Resurgent Australia stand between unblemished India and World Cup glory
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels the potency of Australia's pace attack in English conditions gives them the edge in next month's World Test Championship final against India, who could be "badly affected" by the absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.
England's batting once again disappointed against Australia on Day 2 of the third Test
Visitors Australia handed India a 21-run defeat in the decider at the MA Chidambaram Stadium to clinch a 2-1 win over the hosts.
They know what it takes to win the 50-over World Cup, having won five of them in 12 editions, but Australia skipper Pat Cummins says they are never "weighed down" by history and will stick to basics against South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday.
Images from Day 1 of the third Ashes Test between England and Australia at Headingley in Leeds on Thursday.
Images from the third ODI between India and Australia in Chennai on Wednesday.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has attained a career-best second position after notching two half-centuries in the final Test series against England in Karachi.
Australia were bowled out for 195 on the opening day of the Test with pacer Jasprit Bumrah and off-spinner R Ashwin sharing seven wickets between them.
Rohit Sharma will certainly leave a gaping hole at the top of the order, something that skipper Virat Kohli wouldn't have fancied at the onset of a gruelling two-month tour.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for the World Cup opener against Australia?
Bumrah removed Australia openers Joe Burns and Matthew Wade for eight runs apiece in quick succession before tea, however, and Ashwin (4-55) drove home the advantage after the break.
Australia took 90 minutes to complete formalities, with Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc sharing five of the last six West Indies wicket.
England's latest version of cricket is set for its biggest test as they face world champions Australia in a bid to reclaim the Ashes.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (919) continued to lead the batting charts, with the Australian duo of Steve Smith (891) and Marnus Labuschagne (878) rounding up the top three.
Australia all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne, who is all set to make his Ashes debut, revealed that he once worked as a Hot Spot camera operator in a Test match against England in 2009, when fast bowler Peter Siddle claimed a hat-trick.
India will be hoping to pull off a miracle on Sunday by surviving Australia's relentless bowling onslaught.
A place in the ICC ODI World Cup final once again eluded the South Africans as they went down to Australia by three wickets.
The skipper is also counting on the likes of part-time spinners Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to pitch in the slow bowling department.
All-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have been excluded from a 25-player squad for an intra-Australia clash that will go a long way to deciding the makeup of Tim Paine's Ashes side.
The legendary Ian Chappell feels Australia's capitulation in the first Test against India has exposed their frailties against spin.
India clinched a comfortable five-wicket win over Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series.
Australia named five uncapped players in a raw tour squad to play Pakistan in a Test series in the United Arab Emirates, while recalling pace veteran Peter Siddle for the first time in two years and dropping middle order batsman Peter Handscomb.
With the return of Smith and Warner, and the presence of the solid Labuschagne, the Australian captain reckons 'we'll be a different kettle of fish'.
Centuries from skipper Babar Azam (114) and opener Imam-ul-Haq (106) allowed the hosts to reach the total
The Hyderabad bowler thanked stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane for 'trusting the youngsters and showing confidence in me.'
The four-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy that promises a lot of twists and turns, engrossing sub-plots and probably career-defining performances.
Langer said Australia are going with the same playing XI for the second Test unless and until something happens over the next few days.
Australia's batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne on Monday said he and his team would be "pretty devastated" if India don't tour Down Under later this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. India's tour of Australia will begin with a T20I tri-series in October and is scheduled to end with a four-match Test series in December. The speculation on the tour is because of the travel restrictions currently in place and the uncertainty surrounding how long it would take to control the pandemic.
The plan was to vary the pace of his deliveries and create angles, since there was not much turn on offer, said all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja after his four-wicket haul enabled India dismiss Australia for 338 on Day 2 of the third Test, in Sydney, on Friday.
The Test batting chart is headed by Australia's Marnus Labuschagne (915 points), followed by England captain Joe Root (900) while New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (879) dislodged Steve Smith (877) from the No. 3 slot.
Scott Boland will become the first indigenous Australian Test player since Jason Gillespie played his last match in 2006 when he receives his baggy green cap on Sunday.
Sridharan Sriram, who played eight ODIs between 2000 and 2004, was part of the Australian coaching set up since 2015.
A lot of focus is on how Australia will cope with the dangerous Ravichandran Ashwin on turning tracks in India.
Giving the 'social challenge' a new twist, the International Cricket Council called Australian batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne a duplicate of his team-mate Steve Smith. ICC used three different photos of Steve Smith indicating different profile pictures for Linkedin, Facebook, and Instagram. However, they replaced his Twitter picture with a duplicate account and used Labuschagne's photo to denote it, terming it as 'duplicate account'.
Images from Day 2 of the second Ashes between England and Australia at Lord's in London on Thursday.
Apart from Kohli, four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
Ravindra Jadeja's performance at India's recent Test win against Sri Lanka in Mohali has catapulted him to the No. 1 position in the MRF Tyres ICC men's Test player rankings.
FIXTURES (Start at 14.40 local, 0910 IST, 0340 GMT)
Images from the second semifinal between Australia and South Africa in the ongoing ICC Men's ODI World Cup at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
