Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka led by example and smashed a belligerent hundred to set up a 49-run victory over a depleted Australia.
Between 2014 and 2019, he scored 21 centuries in just 55 Tests. Among these were seven double centuries, the most by an Indian in Test cricket. Remarkably, six of those double tons came within a span of just 22 Tests.
Australian opener Matthew Short suffered an injury while fielding but he returned to open the batting and Smith said he could take a few days to recover.
Virat Kohli's refusal to make changes in his batting to overcome a weakness outside the off-stump has seen his average drop from the 50s to 48.13, says former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar.
Former all-rounder Shane Watson has advised the Australian team to avoid getting into confrontations with Virat Kohli in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Following David Warner's retirement from Tests, Steve Smith opened the batting for Australia in series against West Indies and New Zealand.
Australia and South Africa, two teams renowned for their batting prowess, will go head-to-head in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, aiming to secure a place in the Champions Trophy semifinals.
Virat Kohli may have stepped away from Test cricket, but he leaves behind a faster, leaner, hungrier Indian team.
An injury concern looms over Australian skipper Pat Cummins ahead of next month's Champions Trophy with the pacer set to undergo a scan
Harry Brook matched the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's career-high of 898 rating points in the ICC Test batting rankings.
Australia bowled out Sri Lanka for 231 in the hosts' second innings and then chased down the target of 75 losing the lone wicket of opener Travis Head.
Australia's Usman Khawaja struck a maiden double hundred and Josh Inglis got a century on his Test debut against Sri Lanka to power the tourists to a mammoth 654/6.
Matt Renshaw feels he figures way down in the Australian selection pecking order for the opener's slot.
Australia must avoid defeat in Melbourne to keep their hopes alive of taking back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Despite the challenging build-up, Gambhir said he is "extremely confident" of retaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The players will hope to be as confident as they prepare for the fight to keep their World Test Final chances alive.
Travis Head played down concerns over his fitness after appearing to struggle with a potential groin issue
Spin twins Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon combined to dismantle Sri Lanka and bowl Australia to a crushing victory by an innings and 242 runs in the opening Test in Galle on Saturday.
Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan believes India has a strong chance to win the Champions Trophy despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.
Seasoned Australian batter Steve Smith has spoken glowingly of Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, calling the Indian arguably the best fast bowler across formats.
'I don't think it's deserved. I think he'll be able to work through that. It's a new challenge for him, a new position.'
India's Abhishek Sharma has surged to the second spot in the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batters after a stunning 135-run innings in the fifth and final T20I against England.
Australia's Champions Trophy roster will have a different look to the peerless squad that took a record-extending sixth World Cup title at the 2023 tournament in India.
Allowing India to play all their matches in Dubai robbed Pakistan of the honour of hosting the final and disrupted the schedule of the knockout matches.
Images from Day 4 of the first Test between Australia and India in Perth on Monday.
Former skipper Ricky Ponting predicted that the Baggy Greens will dominate the Rohit Sharma-led side in the five-match series.
Josh Inglis smashed a maiden ODI century (120 not out) to lead Australia to a thrilling five-wicket victory over England in a high-scoring Champions Trophy match.
The biggest positives with the bat in Perth were Virat Kohli regaining his rhythm and Jaiswal's coming of age hundred in his debut Test in Australia. Both will look to build on those significant gains in Adelaide.
Konstas heads home but not out of Test team's plans
Shamar Joseph dismissed the formidable Steve Smith with his very first delivery in Test cricket.
A superb maiden ODI century by new captain Harry Brook led England to a dominant, rain-shortened DLS victory over Australia on Tuesday to keep the five-match series alive with two to play.
As the battle for semi-final berths intensifies in Group B, top-ranked South Africa will aim to assert their dominance and secure a spot in the final four when they face a struggling England in a high-stakes Champions Trophy clash in Karachi on Saturday.
Nathan McSweeney, who opened in the first three Tests with little success, has been dropped.
Bumrah now has 36 wickets on Australian soil, and the batter he's dismissed most times is his opposite number Pat Cummins (6).
As he closes the most revered chapter of his career, here are some of his best Test knocks:
England skipper Jos Buttler expressed delight in Ben Duckett's record-breaking knock even as he hailed Australia for chasing down a massive total of 352 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match in Lahore on Saturday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's run out will be huge in the broader context of the fourth Test match against India as it also affected Virat Kohli's concentration
Jasprit Bumrah has reached an impressive milestone in the ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings, sitting at 904 rating points
McSweeney will make his Test debut in the series opener in Perth next week, the 25-year-old given the chance to make the role his own following Warner's retirement earlier this year.
Cummins had no qualms in admitting that his team was thoroughly outplayed in the series opener but he promised to bounce back in Adelaide
Images from Day 5 in the fourth Test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
