Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
Expect nothing less than hostility, fire and close contests as Ben Stokes' England come armed with their Bazball philosophy to try and get the better of a depleted Australia.
Former England pacer Stuart Broad on Tuesday spiced up the leadup to the Ashes series, starting in Perth on November 21, claiming that the battle is between "the worst Australian team since 2010" and the "best England team since 2010".
With Jasprit Bumrah crafting chances by the dozen, a spate of dropped sitters, including three by Yashasvi Jaiswal, handed England a lifeline and drew scathing remarks from Stuart Broad and Sunil Gavaskar.
England have not won an Ashes Test match in Australia for nearly 15 years but their batting firepower could prove decisive in the series starting in Perth next month, according to former captain Alastair Cook.
Dinesh Karthik and ex-England pace bowling stalwart Stuart Broad weighed in on the fate of the third Test at Lord's, with all possible results still on the cards.
Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most runs by an Indian in England. Virat Kohli holds the record for most wins by an Indian captain in England.
Following criticism from India captain Shubman Gill and former England pacer Stuart Broad, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will collect as many used balls as possible and return them to the company that manufactures Dukes balls by the end of the week.
Ganguly said he would have preferred Arshdeep over Prasidh Krishna.
Broad witnessed Gill's batting prowess and rich vein of form, but he didn't hold back from praising the 25-year-old, who continues to prove himself as a captain players would want to play for.
'The way Abhishek and Shubman bat, it is like fire and ice.'
As England and India gear up for the final showdown in the five-match series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, former England speedster Stuart Broad feels the hosts should make some changes to their Playing XI and rest tearaway Jofra Archer.
With South Africa's seam attack featuring Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Marco Jansen and Australia having Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and the ever-dependable Josh Hazlewood in their lineup, the battle between the two sides' fast bowlers is likely to be critical in determining the outcome of the World Test Championship final, as per ICC website.
While former Australian opener Matthew Hayden reckons series will go India's way, two former India players believe otherwise.
Former captain Nasser Hussain criticised the slow over rate in the third Test between India and England at Lord's.
'...he's not shown any obvious signs of dismissal and he's played stylishly.'
Joe Root has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings after his stellar efforts helped England secure a 22-run victory over India at Lord's, according to the official website of the ICC.
Drugs ban gives Rabada extra motivation for WTC final, says the Proteas captain
'It's also a great opportunity for myself and it's good to pass on a little bit of knowledge to the younger guys who haven't played as much Test cricket. And I am also learning from them.'
Images from Day 5 of the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval, London, on Monday.
As England and India gear up for the final Test of the fiercely fought five-match series starting at The Oval on Thursday, a number of individuals on either side will be on the cusp of major individual milestones.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the cornerstone of the Indian batting line-up in Tests, featuring in 103 matches in which he scored 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60, with 19 centuries.
'I think it have seen the side-ons (bowlers) but he delivers the ball from about a foot or even a bit more closer to the batsman than the average bowler so the ball feels quicker even than the pace he is actually bowling at.'
'There is a lot of inspiration we can draw from in the brand of cricket we have played in the last three or four years.'
Markram hopes a run of sporting trophy droughts broken in 2025 rings true at the World Test Championship 2025 Final, with the Proteas taking on defending champions Australia from June 11.
India's new Test captain Shubman Gill is a mix of his predecessors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but he will be 'very much his own man' in the middle, said Jos Buttler.
On the podcast, Shastri named Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli in his top five.
'The players can criticise my cricket ball. Can I criticise them for the bad shot or the bad ball? Long hop. You know what I mean? You've got to be sensible.'
Can Shubman Gill and his men rewrite the script once more? The answer begins unrolling on July 23.
India's mind games played a pivotal role in the dismissal of Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Test between England and India at Headingley in Leeds on Friday
Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and spinner Nathan Lyon made history on Friday as they became the first bowling quartet in Test history to take 500 Test wickets while playing together.
Stuart Broad finished on a high as he claimed the final two Australian wickets to bowl England to a series-levelling 49-run victory in the final Ashes Test.
England tested him like no other place - from exposing his raw edges in 2014 to witnessing his peak in 2018, and finally revealing his human side in 2021.
Kohli follows Rohit into retirement: Can Next Gen stars emulate India's batting luminaries?
With the emergence of their battery of fast bowlers, India have turned the tide at Lord's with two of their victories coming from their last three Tests -- in 2014 and 2021.
The young left-arm pacer held his nerve in a tense finish to bowl RCB to a narrow two-run victory in a high-scoring game.
Kohli's farewell came during a turbulent Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, a place once synonymous with his rise.
The other Indian bowlers who have taken 300 Test wickets or more include Anil Kumble (619), R Ashwin (524), Kapil Dev (434), Harbhajan Singh (417), Ishant Sharma (311) and Zaheer Khan (311).
He overtook Australian spinner Nathan Lyon to become the seventh highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
