Keeping a lid on emotion will be nearly as important as executing gameplans for both India and Australia when the world's top two teams continue their captivating series with the third Test in Ranchi on Thursday.
With the Sydney Cricket Ground reliably Australia's most spin-friendly wicket, the hosts may find it tough going to manufacture a face-saving victory and square the series.
Australia captain Steve Smith on Tuesday apologised for letting his "emotions slip" during the aggressively-contested but lost Test series against India, saying that he was in his "own bubble" at times.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Monday.
Joe Burns will bat at number six when he makes his debut for Australia in the third Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting on Friday. The 25-year-old, regarded as one Australia's most promising young batsmen, replaced injured all-rounder Mitch Marsh in one of two changes to the Australian team that won last week's second Test in Brisbane. Paceman Ryan Harris, who missed the second Test because of a thigh problem, returns at the expense of Mitchell Starc.
India captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli was named skipper of the International Cricket Council's Test and ODI teams of the year, following a remarkable run in 2018.
With the cricket world still mourning the tragic death of Phillip Hughes, the first Test between India and Australia next week was on Saturday put off to an unspecified date and might even be cancelled to pay homage to the young batsman.
Tit-for-tat accusations of cheating and foul play only for it to rise magnificently in the wake of some quality cricket by the bitterest of antagonists.
Denouncing Virat Kohli's comments that the spiteful Test series has ended his friendship with the Australian cricketers, legendary batsman Mark Taylor says the India captain should not hold any grudges since it's just a game in the end.
On a day when the pitch played out easy barring the extra bounce and reverse swing extracted by the Aussie pacers, a determined Pujara held India's innings together.
When Ranchi makes its Test debut, Dhoni will be busy leading his state in the in the domestic one-dayers in Delhi.
- 'Yes, quite happy with a draw' - 'Bowlers did a very good job' - 'We have found ways to trouble ourselves'
Indian team's chief coach Anil Kumble on Tuesday said the riveting series win over Australia has proved that the current side is good enough to extend its home dominance to foreign shores as well.
We asked you, dear readers to send in your congratulatory messages for the Indian team on their success Down Under. Here are your wishes for the team...
Up-and-coming Karnataka batsman Lokesh Rahul and Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Karn Sharma were named in India's 19-man Test squad for the tour of Australia, which was announced after the selection committee of the Board for Control of Cricket in India met in Mumbai on Monday morning. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will miss the opening Test, from December 4, at the Gabba in Brisbane, because of an injury and Virat Kohli will stand in for him.
'Till now it would definitely be a big, big series win, not just for me, but also for the whole team purely because of the fact that this is place where we started our transition to be honest'
'The key for India winning this series will be the batsmen around Kohli.'
Should India play an extra fast bowler in Dharamsala where the pitches suit pacers?
With India and Australia clashing in a winner-takes-all finale to an enthralling series, the picturesque town of Dharamsala in the Himalayan foothills could hardly have asked for a better debut as a Test venue.
A series win in Australia will certainly put Kohli on a higher pedestal even though the quality of the home team's batting line-up suffered adversely due to the bans of former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.
'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'
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
David Warner's 12th Test century and a bittersweet 95 from Chris Rogers put Australia on course for a huge total on an emotional first day in the fourth and final Test against India on Tuesday.
Australia medium-pacer Peter Siddle said his team is keen to put up a fine show in the Sydney Test against India in memory of late Phillip Hughes, who succumbed to a fatal bouncer on this venue five weeks back.
During his patient knock, Pujara faced 250 balls, hitting 16 of them for fours, and added 75 runs for the unbeaten fifth wicket stand with Vihari.
India took giant strides towards winning their first ever series on Australian soil in seven decades by retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a comprehensive 137-run win in the third Test in Melbourne on Sunday.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said Anil Kumble was nearly dropped for their famous tour to Australia in 2003-04 but it was him who fought with the selectors till late in the night to take the legendary leg-spinner on board. According to Ganguly, the selectors were keen for a left-arm spinner Murali Kartik for the tour Down Under but on Ganguly's insistence Kumble was taken as he returned with 24 wickets, the highest in the series with India retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after drawing the series 1-1.
Effusive in his praise for the Indian cricket team, former captain Sunil Gavaskar, on Tuesday, said after dominating at home, Virat Kohli's men now need to produce results in overseas conditions.
It was World No. 1 India's seventh Test series win in a row -- continuing the dominance that started in 2015 with victories against Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, England and Bangladesh.
The former captain's struggling innings of 51 off 96 balls and his failure to rotate the strike in the first ODI has brought to focus the rejigging that captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri will have to fret upon.
Australia's Steve Smith, attributed his success to calmness and the repetitive process of getting ready for on-field battle.
Team India, despite all the hype and expectations, failed to beat Australia even once during the tour. On the contrary, the co-hosts, having already got the measure of their opponents in the Test matches and the tri-series, thrashed them in Sydney, abruptly ending the Men in Blue's World Cup defense. Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com looks at the lighter side of things.
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