It was a last-minute [situation], to transition my mind from not playing to playing, said Ashton Turner, who made the most of his opportunity with a match-winning 84 off 43 balls to help Australia level the five-match ODI series 2-2.
Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat against an Indian side missing their inspirational skipper Virat Kohli through injury in the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala on Saturday.
The former captain added, "So for Australia it's about enjoying it, working together and not looking too far ahead."
The duo has been left out of Australia ODI squad for UAE despite bans ending before tour end
Kedar Jadhav and Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck unbeaten fifties to help India pull off a tricky chase and beat Australia by six wickets in the first One-day international on Saturday.
Australia batsman Usman Khawaja is likely to replace injured Kevin Pietersen in the squad of Rising Pune Supergiants in season 9 of Indian Premier League. Pietersen was ruled out of the IPL on Sunday, leaving the subcontinent with a hole in his calf muscle and in Pune's batting order. If picked, this will be Khawaja's maiden IPL stint. The left-handed top-order batsman had gone unsold at IPL auctions in February despite scoring heavily in Australia's domestic circuit. Pune have not named a replacement for KP, but Khawaja is the one of the frontrunners, according to Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming. "He (Khawaja) is a guy we are surely looking at," Fleming said after the two-wicket loss to Kolkata on Sunday.
Penpix of players in Australia's Ashes squad.
Australian wicket-keeper-batsman Matthew Wade has been ruled of the ongoing Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand.
'Smith needs to show a lot of faith and patience with his spinners and get the field right, with a nice balance of attacking and defending' 'This tour of India has been a big focus for Cricket Australia for some time now and the preparation has been meticulous'
Shakib Al Hasan lit up his 50th test with all-round brilliance to help Bangladesh claim a handy first-innings lead over a listless Australia in the second Test on Monday.
There will be no let-up in intensity as a ruthless India look to inch closer to yet another series whitewash when they take on a beleaguered Australia in the fourth One-day International in Bengalurg, on Thursday.
Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson slammed India captain Virat Kohli, describing his behaviour as 'disrespectful' and 'silly' during the second Test in Perth.
Record first win since 'sandpaper gate'
Factbox on the four-Test series between Australia and India, which begins on Thursday
Aaron Finch's team and its entourage of support staff sat down in a circle on the field, with each member taking turns to talk about the side's run in the tournament
A tumultuous nets session at Old Trafford left one Australian batsman ruled out of the Cricket World Cup and another screaming in pain but coach Justin Langer said the hard training would pay dividends on the field.
Travis Head (61 batting) and Pat Cummins (10) kept Australia in the game with a 50-run partnership in the last session but India walked away with the advantage after the latter fell towards the end of day's play.
Usman Khawaja struck his second century in three matches as Australia thumped India by 35 runs in their final one-dayer to seal a come-from-behind 3-2 series victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, on Wednesday.
Chasing India's 251 to level the five-match series, Australia got off to a strong start before the hosts roared back into the contest with some disciplined bowling.
Vice-captain Warner remains a doubt after hurting his neck when going for a high catch during training at the Gabba on Tuesday, although Australia skipper Steve Smith backed him to be fit and ready for the start of the five-match series.
Kane Richardson will take his place in the 15-man squad for the tour, which starts with two Twenty20 matches later this month and is being used a warm-up for their World Cup title defence in England.
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav revealed how Anil Kumble's advice helped him make the perfect start to Test cricket, in his debut match against Australia in Dharamsala in 2017.
Legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels India missed a fifth bowler in the third Test against Australia which ended in a tame draw, in Ranchi on Monday.
Factbox on the four-Test series between India and Australia, which starts at Pune on Thursday:
'The pitch looked worse than it played'
Back in the mix after one and half years, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha justified the selector's faith by rocking Australia A top-order with three quick wickets as the visitors reached 185 for four against India A at stumps on the second day of the first unofficial cricket Test in Chennai.
'The pitch should have enough for the bowlers to be interested on all days of the Test.'
Australia are confident wicketkeeper Matthew Wade will be fit for the upcoming Test tour of India and have no plans to call up another gloveman as a precaution, according to coach Darren Lehmann.
'I would say (Virat) stick to what you know best. Stick to what has got you so much of success. You can't move away from your success formula. It doesn't matter what others are saying'
Uncapped leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson , 23, joins lead spinner Nathan Lyon and left-arm orthodox Ashton Agar and Steve O'Keefe.
Glenn Maxwell blasted an unbeaten 113 from 55 balls to guide Australia to a seven-wicket win over India that sealed a 2-0 away T20I series victory.
It took him 15 Tests over four tours but James Anderson, England's most prolific Test wicket-taker, finally claimed his first five-wicket haul on Australian soil in the second Ashes Test on Tuesday.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Australia opening batsman Aaron Finch has declared himself fit for the Boxing Day Test against India in Melbourne and said his injured finger would need to be cut off to prevent him from playing in front of his home state's fans.
Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said Darren Lehmann was as surprised as the thousands of spectators in Cape Town's Newlands stadium and millions more watching at home when images on big screens showed Cameron Bancroft brazenly cheating.
Australia captain Steve Smith said his side deliberately tried to tamper with the condition of the ball on the third day of the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday in an orchestrated attempt to gain an advantage.
Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson feels that Indian team will be 'nervous' considering the pacer-friendly conditions of Dharamsala where Steve Smith and his boys should feel more confident.
Finch and Khawaja put on 209, a record opening stand for Australia while chasing in ODIs, bettering Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist's 206 against West Indies in 2001.
India go into the game 0-1 down after Australia registered a 10-wicket win in the lung-opener at Mumbai
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