A ruthless India, sporting its new flaming orange and blue colours, will be eyeing pole position with a solid knock-out punch on an already disintegrated England in Sunday's high-profile World Cup encounter. With an unbeaten record in six encounters so far, Virat Kohli's men are all but through to the semi-finals with 11 points, but victory over England will tighten their grip at the top and, in the process, oust the world's No 1 ODI team from the global event.
Ponting compared the spell with the one England's Steve Harmison bowled during the famous 2005 Ashes series, in which he hit Australian openers Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer before leaving the former skipper with a bloodied cheek.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said it will be a challenge to maintain the trend they had set in their last Indian Premier League outing by bowling out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a record lowest 49.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wreaked havoc as India defeated England by an innings and 36 runs.
England have won nine of their last 12 ODIs and head coach Trevor Bayliss said there was never any doubt Morgan and Hales would return despite deciding not to go to Bangladesh.
England have recalled Yorkshire batsman Gary Ballance for the first Test against Pakistan at Lord's next week, but paceman Jimmy Anderson misses out with a shoulder injury. Uncapped Middlesex seamer Roland-Jones Ball was named in their 12-man squad, announced on Thursday.
Australia, bidding to avenge their defeat in the Ashes Test series earlier in the tour, went 1-0 up in the One-Day International encounter when they beat England by 59 runs in Southampton on Thursday.
Jos Buttler was rewarded for his good showing in the Indian Premier League with a place in England's 12-man squad for the first Test against Pakistan at Lord's, starting May 24.
England captain Joe Root refused to blame his senior players for the tourists' stunning Ashes defeat but lamented his own failures to lead the way with the bat against Australia.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will have rise to the occasion when they take on the already-eliminated Delhi Daredevil
Sunrisers Hyderabad unit would look to consolidate its position at the top of the points table
'England against Australia at Lord's, it doesn't get much bigger than that.'
India need one more wicket to thrash England in the third Test at Trent Bridge after the hosts ended the fourth day on 311 for nine, 210 runs short of their target.
England battled back into contention on the third day of the second Test against West Indies as Mark Stoneman's first half century and captain Joe Root's unbeaten 45 helped wipe out a sizeable first-innings deficit on Sunday.
India lost the second Test by an innings and 159 runs on Day 4 at Lord's as a dominant England took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Jimmy Anderson showed he remains a deadly proposition in English conditions, taking 5-20, as England bowled out India for a miserly 107 on the second day of the second Test at Lord's, on Friday.
The nature of T20 cricket is such that insane totals will be chased on particular days while some of the other occasions will witness a team struggling to get past an easy target, believes Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Jacques Kallis.
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli is all set to give up his opening slot and will bat at No 3, a position he has made his own in the national team.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers for the England team from cricket World Cups.
Captain is confident of RCB going the distance this season
In what will be a dress rehearsal of their opening game in the World Cup, an unbeaten Australia take on England in the cricket tri-series final, in Perth on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Chris Lynn, on Monday, said Royal Challengers Bangalore would be the team to beat in the upcoming 10th edition of the Indian Premier League.
Alastair Cook and Joe Root made centuries to lift England to a commanding 314 for four at the close on the first day of the second test against Pakistan on Friday.
Pakistan's Rahat Ali removed England's top three batsmen as the first Test at Lord's hurtled towards an exciting climax on Sunday's fourth day. At lunch, England were 90 for three in their second innings, needing a further 193 runs to reach their victory target of 283. James Vince was a Test-best 41 not out and the recalled Gary Ballance 15 not out after Rahat had taken three wickets for 36 runs in eight overs. England captain Alastair Cook launched the chase with a four off the very first ball of the innings when he cut a loose Mohammad Amir delivery to the boundary.
England failed to make the inroads into the Australian batting order they needed after gambling on bowling first in the inaugural day-night Ashes Test on Saturday and the hosts reached the second break on 138 for two.
Factbox on the second Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Saturday:
South Africa will hope the new year brings about a change in luck as they seek to put behind them a disappointing 2015 and get back to winning ways against England in the second Test at Newlands starting on Saturday.
England have named an unchanged squad for their tour of India with their all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson not included in the initial 16-man list for the five-Test series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.
Former India batsman Pravin Amre has tendered his resignation from the managing committee of the Mumbai Cricket Association after being appointed head of Talent Hunt for IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils.
West Indies ended the fourth day of the unexpectedly enthralling second test requiring 317 more runs to win after England turned the contest firmly in their favour.
England captain Eoin Morgan's century led his team to an impressive series opening 72-run victory against top-ranked South Africa in their opening One-Day International at Headingley.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify the Most Valuable Players of World Cup 2019.
Ahead of the first Test between India and England in Rajkot, Rajneesh Gupta looks at the two teams and their numbers.
Sam Curran's 78 helped England recover from 86 for six to 246 all out against India on the first day of the fourth Test.
Weakened by the departure of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Saturday.
James Taylor made a calm unbeaten 67 to lead England to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Pakistan in Sharjah on Tuesday and a 2-1 lead in the four-match one-day international series.
England fast bowler Stuart Broad, who suffered a fractured nose on Saturday, was named in an unchanged 13-man squad for the fifth and final Test against India at the Oval in London next week.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 3rd Test played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Sunday
Opening batsman David Warner enjoyed a gift-wrapped century after being reprieved on 99 as Australia endured a meandering first day of the Boxing Day Test against England on Tuesday.
Embattled Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have left themselves with little margin for error after a string of reverses, will face a test of character when they clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
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