing on the cake is that they are now leading the show even on home soil. ...

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has admitted that they were dominated by India in all the three departments in the three-match series which the hosts won 3-0. ...

India's bowlers, led by Mohammed Shami, pushed Virat Kohli and boys closer to a 3-0 whitewash as South Africa were left tottering at 132/8 at stumps on Day 3 after following on in the third and final Test at the JSCA Stadium on Monday. ...

In a bid to end his losing streak at the toss, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis on Saturday brought Temba Bavuma as proxy captain for the third and final Test against India at the JSCA Stadium here. ...

With the series already in their kitty, Team India will aim to go for the kill and clean sweep the three-Test rubber when they face a demoralised South African team in the final match beginning Saturday at the JSCA Stadium. ...