FIXTURES (Start at 14.40 local, 0910 IST, 0340 GMT)
India could field three spinners against Australia in the final.
'Batting into day three gave us that chance to really have a crack at them on day three -- it probably went better than we expected.'
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.
Travis Head struck a belligerent half-century to give Australia the upper hand on day one of the series-opening Test against South Africa after the home side's bowlers dominated on a green Gabba wicket on Saturday.
Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne said there has not been any talk about him opening the batting in the first Test against India but he is ready to bat at that slot if the team management asks him to do so.
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.
Images from Day 3 of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, on Saturday.
Wet outfield caused dashed prospects of victory by either side in Australia's first Test in Pakistan in 24 years.
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'.
The opening match of the series begins in Brisbane on December 8, with Australia playing their first Test since losing to India in January.
Captain Joe Root has already plundered an English record 1,630 Test runs in 2021 and has two half-centuries in the Ashes series so far with 89 in Brisbane and 62 in Adelaide as his side slipped to two heavy defeats.
Labuschagne has regained the No. 1 position after Root overtook him in mid-June with successive centuries against New Zealand.
Apart from Kohli, four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
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.
India have already secured the Border-Gavaskar trophy and they will now be playing for a record-extending 16th straight series win at home
Rohit Sharma's 119 laid the foundation for India's chase
Kohli, who made 0 and 62 in Chennai, stayed in fifth spot among batsmen with 838 points. Kane Williamson (919) of New Zealand retained the top position with Steve Smith (891) of Australia in second spot.
Pat Cummins took a five-wicket haul in a dream start to his Australia captaincy as England were skittled for 147 by tea at the Gabba before rain brought the opening day of the Ashes to an early close.
Australia closed in on a victory that will see them retain the Ashes after ending an incredible second day of the third Test with a lead of 283 runs, having bowled out England for an embarrassing 67 in their first innings.
Australia beat New Zealand by 71 runs in the first one-day international in front of 48,000 empty seats at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday as precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus hit home Down Under. Cricket Australia (CA) said on Friday morning that no fans would be allowed into any of the three matches in the series, which continues at the SCG on Sunday before moving on to Hobart next Friday.
Australia declared their first innings on 556 for nine and then skittled out Pakistan for 148 to seize control of the second Test in Karachi on Monday.
Khawaja and Smith steadied the ship batting through the second session.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney on Monday.
Imam-ul-Haq hit a memorable first Test century on Friday and led Pakistan to a commanding 245-1 in its first home Test against Aus in 24 years
The 6'7" seam-bowling all-rounder's inclusion in Australia's line-up was expected after his impressive hundred in the first warm-up game against India A.
'Let's see what happens tomorrow. The plan is to bowl in one tight channel and build pressure.'
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and India, at the SCG, on Sunday.
'When you don't score runs in India, obviously you will get flak. KL Rahul hasn't been the only one'
The third and deciding one-dayer will be played in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Concerns that senior players would pull out of the tour due to security issues after both England and New Zealand withdrew from tours of Pakistan late last year have proven unfounded.
Australia were all out for 263 on Day 1 of the second Test at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi, February 17, 2023.
Australia opener Marcus Harris was dropped from the Test squad and replaced by Queensland batsman Joe Burns for the upcoming two-match series against Pakistan.
The 34-year-old took the prized wickets of Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam to end Pakistan's resistance and finished with figures of 5-83 in Pakistan's second innings.
Australia dominated with bat, ball and in the field to post their second successive innings victory over Pakistan
Babar Azam (104) hit his second Test century and Mohammad Rizwan 95 to stall Australia's march to victory and once they had departed, Pakistan were soon all out for 335.
Marnus Labuschagne scored a sparkling 185 to help Australia to a commanding lead before the home pace attack struck to leave Pakistan facing a heavy defeat on the third day of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
Sri Lanka fined 40 percent of match fee for slow-over rate in second T20 against Australia
Ahead of the WTC Final next month, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting opened up on India and Australia's chances for the big game.
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne put on 116 for the third wicket before the latter was bowled by a beautiful delivery from Craig Overton for 67.
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