Faf du Plessis and Dale Steyn provided the individual highlights as South Africa scored a conclusive six-wicket victory over Australia in the Final of the Triangular ODI Series at Harare on Saturday.

This result puts the Proteas level on 113 rankings points with India but the latter retain the No. 1 spot when the calculation is made to the third decimal point. Sri Lanka and Australia are also level on points with Sri Lanka holding third place and Australia fourth.

Du Plessis finished on 96 (99 balls, 8 fours and a six) and would almost certainly have achieved a world record four centuries in an ODI Series had he not thrown his wicket away attempting to hit a boundary off Mitchell Johnson when the scores were tied.

South Africa  wrote another chapter in their history of famous 50 overs contests against Australia when they beat the world No. 1 ranked side by seven wickets with 20 balls to spare in the second ODI of the triangular series at Harare today.

Australia won the first match against Zimbabwe, gaining a bonus point in the process, with the result that they remain top of the log for the time being. The Proteas will have the chance to go top when they play Zimbabwe on Friday.

South Africa fought a war of attrition for the first innings advantage on the second day of their one-off Test match against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

At the close of play the Proteas had scored 201/4 in their first innings to trail Zimbabwe by 55 runs. Only 209 runs were scored on the day on a pitch that was getting slower by the day and on a surface that was providing increasing purchase to the spin bowlers.

In the Proteas’ favour is the fact that there is still plenty of time left in the match and they can afford to bat for another full day provided they keep wickets intact.

South African coach, Russell Domingo, says his team will need to "find a way" to deal with the absence of captain, Faf du Plessis, in their ICC World Twenty20 match against England in Chittagong on Saturday. Du Plessis was handed a one-match ban after his second over-rate offence, and will be watching the "quarter-final" encounter from the sidelines.

"It's a disappointment not having Faf there," Domingo said in Chittagong on Friday afternoon. "He is a fantastic captain, top-order batsman and a great fielder.

South Africa and Sri Lanka captains Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Chandimal have been suspended for one match each, while their players have been fined, after both sides maintained slow over-rates during their ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 Group 1 encounters at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chittagong on Thursday.

This was both captains’ second minor over-rate offences within a 12 month period in the same format, as South Africa was fined for being two overs short against New Zealand on Monday 24 March 2014, and Sri Lanka was short by one over against New Zealand in Pallekele on 21 November 2013.

South Africa has been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during its ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 Group 1 encounter against New Zealand at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chittagong on Monday.

Javagal Srinath of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the fines after Faf du Plessis’ side was ruled to be two overs short of its target when time allowances were taken into consideration.

Australia outplayed South Africa for the third day in a row to take a commanding overall lead in the third Sunfoil Test match at Sahara Park Newlands on Monday. Australian captain Michael Clarke made his expected declaration overnight and then his bowlers worked their way through the South African order to dismiss them for 287 and claim an overall lead of 207 runs.

It put them in a position to enforce the follow on but it was not an option that appealed to Clarke as he sent his opening batsmen back to the crease for a second time and in the six overs available they scored a fairly untroubled 27 without loss to give them an overall lead of 234 with all their wickets intact and two full days of play left.