Rajneesh Gupta takes a look at India's record in Australia and also highlights the top individual performances Down Under.
Indian batting mainstay Rahul Dravid didn't turn up for the net practice at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), on Saturday, but the side's media manager insisted that he is fine and only wanted to take a break ahead the first Test against Australia beginning on Monday.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be sincerely hoping for the lady luck to smile on him when he walks with his Australian counterpart Michael Clarke for the toss on the opening day of the first cricket Test, in Melbourne, on December 26.
England resumed their first innings on 491 for nine but Cook was unable to add to his overnight total, with Pat Cummins dismissing tail-ender James Anderson for a duck with the first ball of the morning.
ICC shared impressive television broadcast, digital audience and attendance numbers from the tournament on Thursday, which it said have set 'new benchmarks'. According to ICC estimates, 70% of the game's billion-plus fans want to see more women's cricket, which resulted in 1.1 billion video views for the tournament in Australia.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard slotted a first-half goal and Iago Aspas a second in injury-time to secure a 2-0 win over Melbourne Victory but Luis Suarez hogged the limelight at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
New Zealand's left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori has said that he will hang his boots after the World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
A lifeless MCG pitch received a 'poor' rating from the governing International Cricket Council in 2017
Local newspapers pulled no punches after Australia's 'worst cricketing day for 100 years'. England bowled the hosts out for 98 in front of 84,000 fans at the MCG and then scored 157 without loss on the opening day of the fourth Ashes Test.
Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke lamented another top order batting collapse that sent the hosts crashing to a record low first innings on day one of the fourth Ashes Test against England in Melbourne on Sunday.
Australia's phoenix-like rise from Ashes oblivion at Perth teased a grateful nation with the smell of English blood and will draw a big crowd to Melbourne's sporting coliseum when the fourth Test starts on Sunday.
Allegations of pitch doctoring to favour Australia's attack for the fourth Ashes Test against England have been 'funny to read', the Melbourne Cricket Ground's head groundsman said on Thursday. Head groundsman Cameron Hodgkins implied the track for the Test, starting on December 26, would prove far less unpredictable than that at Perth's WACA ground, where England's batsmen were skittled for 187 and 123.
Peter Siddle has been brought into Australia's squad while uncapped fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been called into the New Zealand squad.
Johnny Bairstow scored England's first century of the series as the tourists staged a fightback after a torrid start to the third day of the fourth Ashes Test on Friday, but Australia remained in command with a lead of 158 at the close of play.
The men's T20 World Cup is slated to begin with the pre-qualifiers from October 18-23 followed by the main 12-team competition from October 24. Cricket Australia is planning to host the men's T20 World Cup as per schedule
These and many more stunning photographs are encapsulated in this weekly, striking photo feature put together by Rediiff.com.
Formula One race in Melbourne will proceed as planned this week and there is 'no chance' fans will be excluded because of coronavirus fears
Australia will be without fast bowler Mitchell Starc for Saturday's final one-day international against South Africa after he was given permission to leave the tour to watch his wife Alyssa Healy compete in the women's T20 World Cup final. Healy will feature for Australia against India in the decider of the global T20 competition at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, and will be able to count on the support of Starc.
Australia defeated West Indies by a massive 177 runs to win the second Test match in Melbourne and claim the series 2-0.
Steve Waugh feels Kohli is now much more in control as a player and would be keen to lead the team to a series win abroad.
Shane Watson blazed a magnificent 161 not out, and clubbed a six to win the game, as Australia scored 297 for four to beat England by six wickets in their first One-Day International on Sunday.
Australia have named left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty ahead of off-spinner Nathan Hauritz in the team for the first of seven One-Day Internationals against England.
Australia squared the two-match Twenty20 series against England on Friday, by beating the visitors by four runs in the second Twenty20 international that was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
When defending champions Australia compete in the Women's Twenty20 World Cup final in Melbourne on Sunday, they will earn the same as their male counterparts would - in stark contrast to their rivals, India. In cricket-mad India, male players are revered as gods, paid handsomely and showered with lucrative endorsement deals, from watches and shoes to snacks, headphones and even toothbrushes. The women barely get a look-in.
Australia named paceman Brett Lee and batsman David Hussey in a 14-man squad for the first of seven one-day internationals against England, brightening their chances of making the cut for next month's World Cup.
Rohit made a return to the Indian team for the Pink Test to be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground
1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev was also named in the team as the lone all-rounder, but the retired Sourav Ganguly failed to make the grade.
Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott believes that the Andrew Strauss-led England team's supremacy in Test cricket can last for years.
Meg Lanning's Australia, long the benchmark in women's cricket, will bid for a record-extending fifth T20 World Cup title after a rocky ride to their sixth final. Harmanpreet Kaur-captained India arrive at the MCG undefeated and without having bowled a ball in the rained-out semi-final against England.
Australia's captain Ricky Ponting, who injured the little finger on his left hand when attempting a catch in the third Test in Perth, practised against a bowling machine indoors then went outside to face a raft of different bowlers on a sunny morning in Melbourne on Friday.
Check out the 10 Best pictures of fans in week one of the 2015 ICC World Cup
Brett Lee offered his perspective on what the tournament means for women's cricket.
Photos from Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test match between Australia and Pakistan, played at the MCG on Tuesday
Australia's fielders spilled a few chances offered by Ajinkya Rahane as India took a 82-run lead by the end of Day 2 in the second Test.
Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc described Virat Kohli as a 'fantastic captain', having shared the dressing room with the India captain while representing Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
Thousands of cricket fans have flocked to Federation Square in Melbourne to celebrate Australia's cricket World Cup victory.
- 'It's always our goal to take 20 wickets' - 'It backfired at the Gabba with them trying to get stuck into us and Mitch fired back'
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was forced to cut short his training session in the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets after being hit on the helmet by a bouncer on Tuesday, three days before the start of the third Test against India.
'This modern-day recovery, matchups, data, sports science, I'm not sure. I would've said just let me be.'
Following is a fact file on the first Test match between Australia and India in Adelaide and how the teams have performed at the Adelaide Oval over the years:
