Ravindra Jadeja's performance at India's recent Test win against Sri Lanka in Mohali has catapulted him to the No. 1 position in the MRF Tyres ICC men's Test player rankings.
Rather than sweeping the ball, Australia's batters mainly attempted the front foot defence against the spinners besides stepping out to hit down the ground.
Warner has also taken aim at his Ashes nemesis England veteran pacer Stuart Broad, implying that he will not be the force that derailed the opening batter's 2019 trip this time.
His loss for even part of the series would be a huge blow to a team already missing so much batting experience because of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
Since 2011, England have managed to eke out just a single draw in 13 Ashes Tests over three tours and their last two Tests in Sydney have resulted in humiliating defeats.
Glimpses from Day 2 of the second Test between India and Australia at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi, February 18, 2023.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the opening Ashes Test played between England and Australia at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday.
Travis Head struck a belligerent half-century to give Australia the upper hand on day one of the series-opening Test against South Africa after the home side's bowlers dominated on a green Gabba wicket on Saturday.
Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique made a solid start to set up a thrilling final day in the deciding third Test
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, who was at his glorious best against Australia during the second Test of the series in Karachi, gained three spots to move up to No.5 in the rankings chart.
'Batting into day three gave us that chance to really have a crack at them on day three -- it probably went better than we expected.'
Mitchell Swepson - in just his second ever T20I - took the big wicket of Virat Kohli
Di Venuto said Australia's batting plans were working well till a dramatic collapse saw them lose eight wickets for 28 runs.
Khawaja passed a fitness Test on Monday after recovering from a hamstring injury and Langer confirmed the left-hander will bat at number three, while fast bowler Pattinson is set to feature in his first Test match since Feb. 2016.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test at Perth on Monday
Australia pick two uncapped players for first two Tests
All-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have been excluded from a 25-player squad for an intra-Australia clash that will go a long way to deciding the makeup of Tim Paine's Ashes side.
A team full of left-handers, Australia are working overtime to tackle the Ravichandran Ashwin threat.
Australia concluded their World Cup preparation on an emphatic note, beating a struggling Sri Lanka by five wickets in their final warm-up game, in Southampton, on Monday. Usman Khawaja, who opened alongside skipper Aaron Finch in place of a rested David Warner, anchored the chase with 89 off 105 balls.
Australia declared their first innings on 556 for nine and then skittled out Pakistan for 148 to seize control of the second Test in Karachi on Monday.
The left-hander underwent scans on his jaw after being struck by an Andre Russell bouncer in the second over of Australia's innings
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji reveal the Most Valuable Players of the Inda-Australia ODI series.
'You hear things like 'the players are playing afraid' or whatnot, but that's what happens when you drop players all the time. We've been doing that a fair bit lately'
Australia have drafted in wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade as replacement for injured Usman Khawaja ahead of Thursday's Cricket World Cup semi-final against England, the International Cricket Council said on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka, who had conceded a 109-run lead, were bowled out for 113 in their second innings
Ahead of the WTC Final next month, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting opened up on India and Australia's chances for the big game.
The 30-year-old will now have the chance to soak up a first Test in front of family and friends as Australia look to push for a 2-0 series lead.
Concerns that senior players would pull out of the tour due to security issues after both England and New Zealand withdrew from tours of Pakistan late last year have proven unfounded.
The pitch offered some variable bounce but did not pose too many problems for the batters till the final hour of play.
'To be fair to curators, they hardly got time to prepare the wicket. They had a Ranji season here and it was pretty late that it was decided the game will be shifted from Dharamsala. They did not get enough time.'
Dinesh Chandimal smashed a maiden double hundred and Prabath Jayasuriya claimed 12 wickets in a dream debut to script Sri Lanka's series-levelling victory by an innings and 39 runs in the second Test against Australia in Galle on Monday.
The Australians 'swept' their way to self-destruction in the face of the Indian spinners' guile in the second Test in Delhi on Sunday.
'I got pulled out of that series to prepare for India and then not playing was a bit hard'
Cheteshwar Pujara is set to play his 100th Test match when India take on Australia for the 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The WAGs stood in the stands soaking in the opening day's action.
Ashwin has taken 24 wickets in the series so far with an innings left to bowl, but his 6/91 in 47.2 overs will certainly go down as one of his best efforts on a flat deck
India's batting megastars will be desperate to clear the cobwebs from their head in pursuit of a second successive World Test Championship final berth as they take on Australia in the series-deciding fourth Test in Ahmedabad from Thursday.
Test cricket has not always been kind to the left-hander, who has been dropped and recalled from the team several times with questions raised over his ability to play spin and his work ethic.
Usman Khawaja batted bravely for nearly nine hours to make 141 and help Australia salvage a draw in the first Test against Pakistan, in Dubai, on Thursday.
The southpaw became the first to score a hundred in a session at the Gabba, propelling Australia to a 196-run lead over England.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances