Rashid Khan took three wickets as Afghanistan inched closer to victory against Bangladesh on the fourth day, in the one-off Test.
Australia will start favourites in Thursday's clash but a passionate Bangladesh are expected to make life tough for the holders.
Joe Root smashed an unbeaten century to steer England to a convincing eight-wicket against Bangladesh in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy in London, on Thursday.
Mayank Agarwal, who struck a double century in the first Test against Bangladesh in Indore, jumped one place to 10th with 700 points.
A dominant India cruised into the final with three convincing victories in a row, but Bangladesh will also be high on confidence following their thrilling victory against Sri Lanka in their last league match.
Rahim said the 'last two weeks were the most difficult' in his 15-year career.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and Bangladesh, in Indore.
The teams are ready to battle it out and with no established name figuring in India's bowling department
A place in the final at stake, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would expect their batsmen to fire as they lock horns in a virtual semi-final of the Nidahas Twenty20 tri-series, in Colombo, on Friday.
Australia's Steve Smith is back on top of the list of batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after India captain Virat Kohli could manage only 21 runs in his two innings in the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington, which his side lost by 10 wickets to concede a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. This is the eighth time that Smith is on top of the rankings after first occupying the top position in June 2015.
Tamim came out to bat after despite his injury in the opening match, against Sri Lanka in the opening match on Saturday.
With captain Mushfiqur Rahim nursing a sprained finger, young Litton Das is likely to be Bangladesh's wicketkeeper in the one off-Test against India, starting on Wednesday.
Australia must address their tendency to collapse before this year's Ashes series against England, skipper Steve Smith said after his team levelled their two-Test series against Bangladesh on Thursday.
David Warner made 88 not out and featured in two significant partnerships to lead Australia's robust reply to Bangladesh's first-innings total of 305 in the second and final Test on Tuesday.
Earlier, Nathan Lyon kept Australia in the contest, claiming six for 82 to help bowl out Bangladesh for 221 after the hosts had resumed on 45 for one.
India would be aiming to ensure that a plucky Bangladesh don't run away with the momentum when the two sides clash in the second T20 International, which is facing a cyclonic threat, in Rajkot, on Thursday.
Virat Kohli is considered a dangerous batsman by most teams around the world but captaincy can make him even more lethal, something opposition captain Mushfiqur Rahim fears. Asked about Mushfiqur's comments, the Indian captain did not have much to say.
Dhoni holds the record of winning most matches in all 3 formats -- the first Indian and also the first among current captains from all sides.
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat on a flat wicket, setting their hosts a below-par 279 to win. South Africa reached 282 without the loss of a wicket and with 43 balls to spare.
The Bangladesh cricket team's injury problems were compounded after senior pacer Mashrafe Mortaza was ruled out of the remainder of the Asia Cup due to a side strain.
India's Kedar Jadhav had six career wickets in one day internationals before Thursday's Champions Trophy semi-final against Bangladesh but it was his very occasional off-spin proved to be decisive in his team's win.
Mominul Haque's fine knock of 181 took Bangladesh close to New Zealand's first-innings total of 469 on the third day of the first Test in Chittagong on Friday.
Nathan Lyon claimed six for 60 to bowl Australia to an emphatic series-equalling seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the second and final Test on Thursday.
A dominant India remained in pursuit of a comprehensive victory after Bangladesh finished the penultimate day at a precarious 103 for three, chasing a mammoth target of 459 in the one-off Test in Hyderabad.
The visitors were 66 for three in their second innings at the end of the fourth day's play, with an overall lead of 122 runs.
Dale Steyn became the second South African bowler to join the 400 club as his team took five wickets in the final session to reduce Bangladesh to 246 for eight on the first day of the second Test in Mirpur on Thursday.
Six out of the 10 days in the entire series were thus lost to rain, questioning the logic behind scheduling the tour during monsoon season
Bangladesh all-rounder Sohag Gazi became the first cricketer to score a century and record a hat-trick in the same Test on Sunday but could not prevent the first Test against New Zealand ending in a draw in Chittagong.
Here is a look at all the drama and excitement from Edgbaston on Thursday.
Tamim Iqbal became his country's top run-scorer in one-day cricket as Bangladesh beat New Zealand by 40 runs in the second ODI to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, in Dhaka, on Thursday night.
Playing their 100th Test, Bangladesh, were bowled out for 467 in the final session, leading Sri Lanka by 129 runs, after the 21-year-old Mosaddek became the final wicket to fall for 75.
While their limited-overs side have already savoured victories over the world's top sides, Bangladesh cricket hopes their narrow defeat to England over five days in Chittagong will be a watershed moment for the Test team. Bangladesh sent England crashing out of the 50-over World Cup and entered the quarter-finals for the first time last year, and scored one-day international victories over India, Pakistan and South Africa during a run of six series wins at home.
Umesh Yadav struck three times as India took less than an hour on day three to complete formalities and bulldoze Bangladesh by an innings and 46 runs in the second and final Test for a 2-0 series sweep.
England's Chris Woakes hit a six off Shafiul Islam to seal a series-clinching four-wicket victory in the third and final one-day international against Bangladesh on Wednesday. Sam Billings justified his selection with his maiden fifty and Ben Duckett registered his second half-century of the series but it was Ben Stokes' unbeaten 47 off 48 balls that helped England pull off a tricky 278-run chase with 13 balls to spare. Put into bat in Chittagong, Bangladesh had posted a strong 277-6 on the back of a string of top order cameos and Mushfiqur Rahim's unbeaten 67 down the order.
Having recorded an improbable victory after defending the lowest-ever score in the history of the game, a confident Indian team would look to go for the kill by completing a 3-0 rout when it meets an out-of-sync Bangladesh in the final one-dayer in Mirpur on Thursday.
Bangladesh mounted a spirited chase in pursuit of a 382-run victory target but finished on 333-8 to succumb to their third defeat in six matches.
Even though West Indies stars such as Chris Gayle and Andre Russell were not part of that series, Jason Holder's team still must be smarting from those three consecutive losses last month.
As well as hefty pay increases, players in the cricket-mad Asian country demanded a return to a franchise-based model in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and the resignation of the present committee of the country's Cricketers Welfare Association.
Opener Kaushal Silva lived a charmed life on his way to a maiden Test century as Sri Lanka put Bangladesh to the sword with a big first-innings total in the opening Test in Dhaka on Tuesday. At the close of play on the second day, Sri Lanka were 375 for five, a lead of 143 runs.
Mohammad Hafeez led Pakistan's strong reply with his third hundred in as many Tests after Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for 27 runs on the second day of the opening Test at Khulna on Wednesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances