Australia have named the unchanged 12-man squad for the second Test of the three-match series against Pakistan beginning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Boxing Day. The Steve Smith-led side are going with the same side that clinched a nail-biting 39-run win after Pakistan's epic run chase in the opening day and night Test at the Gabba, cricket.com.au reported.
New Zealand thrashed Australia by 53 runs in the first T20I to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Ponting, who coached Delhi Capitals in the currently-suspended Indian Premier League, said one of the reasons for Australia not having a good finisher was that all of the best batsmen of the country bat in top four in Big Bash League.
Skipper S Badrinath led from the front with an unbeaten 83 as India 'A' ambled to a six-wicket win with 10 overs to spare against the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) in the ongoing Emerging Players tournament in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Cameron Green suffered a mild concussion after being hit on the head by a shot from Jasprit Bumrah
Australian captain Aaron Finch said his team "needed a bit of luck" to get the better of South Africa in their ICC T20 World Cup opener here on Saturday.
Opener Joe Burns, wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, spinner Aston Agar, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and the pace duo of James Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile were selected to the senior team for the ODI series against England and Ireland later this month by virtue of their fine performances in the ongoing Australia 'A' team's tour of India.
England wilted under pressure as Australia edged home by five runs in a low-scoring thriller in Adelaide on Sunday to win the five-match series 4-1.
Australia's selectors have responded to the threat of a first ever Test series sweep on home soil by dropping five players from their squad for the third match against South Africa, which begins in Adelaide on Thursday. Joe Burns, Adam Voges and Callum Ferguson, as well as wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, paid the price for a string of batting collapses, while seamer Joe Mennie was also axed after the innings defeat in the second Test in Hobart.
Images from Day 3 of the third Test between India and Australia in Ranchi on Saturday.
It would be interesting to see who India leave out to play Rohit Sharma
India captain Virat Kohli held on to his second position while stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane broke into the top 10 after gaining five places in the latest ICC men's Test batting ranking released on Thursday.
Paine was given out purely based on a Snicko spike as there was no mark on Hot Spot, which is the correct protocol.
India 'A' bowlers were largely ineffective, allowing Steve Smith and senior batsman Shaun Marsh to strike comfortable hundreds as Australia started their Test tour in impressive fashion in the three-day warm-up game in Mumbai on Friday.
The humiliation in Adelaide has opened up 'serious wounds' for India and Australia now have a good chance of inflicting on the visitors a whitewash in the four-Test series, reckons former captain Ricky Ponting.
Josh Hazlewood took five for eight as Australia romped to an emphatic victory by eight wickets inside three days in the first Test at Adelaide Oval on Saturday after skittling India for 36, their lowest innings score in 88 years of Test cricket.
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.
The Australians, led by Steve Smith, arrived in Chennai from Bangladesh after drawing a two-Test series and the match tomorrow would give them opportunity to at least switch to the One-day format.
As has been the case all season long, Captain Pandya led from the front and really matured following his first stint in a leadership role -- a shadow of the old arrogant, flamboyant, playboy of yesteryear who haS now joined an exclusive club of 5 time IPL Winners, Shailesh Karkera.
The squad also sees the return of proven Test and one-day bowler James Pattinson, who joined Australia A in India after recovering from a string of injuries
'He is a really exciting talent and probably the guy I am looking forward to seeing the most this summer. I have seen the Aussies a lot and I have seen a lot of the Kiwis, but I am really excited to see him'
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.
Marnus Labuschagne rode his luck to a home-ground century as Australia exploited India's injury woes and punished their poor fielding to reach 274 for five at the close of a steamy opening day of the series-deciding fourth and final Test, in Brisbane, on Friday.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between Sri Lanka and Australia, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Monday.
Images from Day 2 of the third Test between Australia and India, at the SCG, on Friday.
Australia were 133 for six at stumps on Day 3 of the second Test against India in their second innings, a lead of two runs, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Gavaskar was impressed with Rahane's field placements
Mathew Wade applauds India's bowling effort that restricted Australia to just 300 runs and says Australia hoping to extract help from cracks in pitch
Steve Smith stayed top with 937 rating points, an incredible effort since he started the series in fourth position with 857 points before his surge that came courtesy 774 runs in four Tests.
Smith's tally of 774 runs from seven innings with a Bradmanesque 110-plus average in a bowler-dominated series illustrates how he single-handedly carried Australia's run-scoring burden.
India pace bowler Mohammed Shami's participation in the remainder of the Test series against Australia was thrown into doubt on Saturday, with captain Virat Kohli revealing that he is unable to even lift his hands.
'It's going to be different. It's a lot different wicket with the pink ball than Melbourne, so it is going to be a fresh start for both batters and bowlers.'
How do the Aussie and Indian cricketers compare? Rajneesh Gupta presents all the career numbers.
Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood received his reward for some fine domestic form on Wednesday when he was included in a pace-heavy 13-man squad for the first two One-Day Internationals against South Africa next month.
The India skipper believes that Hardik Pandya can become a bankable player for the team in years to come.
Pace bowler Mitchell Starc's patchy form is among the few worries for a rampaging Australia in the ongoing ODI series against India but skipper Aaron Finch on Tuesday threw his weight behind the seasoned campaigner, saying there is no need to panic just yet.
Here are different scenarios depending on how the series pans out
Stopping a resurgent Australia would not be easy but a confident India would look to end the series on a high when they compete in the fifth and final ODI match, in Nagpur, on Sunday.
It's not all doom and gloom for Australia because they have got an amazing squad and I do believe for the first time that they do have a team that can win this ICC Men's T20 World Cup, says Brett Lee.
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