Having gone down swinging in an enthralling Adelaide Test, Australia barely have time to pick themselves up off the canvas before another potentially bruising contest against a confident India in Perth.
Jasprit Bumrah embodies the qualities of pace legends such as Dennis Lillee, Andy Roberts and Richard Hadlee
Questions are mounting on when the 37-year-old India captain will finally call time on his Test career.
The 19-year-old from Mumbai, wearing a protective brace on his left ankle, was seen jogging around the Adelaide Oval before the start of the fifth and final day of the first Test.
'Shami has been India's best bowler for a while. He may not get the amount of wickets Jasprit Bumrah gets, but he's the full package and is more consistent than the rest.'
The second India-Australia Test begins on Friday at the new Perth Stadium, which has succeeded the WACA as the city's premier venue for internationals, and which has a drop-in pitch.
Mohammed Siraj's hot temper has become a topic of discussion but Australian quick Josh Hazlewood says the Indian pacer is a 'good character' who fires up the crowd.
Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs.
In response, the visitors were 51/4 on a rain-hit third day with questions being raised about batters' technique and the quality of bowling, save for Bumrah.
Pat Cummins defends team behaviour, terms Travis Head 'a big boy' who can speak for himself
Rishabh Pant scored a watchful 98-ball 40 in India's 185 all out on the opening day in Sydney.
Smith has rarely, if ever, doubted his own talent but even he was aware that his spell at the top of the order was proving unpopular.
Rahul will come in place of Baba Indrajith, who scored 9 and 6 and didn't look comfortable at all against pace and bounce, which wasn't exactly 125 clicks.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur backed the Indian women's team to regain confidence in home conditions during the three-match T20I series against the West Indies.
Former Australia opener David Warner on Tuesday said he is willing to come out of retirement and play against India in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, if the home team needs him in the opening slot.
Australia's Steve Smith wants to adopt a proactive approach against Ravichandran Ashwin in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Selectors will likely opt for another batter to cover for all-rounder Green in the India series and possibly an opener if Steve Smith is restored to the number four spot.
'It'll be very much a battle again between the very good pace bowling attacks of both sides and how well the top order players of both sides can deal with the ball that will bounce, seam and probably swing a little bit more in the day-night game in Adelaide.'
Indian batters, with the exception of Yashasvi Jaiswal (84), faltered yet again to lose the match by 184 runs and trail 1-2 in the five-match series.
Virat Kohli's side are determined to keep the momentum rolling into the second clash in Perth and inch closer to a breakthrough series triumph Down Under.
Two Indian brothers were murdered allegedly by a compatriot after a dispute over money in the western Australian city of Perth on Friday. The brothers, one aged 20 and the other 19, died after being grievously injured in a fight over money and living arrangements at a rented Crimea Street unit in Morley area, where they were believed to have been staying with two others, 'Perth Now reported.
both Kohli and Rohit have struggled to find their best form, attracting scrutiny following India's recent 0-3 series loss against New Zealand.
Michael Hussey backed star India batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and said that one cannot write off champion players like them.
For Shastri, India's recent successes in Test cricket have often been defined by the stubbornness and resilience of the tail-enders.
'I am pretty happy that Puj (Pujara) isn't here.'
With Kohli and Rohit misfiring, the pressure has mounted on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and India's middle order to put the kind of scores on the board their bowlers can defend.
Former all-rounder Shane Watson has advised the Australian team to avoid getting into confrontations with Virat Kohli in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Lyon is just 34 wickets away from surpassing Glenn McGrath to become Australia's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald believes the absence of Mohammed Shami during the marquee Border Gavaskar Trophy next month is a huge loss for India.
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar says his career took flight following the Test innings of 114 on a bouncy WACA track in 1992 against a hostile Australian attack in Perth.
Australia's last series win against India came in 2014-15, and they haven't tasted victory on Indian soil since 2004-05.
Australia captain Pat Cummins is expecting the upcoming series against India to be a survival of the fittest.
'He is someone who has had a big influence on a couple of series. Got to try to keep him quiet.'
Virat Kohli and Steve Smith have indulged in fiery on field exchanges early in their careers but their relationship has evolved in recent times.
Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne described wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as the most "amusing" player in the Indian team, ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series between the fierce rivals.
Images from the third Ashes Test between England and Australia at Perth.
Australian quick Josh Hazlewood expressed that India's rare series whitewash at home to New Zealand could "awaken a sleeping giant" as they prepare to take on the ICC World Test Championship table-toppers in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from November 22 onwards.
With the series locked at 1-1, Brisbane could well decide the course of the rubber and whether Rohit's men would continue to be the master of their fate in the ongoing World Test Championship.
The youngsters in the side couldn't have got a better mentor than 'King' Kohli himself to guide them with his words of wisdom.
Australia's board had hoped the 60,000-seat venue in Burswood would be ready to host the third Ashes Test between the sides from December 14-18 but construction delays ruled that out, with Perth's traditional WACA ground staging it instead.
