Scott Boland will step up and uncapped Brendan Doggett is tipped for a high-stakes debut to try to shore up the loss of a combined 604 Test wickets of experience.
On Friday, in the second T20I against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Suryakumar Yadav lost yet another toss as Mitchell Marsh called correctly and opted to bowl first.
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
Mark Chapman scored 132 and Daryl Mitchell 76 in a 199-run partnership as New Zealand amassed 344 for 9 and went on to beat Pakistan by 73 runs in the first One-Day International at Napier on Saturday.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood has brushed off worries about Australia's ageing attack for the Ashes, saying he personally feels as good as he has in a long time and that the unit's experience of bowling together is a major advantage for the team.
Players including Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, and Alyssa Healy highlighted the controversy in a playful, teasing manner.
Kyle Jamieson, who had defended 16 in the previous game, once again rose to the occasion, keeping his composure in the final over to seal victory for the hosts.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
The Indian team's heavy reliance on all-rounders will be tested by a plucky Australia in the second ODI but the spotlight will continue to stay firmly on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both of whom would look to turn back the clock with series-saving knocks in Adelaide on Thursday.
India's spinners took six wickets in a stunning fight back to rout Australia by 48 runs in the fourth T20I on the Gold Coast on Thursday.
Australia captain Pat Cummins is back bowling multiple overs on a reduced run-up and has targeted returning to the team for the second Ashes Test against England, a day-nighter in Brisbane starting on December 4.
Australia held their nerve in a tense chase, edging past India by two wickets to seal the series 2-0 despite a late fightback from the visitors on Thursday in Adelaide.
Noman collected a 10-wicket haul during Pakistan's 93-run triumph over South Africa in Lahore recently and moved up four places.
The Indian team management has not asked for a rank turner for the opening Test of the two-match series against South Africa beginning at the Eden Gardens on Friday, Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly said on Monday.
Australia's selectors chairman George Bailey defended sticking with the Test side's veteran core for the Ashes on Wednesday following criticism from former captain Steve Waugh about the team's ageing profile.
Since India last played a bilateral series against Australia in their home territory just before the ODI World Cup in 2023, 'Ro-Ko' have been sensational.
The collapse, India's lowest failed chase at home, has left behind deeper fault lines than a dry Eden Gardens wicket can conceal.
Australia batter Matthew Short believes his team's pacers will continue to exploit Virat Kohli's recent weakness outside off stump when India face Australia in the second ODI, in Adelaide, on Thursday.
KKR, CSK to engage in bidding war in IPL mini-auction with big purse in hand
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
Four-Test-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell was awarded his maiden central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which offered two-year deals to 14 multi-format cricketers, including Test captain Ben Stokes and injury-plagued pacer Jofra Archer.
Australia's stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh continued his fine run of form on Sunday, scoring 46 not out and leading his side to a seven-wicket triumph over India in the weather-affected first one-day international at Perth Stadium.
'He has been benched so many times that he has lost a bit of rhythm.'
Armed with a potent spin attack, taking on South Africa seems like competing against a "subcontinent team", Ten Doeschate said, admitting that they need to get better at negotiating the challenge posed by tweakers.
The grand comeback party of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma endured a quick 22-ball ending, and their lowkey outing reflected in India's seven-wicket defeat against Australia.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
England 'quietly confident' heading into Ashes series, says Wood
Josh Hazlewood clinically dismantled a famed Indian top-order with a probing spell to kill the contest as Australia cantered to a four-wicket victory in the second T20 International.
Arshdeep Singh, who took three wickets for 35 runs in the third T20I against Australia, in Hobart on Sunday, said he's been working on his process, trusting his skills, and executing the plans he practised.
Virat Kohli was dismissed for an eight-ball duck -- the first time he had fallen without scoring in an ODI in Australia.
IMAGES from the fourth T20I between Australia and India played in Carrara, Gold Coast on Thursday
The 32-year-old Cummins would be watching the action unfold from the sidelines due to a back injury.
'He is not changing it anymore and hopefully he sticks to it and plays many more knocks like this for us.'
Top-order batter Daryl Mitchell has declared himself fit to face India in New Zealand's final Champions Trophy group match after missing the win over Bangladesh on Monday because of illness.
The 26 year old rued the dropped catches, which ultimately cost India the match and the series.
England claimed a 1-0 victory in their three-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand after rain curtailed Thursday's final match in Auckland.
Abhishek Sharma finished as the highest run-getter in the rain-hit five-match T20I series, having amassed 163 runs in the series at a strike rate of 161.39.
'It was just put the ball in the right areas, don't try too much and see what happens.'
New Zealand folded for 171 in reply in 18 overs -- all 10 dismissals through catches -- as England grabbed a 1-0 lead heading into the third and final match in Auckland on Thursday.
Rohit Sharma became the seventh Indian to complete 100 catches in One-Day Internationals, while young speedster Harshit Rana went level with decorated spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the record of most wickets for India after a player's first eight ODIs, in the third and last match of the series against Australia, in Sydney, on Saturday.
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