Johannesburg: Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's saga of failures compounded a shoddy batting performance by India even as stand-in skipper KL Rahul impressed with a defiant show amid the ruins on the opening day of the second Test against South Africa here on Monday.

 India captain Virat Kohli was on Monday ruled out of the second Test against South Africa here just before start of the game because of an upper back spasm, leaving K L Rahul to lead the side in the crucial match.

Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who captained his national team in every format of the game, announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday, saying that he achieved more than he could ever imagine during a career spanning nearly two decades.

Paris: Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is among four players in the Paris Saint-Germain squad to have tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the team's French Cup game on Monday night.

Kolkata: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had tested positive for the delta plus variant of COVID-19 but was discharged after four days of hospitalisation as the infection was not severe and could be managed in home isolation, a hospital official said on Saturday.

New Delhi: Virat Kohli was requested by everyone, including BCCI office bearers, to reconsider quitting T20 captaincy before the ICC T20 World Cup, said chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma on Friday, contradicting the Indian Test captain's version before leaving for South Africa.

New Delhi: Captain Rohit Sharma was on Friday ruled out of India's upcoming ODI series in South Africa due to a hamstring injury, forcing the selectors to appoint KL Rahul as skipper of an 18-member team for the white-ball leg of the tour.

South Africa's star wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock on Thursday announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect, said the country's apex body, CSA, hours after the team's defeat in the first Test against India.