Former Australia captain Steve Waugh says the upcoming four-match rubber is a 'significant chance' for India to win their first Test series Down Under.
India opener Murali Vijay said on Saturday he fancies his chances on the bouncier Australian wickets, which favour his backfoot game.
England captain Alastair Cook says his side accepts their role as favourites as they chase a fourth consecutive Ashes series victory over Australia for the first time in over 100 years.
There was no toss and India were allowed to bowl first. The players and officials, wearing black armbands, observed a minute's silence before the start of the play. India ended the day 99-2
Australia recalled wicketkeeper Tim Paine for the first time in seven years in a selection bombshell while dropping opening batsman Matt Renshaw in a surprising Ashes squad for the series against England.
'I faced Ashwin a couple times in IPL before this, so don't have much experience of playing him in Test cricket. But we have batsmen who can play spin well'
India's batsmen got a much-needed workout ahead of the Test series against Australia, putting up 375 runs in 90 overs, before their two-day tour game against Cricket Australia XI ended in a draw at the Glenelg Oval in Adelaide on Friday.
Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey sparkled with half-centuries but rest of India's batsmen put up a lackluster performance before the bowlers came good to hand the team a 64-run win over a second string Western Australia XI in the warm-up one-day cricket match at the WACA, in Perth, on Saturday.
Former England batsman Graeme Hick and bowling coach Troy Cooley will pit their wits against the tourists when they mentor a Cricket Australia XI in a four-day Ashes tour match in Townsville next month.
The 21-year-old Renshaw has averaged 36.64 from his 10 Tests in a positive start to his international career but has had a tough Shield campaign for Queensland, failing to surpass 20 runs in his four innings.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes was named on Wednesday in a 16-man squad for the Ashes tour to Australia despite being arrested earlier in the week for an altercation outside a Bristol nightclub.
Why New Zealand pulled out of tour match in Sydney on Day 2
'I think it's a great opportunity to do well in any condition. We did well on the last two tours of South Africa and England. We are not even thinking like we have a pressure situation. Instead, we always think that we have an opportunity to do well'
The two were recalled to Australia's team for the 2019 World Cup, starting in England and Wales from May 30.
Australia will play against Sri Lanka in the first T20I at North Sydney Oval on September 29.
Tournament records and personal bests came by the bucketload but Nathan Coulter-Nile fears his West Indies heroics may not be enough to make Australia's next XI.
Prithvi Shaw, on Monday, said he will be fit in time for the 12th season of Indian Premier League.
Polosak, a fixture in men's club matches in Sydney, will take the field with veteran umpire Paul Wilson at Hurstville Oval, where Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc is also expected to feature for the Blues.
The 32-year-old played for England's Academy side in a low-key match against a Western Australia XI in Perth.
Australia appear confused by picking wicketkeeper Tim Paine for the Ashes squad against England as he is not even the first choice selection for his state side, retired leg-spinning great Shane Warne said.
England fast bowler Steven Finn has been ruled out of the Ashes series against Australia after scans showed he has torn his left knee cartilage, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.
Anderson said he would be ready to fill the role of Joe Root's deputy if needed
Ben Stokes' participation in the Ashes would be an "absolute bonus" but England are preparing contingency plans after writing off the all-rounder for the series, coach Trevor Bayliss said.
The Indian cricket team would get into the groove for the short limited-overs series against Australia with a couple of warm-up games against a Western Australia XI at the WACA ground on Friday and Saturday. While the first match tomorrow is slated to be a T20 affair, the second match scheduled the day after will be a 50-over warm-up game against the same opposition. It will certainly not be the first team of Western Australia which is better known as Perth Scorchers, which will be playing in the warm-up games. It will be a second string squad that will take on the Indians.
India started their limited-overs tour of Australia on a positive note, comprehensively beating a second-string Western Australia XI by 74 runs in a Twenty20 warm-up game on Friday with Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan striking fluent half-centuries.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
Coach Trevor Bayliss thinks England left some "scars" on the Australia team during the second Ashes Test and can still enjoy success Down Under despite being 2-0 down with three matches to play.
The Indian team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni got down to business with their first training session in Perth, ahead of the upcoming ODI series. It will be a crucial series for the Men in Blue as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in March-April.
Rahul was the only prominent batsman to miss out on a significant score in India's 358 all out on day two of the four-day tour game in Sydney.
Ashwin said bowling in partnerships will be of paramount importance, especially since India will be missing a fifth bowler in injured Hardik Pandya.
Six of the CA players were making their first class debut, while seven of them were also aged 21 or younger
India's senior batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is expecting a strong showing from Ravichandran Ashwin in the upcoming Test series against Australia.
With the year sprinting to a close, we bring you, in pictures, some of the best action from the sports world.
The mood in the Indian camp was summed up best by the skipper after a green pitch was unveiled on eve of the maiden Test at the new facility.
Former skippers Ian Chappell and Mark Taylor feel next week's first Test between India and Australia in Brisbane should go ahead as it would help the cricketers and the fans to come out and share the mourning of the loss of Phillip Hughes.
But says pressure is on under-performing George Bailey
Should India bolster its batting by including Rohit Sharma at No 6? Pick India's playing XI for the first Test.
Just to clear the air, the first ball of the game, each game, should just be a bouncer, reckons Merv Hughes.
Prithvi Shaw, Jason Sangha and Mujeeb Zadran are among the cricketers whose performances will be watched keenly in the upcoming ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
West Indies have said they are embracing their underdog status for the three-Test series against Australia, which starts in Hobart on Thursday, but the reality is they have very little choice in the matter.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances