The prospect of placid pitches and soaring temperatures present a formidable challenge to South Africa's hopes of verifying their status as the world's top team when their Test series against Pakistan begins in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.
Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma struck scintillating half-centuries during a record 158-run partnership and powered India to a formidable 202 for three.
New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori confirmed what many expected in announcing his retirement.
Uncapped leg spinner Ish Sodhi and all rounder Corey Anderson have been promoted from the New Zealand 'A' team to the full Test squad for a two Test series in Bangladesh in October.
'If Liverpool bought me then they know how to use me. That's why I came here -- I'll show I can play with my feet too'
Ryan 'Ryno' Harris made a crucial contribution to Australian cricket at a critical time.
'His assessment is wide off the mark from what is expected to be history's final verdict -- which is that Indira was the most unacceptable of all prime ministers because she was the only one who tried to throttle Indian democracy,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Inter Milan earned a 2-0 victory over Livorno thanks to a howler from visiting goalkeeper Francesco Bardi, who is on loan from the San Siro club, and a late Yuto Nagatomo strike in Serie A on Saturday.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Vettel's closest title rival with a 46 point gap to make up, qualified fifth and behind Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa.
'What is bank recapitalisation? When the rich take loans and do not return and the government returns that money to the banks.' 'What is restructuring 5:25 scheme? The government says don't return now, just tell us you will return after five years.' 'Why don't we apply these schemes to farmers?' 'I want to increase the power of farmers to blackmail the government as everyone in the country has the power to blackmail.'
Major focus will be on adequately funding existing schemes to ensure their timely completion before the next General Elections.
The trouble-prone Pakistan cricket team dressing room was once again witness to some drama and it took PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan's intervention to diffuse the controversy generated by Misbah-ul-Haq's decision to rest from the third ODI against Australia.
The Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court heard that the attacker, Karl Anderson, had 25 convictions for 37 offences, including football-related violence, the BBC reported. The 29-year-old will pay a 100 pound ($134) fine.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, arguably the best player of his generation, announced on Sunday he will retire after the 2015-16 National Basketball Association season.
'That is not a democratic ideal obviously, but it is a practical reality.' 'It is a consistent feature of politicians in Pakistan that their rhetoric on the army softens the closer they get to the seat of power.'
'Its internal economic rot and corrupt political elite have made the resurgent supremacy of the military establishment more invincible,' says Sunil Sethi.
Despite a few flaws in the film, Yash Chopra distinguishes himself.
Former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja believes Indian bowlers should take a cue from Wahab Riaz's hostile spell.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant lit up the National Basketball Association with a work ethic.
When JP Duminy finally made his Test debut the first question many people asked was, "How good is South Africa's top six if this guy can't make it?"
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
P V Sindhu cemented her position as a dominant force on the world stage with an Olympic silver medal while Saina Nehwal continued to battle with injuries in a year, which saw Indian badminton take giant strides at the global platform. It turned out to be a watershed year for Sindhu, who reached the upper echelons of world badminton with a silver medal at Rio Games -- an achievement also for her mentor and chief coach Pullela Gopichand, who became the only Indian coach to produce two Olympic medallists. On the other hand, for the first part of the year, it was Saina's battle with injuries which dominated the headlines even though she was considered to be the best bet for India at Rio. The Indian ace fought against time to recover from an Achilles tendons and went on to win the Australian Super Series.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
One thing is certain: Demonetisation has broken the back of terror funding, says Colonel Anil A Athale.
West Ham United capitalised on two mistakes from Arsenal's new goalkeeper Petr Cech to claim a surprise 2-0 victory at the Emirates and bring the Gunners' early Premier League optimism down to earth with a bump on Sunday.
Australia's Sally Pearson completed one of the great sporting comebacks when she overcame two years of injury agony to win the world 100 metres hurdles title at the age of 30.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Athletes to watch at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games:
'Saina and Sindhu are top contenders, but they will have to beat players who are playing solid badminton at this juncture.'
Jelena Ostapenko became only the sixth female Grand Slam champion to lose in the opening round of their title defence on Sunday when she lost to Kateryna Kozlova at the French Open.
Sports psychologist Steve Peters has been called on to give England renewed hope at the soccer World Cup having worked wonders for Britain's cyclists at the Olympics and helped Liverpool's Premier League title challenge.
Together, they controlled nearly Rs 26 lakh crore of assets at the end of FY16.
Check out how Google's flagship phablet, the Nexus 6, will take on Apple and Samsung
Over 15 years, with seven per cent growth, the Indian economy will be three times bigger.
While the Los Angeles Lakers have made a better start to this season than many had expected in the absence of Kobe Bryant, there is no question that their 15-time All-Star shooting guard has been sorely missed.
'Make no mistake, depriving water deliberately to a nation of 190 million people is a repugnant idea.' 'The world community won't forgive us.'
The company brings its global campaign to India, looks for trust and a way to grow its business in the country
The withdrawal right is hemmed by many conditions.
India's Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea entered the Sydney International final after a straight sets win over Thomaz Bellucci and Leonardo Mayer, on Friday.
