South Africa set for long India cricket tour this year

South Africa will undertake their longest cricket tour of India later this year to contest all three formats over a nine-week period, the Indian board announced on Monday. The tour, which comprises three Twenty20 matches, five one-day internationals and four Tests, will run between September 29 and December 7. It will be the first time South Africa will play a Twenty20 international on Indian soil in preparation for the World Twenty20 which will be held across India in March-April next year. South Africa have also never contested a four-Test series in India before, adding a new challenge for Hashim Amla's top-ranked Proteas side. The tour starts with the three T20 games from October 2 to 8, followed by the five one-dayers from Oct 11 to 25. The four Tests will be played in Mohali (November 5-9), Bangalore (Nov 14-18), Nagpur (Nov 25-29) and New Delhi December (3-7). The second match in Bangalore is expected to be South African batting star AB de Villiers' 100th Test. Schedule: Sept 29: T20 practice match, Delhi Oct 2: : First T20 international, Dharamsala Oct 5 : Second T20 international, Cuttack Oct 8 : Third T20 international, Kolkata Oct 11 : First ODI, Kanpur Oct 14 : Second ODI, Indore Oct 18 : Third ODI, Rajkot Oct 22 : Fourth ODI, Chennai Oct 25 : Fifth ODI, Mumbai Oct 30-31 : Two-day tour match vs Board President's XI, Mumbai Nov 5-9 : First Test, Mohali Nov 14-18 : Second Test, Bangalore Nov 25-29 : Third Test, Nagpur Dec 3-7 : Fourth Test, Delhi