Bloemfontein (South Africa), Apr. 7: South African cricketers like batsman J P Duminy and left-arm quick Wayne Parnell have emerged as much sought after and potential replacements for players opting out of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), given their recent performances against Australia.

A bid of Rand 9.5 million has already been tabled for Duminy, while Parnell is emerging as a red-hot buy after his excellent performance on the second one-day international against Australia.

Yusuf Abdulla is the most recent South African to be snapped up. The Kings XI Punjab approached him after West Indian seamer Jerome Taylor was injured in an auto accident.

Wellington, Apr. 7: Though rain played spoilsport on the fifth and final day of the third test match between India and New Zealand forcing a draw from absolute victory, India achieved the cherished goal of a series victory here after 41 years.

Sydney, Apr 7 : Australian Skipper Ricky Ponting has backed his openers Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke to bounce back and has publicly challenged himself to lift his game after being thrashed by South Africa in the second game of their one-day international series.

Australia were blown away by pace duo Wayne Parnell (4-25) and Dale Steyn (4-27) at Centurion as South Africa bowled the tourists out for 131 and scored 3-132 in 26.2 overs in reply.

London, Apr 7 : Kent skipper Rob Key has emerged as a front runner to be England's Twenty20 captain after Andrew Strauss was dramatically axed from the list of probables.

Key tops the list for World Twenty20 event because he is a sharp thinker, aggressive batsman and a respected leader, The Sun reported.

He has long been regarded as England captaincy material as Key led the A team in New Zealand this winter and takes charge of an MCC side, including Michael Vaughan against Durham at Lord's on Thursday.

Powered by a tidy bowling performance, South Africa registered a comprehensive seven wicket win over Australia in a crucial tie here on Sunday. With this win, South Africa has leveled the five-match one-day international (ODI) series at 1-1.

Batting first, the star-studded Aussie batting line-up started a disastrous start as they lost half of their side of mere 19 runs. From Australia, Callum Ferguson scored the highest 50 runs while Mitchell Johnson also contributed a useful 30 runs for the team. Both Ferguson and Johnson scored a crucial 63 runs partnership for the seventh wicket.

Yusuf Abdullah, the South African pace bowler, will be joining the King's XI Punjab squad to replace the injured West Indies pace bowler Jerome Taylor for the upcoming second season of the IPL.

Speaking on this, an elated Abdullah said, “I'm quite excited about the upcoming challenge. The IPL is in town and this is a good opportunity for me, hopefully I can do well.”