India completed the quickest victory in Test history, levelling their series against South Africa by winning early on the second afternoon in Cape Town.

The tourists chased down a fourth innings total of 79 in just 12 overs at Newlands to wrap up the entire game, scheduled to end on Sunday evening, in just 642 balls.

That made it the shortest Test win ever recorded in terms of deliveries bowled, shaving 14 off a record that has stood since 1932, when South Africa were also on the losing side against Australia in Melbourne.

Over the course of little more than four sessions of cricket, a wicket fell less than every 20 balls on average.

The Proteas, who won well in a hard-fought opening Test in Centurion, were dismissed for 55 on the first morning and improved to 176 only because of a solo effort from Aiden Markram, who made a backs-to-the-wall 106.

The opener’s effort was easily the standout knock of a breakneck encounter, as he occupied the crease for 164 minutes and faced 103 balls.

But with no other resistance as Jasprit Bumrah completed a haul of six for 61, it only delayed the inevitable.

India began their pursuit after lunch and wasted no time getting over the line.

They lost three wickets along the way, Yashavi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli all keeping the revolving door to the pavilion moving, but picked up 52 in boundaries as they ensured an unprecedentedly-swift conclusion.

Questions are sure to be asked over the state of the pitch, with the match officials to decide if the freakish brevity of the match was down to batting error or a poor surface.

A remarkable 23 wickets fell on the first day of the second Test in Cape Town, with South Africa bowled out for just 55 and India succumbing to a shocking collapse of their own.

More wickets have fallen in a single day just four times in the history of Test cricket, with ball dominating bat throughout three breathless sessions that ushered the game towards a rapid conclusion at Newlands.

At stumps South Africa were 62 for three in the second innings, only 36 behind after India had lost their last six wickets for no runs in the space of 11 deliveries. From 153 for four they were rounded up in successive overs by the inspired pairing of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada without adding to their total.

Dean Elgar, South Africa’s retiring stand-in captain, suffered the ignominy of ending his international batting career with two dismissals on the same day but at least shared that pain with team-mates Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs.

Elgar had won the toss and opted to bat in the morning but saw his decision blow up spectacularly as India skittled the hosts for their lowest Test score in 92 years.

Mohammed Siraj did most of the damage with figures of six for 15, with two apiece for Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar, the latter without conceding a run, as the innings subsided in less than 24 overs.

India took the lead in just 10 overs after lunch, Rohit Sharma taking the attack to the home seamers with a rapid 39. The tourists were primed to hammer home a big advantage at 105 for two with Shubman Gill (36) and Virat Kohli (46) at the crease, but there was another twist in the tale.

Things took a huge handbrake turn in the 33rd over when Ngidi dismissed KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah in a triple-wicket maiden.

Unbelievably, three more fell in the next five deliveries at the other end, Rabada taking care of Kohli and Prasidh Krishna either side of Siraj’s run out.

The third innings of the day got under way in the evening session, Kumar picking up two more and Bumrah adding a third as Aiden Markram’s 36 not out offered some belated resistance from the Proteas.

Ben Stokes has hit back at Steve Harmison’s criticism of England’s Test preparation for the forthcoming tour of India.

Ex-England seamer Harmison, a former Durham team-mate and close friend of Stokes, believes that arriving in India just three days before the start of a five-match series is a recipe for disaster.

He claimed the tourists would “deserve to get beat 5-0” without spending longer acclimatising to conditions, drawing a curt response from the England captain.

Stokes replied to a video of Harmison’s comments, saying: “Good job we’re going to Abu Dhabi for a training camp before we go to India for even more training before that 1st test then isn’t it.”

England, who lost 3-1 in their previous Indian tour on spinning pitches, do not have any warm-up fixtures scheduled but hope to tune up for the series opener on January 25 with a week-long workout in the United Arab Emirates.

Harmison suggested that approach was insufficient, telling talkSPORT: “If England go in three days before they deserve to get beat 5-0, they really do.

“I’m an old man, that’s what they’ll say…times have changed, but preparation hasn’t changed. I love this new approach, I love Ben Stokes and (head coach) Brendon McCullum. But I’m sorry, going three days before…you’d never do that for an Ashes series.

“You’d never go to Australia three days before the Gabba, so why go three days before Hyderabad? For me it stinks, it absolutely stinks.”

Stokes, meanwhile, is racing to be fully fit for the first Test.

He underwent surgery on his longstanding left knee injury at the end of November and has been chronicling his rehabilitation with a sequence of videos on Instagram.

England are not expecting him to feature as a bowler but even having him available to bat pain-free would represent an improvement on recent times.

Posting from the gym on Wednesday, he wrote: “massive progress for the week”, “muscle symmetry coming back” and “finally able to get into the flexion needed for a spin on the bike, for something normally so easy it was very pleasing to be able to do [it] today”

Dean Elgar began his farewell series with an accomplished unbeaten century to put South Africa ahead of India on day two of the first Test at Centurion.

Elgar will retire from international cricket after next week’s clash in Cape Town and offered a fitting reminder of his qualities with a polished 140 not out – his first Proteas ton in nearly three years.

The 36-year-old occupied the crease for 66 overs, facing 211 deliveries and cracking 23 fours to lead his side to 256 for five. That put South Africa into a narrow lead of 11, with the tourists having earlier been bowled out for 245.

KL Rahul, resuming on 70 overnight, completed a superb century of his own as he scored 31 of his side’s 37 runs in the morning session. He was last man out, bowled by debutant Nadre Burger, having almost single-handedly kept India competitive.

With Elgar holding firm at the top of the order and captain Temba Bavuma absent with a hamstring injury, India successfully chipped away Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi and Keegan Petersen to leave the hosts 113 for three.

But another newcomer, Durham batter David Bedingham, helped South Africa press ahead with an elegant 56 in his maiden Test innings. He put on 131 alongside Elgar, who brought up his 14th hundred, before being cleaned up by Mohamed Siraj.

Kyle Verreyne followed as Prasidh Krishna opened his account as a Test bowler before bad light brought an early finish.

England fell to a crushing 347-run defeat in their one-off Test to India inside three days in Mumbai.

The hosts declared on 186 for six leaving England a target of 479 to chase down from the final two days of play, but it took India just one session to bowl them out for a first home victory in nine years.

Heather Knight top-scored for the visitors with 21 runs to her name as India swept up 10 wickets in just 27.3 overs.

England batter Tammy Beaumont admits players “feel more anxious” heading into a Test as they prepare to face India in a one-off match at the DY Patil Stadium from Thursday.

England have mostly played Test matches on home soil, the last in June when Australia won by 89 runs at Trent Bridge.

The last time England played red-ball cricket overseas was in January 2022, when they played out a dramatic draw against Australia.

Women’s Test matches are usually one-off games as part of a multi-format series and Beaumont thinks players feel more nerves around the longest format due to the fact they do not come around that often.

She told a press conference: “You certainly feel more anxious around a Test match week.

“You have the likes of me, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt who have been playing international cricket for 12-14 years and we haven’t even played that many Tests, maybe 10 or 12, so if you think of that as white-ball cricket that is your first year.

“So, there are more nerves because we haven’t had the opportunity to master it. You are constantly a young player in Test cricket, no matter how old your body feels. In the men’s game 10 Tests is not even a career, it’s a start.

“I love Test cricket and each and every one of us would love to play more Test cricket and I’m almost interested to see what India do with the Australia Test match straight after, so if that goes well, I could see a future doing two-Test or three-Test series against the top nations, which I think would be amazing.”

England finish their tour of India with the Test after they sealed a 2-1 win in their recent three-match T20 series at the Wankhede Stadium.

Despite the gap between Tests, Beaumont will be looking to transfer some of her form from the summer.

The right-hander hit 208 against Australia, becoming the first English woman to score a Test double-century.

She added: “(We’re) not coming in with too many preconceived ideas of how the pitch is going to play or what a Test match in India might look like.

“We have found the wickets have played nicely and there’s a bit in it for the bowlers and batters, so not thinking you have to work on playing spin so much but it’s been a really good preparation period.

“Talking about something that happened six months ago (her double-hundred against Australia) can’t really count as form but certainly nice to know that was your last Test match and you go in with a lot of confidence.”

This will be England’s first Test in India since 2005.

Beaumont is hoping they can continue the momentum of interest injected into women’s cricket from the summer following the success of the Ashes and The Hundred.

“It’s good that we got the broadcast deal so people can watch it back home,” she said.

“On the whole it has been really positive as we got a lot of sellouts in the Ashes and into the Hundred the crowds every week were a record crowd.

“I think people are really taking notice of women’s cricket in England which is good to see and hopefully they will be right behind us for the Test as well.

“We want to inspire the next generation of female cricketers, not only in England but across the world, so we will be playing a way of cricket that people will want to watch.”

Chris Woakes is “at ease” with being left out of England’s Test tour of India in the new year.

Woakes collected the Compton–Miller Medal for player of the series in the Ashes, inspiring England’s comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, but is surplus to requirements for the five-match series in India.

By the lofty standards he sets himself, the 34-year-old’s Test record overseas is modest as he averages 51.88 with the ball, exactly 30 runs per wicket higher than a superb resume at home.

Having been notified by England director of men’s cricket Rob Key and Test head coach Brendon McCullum ahead of time, Woakes is satisfied to focus on white-ball cricket for the next few months.

“It’s mixed emotions,” he said. “You’re always desperate to be in it, but at the same time, at my age, with my away record – particularly in the subcontinent – I feel like it’s a fair decision.

“We had conversations about where my best cricket is likely to be played moving forward and, naturally in Test cricket, it looks likely to be at home.

“It doesn’t mean to say that when there’s not subcontinent tours that I won’t be available, hopefully they’ll still potentially pick me in those.

“But I feel at ease with the decision, if that makes sense. The communication was good, I know where I stand so it’s fine by me.”

Woakes will instead go to the International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates, which starts in January, and hopes to be snapped up in the Indian Premier League auction for next year’s edition.

He was speaking in Barbados, having linked up with England ahead of their five T20s against the West Indies which act as reconnaissance for next year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States.

His last visit to these parts in March 2022 was in the final throes of Joe Root’s captaincy, with a 1-0 Test loss compounded by a knee injury that needed surgery and left Woakes sidelined for several months.

“I wouldn’t want that to be the same case going to India, bowling on tracks which are unresponsive to my type of bowling,” Woakes said.

“Slamming the front knee down at 34 is not really ideal when I want to play a lot of white-ball cricket moving forward.

“It’s different when that’s just your sole focus, but when you want to play all forms, it makes it a wise decision.”

Despite being white-ball vice-captain, Moeen Ali seems set to be dropped by England in Tuesday’s opening T20, which marks the start of the International Cricket Council’s stop clock trial.

If a bowling team is not ready to start an over 60 seconds after the completion of the last one, they will be penalised five runs when it happens for a third time and on each occasion thereafter.

“We haven’t really spoken about it as of yet, but I’ve seen the idea of it and it kind of makes sense,” Woakes added. “It hopefully will speed the game up a little bit.

“When you’re out there in the middle, you don’t feel like you’re playing it slow, the game does feel fast. Guys might be taking drinks or swapping gloves and things, but the game does feel pretty quick.

“But we’re in the entertainment business and we need to make sure the viewers are happy as well. So I think it’s a good idea.”

Amy Jones feels England’s players will stay relaxed about the Women’s Premier League auction while they focus on their second T20 international against India.

A total of 165 cricketers are set to go under the gavel in Mumbai on Saturday – including wicketkeeper-batter Jones who has set her base price at the second highest point, around £40,000.

England, meanwhile, will take to the field at the Wankhede Stadium looking to build on an impressive 38-run victory in the opening match of a first tour of India in four years, which also includes a one-off Test match.

Jones accepts the squad was distracted somewhat during the 2023 auction in February, which took place at the same time as a T20 World Cup game against Ireland, which England won by four wickets.

However, the 30-year-old Central Sparks player insists the team will be fully focused on the game on Saturday, rather than who might or might not get bought.

“We had a very similar situation last year in the World Cup, which was completely new for us as a group and was obviously the first ever (Women’s Premier League) auction for women’s cricket,” Jones said.

“I don’t know if it was a challenge last year, it was just something new to consider as a group. I think this year it will be a lot simpler, having done it before our attention will be on the game as much as possible.”

Jones added: “I think there has been big learnings from last year which was a completely new experience for everyone.

“We did sit down and try to address things, like issues that might come of it and it was always probably going to be a little bit of a distraction last year.

“A lot depends on expectation on an individual basis. A lot of us are pretty relaxed about it – that it would be great if it happens, if not, then we are playing so much cricket these days.

“I think that mentality is good. We are really focused on the game that we will have tomorrow, so I think it will be fine.”

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England batter Danni Wyatt was one of those to not have any takers in the last WPL auction.

Wyatt marked her record 150th T20 international appearance with an impressive 75 off just 47 balls in the opening tour win.

Jones is confident the Southern Vipers batter can put any thoughts of what might happen in the auction this time around out of her mind and just focus on producing another positive display.

“Danni was very open about last year, about really wanting to be a part of it and being sad that she missed out,” Jones said.

“As you would, you look after your friends and it doesn’t really stray from that to be honest, but I think this year is different and we are all managing expectations.

“It would be a cool thing to be part of obviously, but I don’t think we will have the emotions attached to it as such.”

England earlier confirmed Emma Lamb had withdrawn from the Test squad due to a back problem. She will see a spinal surgeon when back in the UK to determine the next steps of her recovery.

Southern Vipers batter Maia Bouchier has been called into the Test squad as a replacement, while Kirstie Gordon also links up with the group having remained in Mumbai after playing for England A in their IT20 series victory last week.

England could clinch their own series win on Saturday ahead of the third T20 fixture on Sunday.

Jones said: “Just to get the first win is almost like a bit of a relief and you definitely build your confidence going into the other games.”

England’s Keaton Jennings struck a century on his Test debut on day one of the fourth Test against India, on this day in 2016.

Jennings (112) made the most of some early fortune in Mumbai, being dropped on nought by Karun Nair and also surviving a close umpire’s call for lbw against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, on his way to a 186-ball hundred.

It was a contribution which looked to have put England ahead of the game as they reached 288 for five at stumps after Alastair Cook won a crucial toss.

However, after making exactly 400 in their first innings, England ultimately lost by an innings and 36 runs as they were bowled out for 195 on their second attempt after the home side made a mammoth 631 in their first innings.

That meant England became only the third team in Test history to lose a match by an innings after making 400 or more first time round.

Jennings was assured after his early scrapes and hit 13 boundaries in stands of 99 with Cook and 94 with Moeen Ali (50) as England negotiated the wiles of spinner Ravi Ashwin (four for 75).

Jennings completed his hundred with a reverse-swept four off Jayant Yadav as he put England in a position of promise as they sought to battle back from 2-0 down with two Tests to play.

The South Africa-born batter went on to play a total of 17 Tests for England, the last of which came against West Indies in February 2019.

Jennings was appointed Lancashire captain in all three formats for the 2023 season.

Danni Wyatt shone on her record 150th T20 international appearance as England began their first tour of India in four years with an impressive 38-run victory in Mumbai.

Wyatt hit 75 and Nat Sciver-Brunt made 77, with the pair sharing a match-winning stand in an imposing total of 197 for six.

Sophie Ecclestone ensured their work did not go to waste, rounding out the result with figures of three for 15 on her comeback appearance after four months out with a shoulder injury.

Opener Wyatt began the match by becoming the first English cricketer to reach the cap landmark but soon found herself in a scrap at the Wankhede Stadium, losing two batting partners in the first over of the day and before she had even got off the mark.

Renuka Singh was responsible for her side’s fine start, bowling Sophia Dunkley via a deflection off the bat and then knocking over Alice Capsey for a golden duck as she took out off stump with a beauty.

Wyatt and Sciver-Brunt were unfazed by the double setback and proceeded to put on 138 off the next 87 balls.

Wyatt helped herself to eight fours and two sixes, the first a slog sweep off Deepti Sharma and the second a big swing over long-off charging debutant Shreyanka Patil.

Sciver-Brunt added 13 boundaries of her own as the scoreboard raced along but Wyatt’s 47-ball attack ended with five overs left as she was stumped off newcomer Saika Ishaque.

Captain Heather Knight fell cheaply and Sciver-Brunt was caught behind in the 19th but Amy Jones ensured an action-packed finish by scoring 23 off nine balls at the death.

Sciver-Brunt was back in the thick of things early in the chase, coming on for the third over and forcing an error from the dangerous Smriti Mandhana, who was bowled middle stump.

Shafali Verma collected a handful of fours as she kept India in touch with the required rate but when Freya Kemp had Jemima Rodrigues caught behind in the final powerplay over it was another big boost to the tourists’ cause.

India were relying on a big stand between Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur, the latter briefly looking in rude health before Ecclestone’s arrival spelled the end. The left-arm spinner had not played since dislocating her shoulder in August but needed just one sighter before bowling Kaur via an inside edge.

With five overs left India still needed 74, leaving England to mop up a clinical win as Ecclestone added the battling Verma (52) and Kanika Ahuja to her haul.

Sophie Ecclestone will make her England comeback in Wednesday’s T20 series opener against India, with captain Heather Knight declaring the spinner “fit and firing” after four months out.

The world number one white-ball bowler needed surgery after dislocating her shoulder in August while taking part in the Hundred, missing the home series against Sri Lanka and the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia.

But she stepped up her recovery during England’s recent training camp in Oman and is ready to return to action at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

“Sophie has missed a bit of cricket with the injury she had but she’s going to be fit and firing, so I’m looking forward to seeing her bowl,” Knight said.

“I don’t think bowling will be an issue, she’s been doing really well, but fielding there might be a bit of nervousness. I’ve had injuries myself where it’s about getting over trusting your body.

“I’m sure in the heat of battle Sophie will be fine, she’s tracking really well in training, diving around and things like that, but we’ll keep a close eye on her because she’s obviously a key player for us.”

England have not toured India since 2019 but Knight was among a handful of players who played in the country’s inaugural Women’s Premier League and believes it is the perfect place for her side to develop.

“It feels a long time since we’ve been to India, but now the WPL is a staple in the calendar there’s going to be a lot of cricket here for English players,” she said.

“I always feel I learn a lot about my game playing in Indian conditions. It really tests you as a cricketer in terms of skill level, how you deal with the noise, the heat and the other things that tend to happen in Indian tours.

“It’s a really good place to accelerate development and I’m excited to see how we cope with it.

“I’m really excited to see what sort of crowd we get too. Hopefully we get a few in after the WPL earlier in the year and we can silence the crowd, if there is one.”

England have one doubt for the series opener, with Charlie Dean set to sit out due to illness.

Joe Root has followed the lead of England Test captain Ben Stokes by skipping next year’s Indian Premier League.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that Stokes would not appear for Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 edition of the IPL, with the 32-year-old citing the need to manage his fitness and workload.

Root has now joined his red-ball skipper in sitting out the Twenty20 tournament, which will run from March until the end of May.

Rajasthan Royals secured the services of Root at the 2023 mini-auction and he featured three times for the franchise earlier this year, but will not join up with the group that contains England white-ball captain Jos Buttler next year.

Royals director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara said: “During our retention conversations, Joe informed us of his decision to not take part in IPL 2024.

“Even in a short span of time, Joe was able to create such a positive impact on the franchise and the players around him.

“His energy around the group and the experience he brought to the Royals will be missed. We respect his decision totally and wish him success in everything he does.”

Root is set for a key role in England’s five-match Test series away to India, which starts on January 25.

Travis Head proved he is a "champion player" with his decisive Cricket World Cup final innings against India, according to Madan Lal.

It looked like India were on course to record a brilliant World Cup triumph on home soil when they won every match en route to last week's final and then reduced Australia to 47-3 in their pursuit of 241.

But a pivotal 192-run partnership from opener Head and Marnus Labuschagne slowly took the game away from India and quietened the home crowd as the Aussies claimed a record-extending sixth World Cup.

Head remained at the crease until the final over, scoring 137 from 120 balls, with 15 fours and four maximums.

Ex-India captain Madan Lal, who won the Cricket World Cup in 1983, was most impressed by how Head was able to manage the situation before moving up the gears as he recorded the second-highest score by an opener in a men's final, after compatriot Adam Gilchrist's 149 in 2007.

"Travis Head's innings was one of the best I've seen in a World Cup – and I have watched a lot of World Cups, I played in two World Cups," Madan Lal said to Stats Perform. 

"But any innings under pressure, when you score 137 and your team wins, it’s always going to be very high in my mind. 

"He didn't panic. Normally, he's a player who hits the ball, he hits every ball. But he altered his game according to the situation of the game, according to the scoreboard. 

"He played like a champion, a champion player."

Head is in the Australia squad for a five-match T20I series between the teams which begins in Vishakhapatnam on Thursday as the gruelling international cricket calendar continues.

Pat Cummins, meanwhile, is rested for the T20 series after winning praise for his captaincy in the tournament.

He was the first skipper to triumph in a World Cup final after winning the toss since 2007, with his decision to put India in to bat paying off spectacularly. 

Madan Lal added: "All the credit must go to Pat Cummins because of his leadership quality. 

"He's also a wonderful person, because if you look at him when he's playing the game, I've never seen him getting angry or getting upset with someone.

"The calmness is there and that is why I think I rate him, because you have to control that situation, that is very, very important for the leader. A leader like Pat Cummins respects all the players and all the players respect him."

When Australia reached the final, Madan Lal knew India had a huge challenge despite the hosts' fine form throughout the tournament. 

He added: "If you look at Australia's performances in the World Cup, we are always going to rank them very, very highly, as the number one team. 

"They know how to do it because Australia has a sporting culture. They never give up. They are always trying something. And the other thing which I like about them is that they enjoy the game. 

"You cannot win nine games on the trot after losing the first couple of games. Only this type of Australian team can do it. You can never, ever take an Australian easily, because when Australia reached the final, everybody in India knew that they were going to be a tough match.

"When Ricky Ponting was captain, that team was very, very good, but this team is also good. See, the captain is only good when the team is good, and you can produce the result.

"They have won the World Test Championship, now they've won the World Cup. That's where you have to appreciate this team. They produced the result and that's what matters."

India had a "mental issue" in their Cricket World Cup final defeat to Australia, according to their former captain Madan Lal.

Travis Head's 137 propelled Australia to a six-wicket victory in Sunday's final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Head's knock is the second-highest score by an opener in a men's World Cup final. 

And Madan Lal, who played for India between 1974 and 1987, believes the tournament hosts had a mental slip at the most inopportune moment.

"It is a little bit of a mental issue, you can say that," he told Stats Perform.

"In a final, if you make mistakes, then you have no chance of winning. You have to make less mistakes [than the opposition] as that is the only way you are going to win.

"You can say [India are having] mental issues because in the last 10 ICC tournaments we've played in the finals [knockout rounds], but we didn't win any. That can be addressed.

“Definitely [this was their best chance] because of the way the team was playing and the way their bowling attack was performing.

"I was thinking that India would go through and win, but at the end of the day, when Australia came into the final, then I said it was a 50-50 game. It's not a game that can be easily won.

"I think it's a bit sad. India had done very well. They won all their ten matches, but in the last one, they couldn’t cross the line."

Virat Kohli starred for India in the World Cup, scoring 765 runs.

He tallied a half-century in the final, having plundered a ton in the semi-final, which took him above India legend Sachin Tendulkar in the all-time rankings for ODI centuries.

"He’s fantastic, a world champion, a superb player," Madan Lal said of Kohli. 

"The good thing about him is the way he looks after himself, the way he approaches the game, his attitude.

"Plus, if you see when he's batting, we always know that if he bats for 15 minutes, he will get 100 runs.

"And another good thing about him is that he looks at the scoreboard. He plays according to the situation of the game, like Head did [in the final]."