A century from stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis lifted South Africa to a huge 142-run win over Australia and a 2-0 lead in the five-match One-day International series at The Wanderers on Sunday.
Chasing 294 for victory on a batting pitch, Hardik Pandya (78 off 72) and Manish Pandey (36 off 32) took India to the finish line after Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane had laid the platform for the victory with a 139-run opening stand.
The 13th edition of the IPL will have added significance as 2020 is also a T20 World Cup year.
A confident India will look to pile the misery on the a struggling Australia and seal the five-match series when the teams clash in the third One-Day International, in Indore, on Sunday.
Reigning champion India will be bidding to gain further momentum and become only the third side in World Cup history to successfully defend its title after West Indies in 1975 and 1979 and Australia, who won the coveted prize three times in succession between 1999 and 2007.
Australia skipper Steve Smith has described Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the best death bowlers around. His assessment came after Australia suffered a five-wicket defeat to India in the third One-Day International between the teams in Indore on Sunday.
Schutt became the first Australian bowler to claim a hat-trick in this format.
Paceman Mitchell Starc retains his place in the side despite what was perceived to be a sub-par performance in Adelaide, and will be looking for a strong performance in conditions which are expected to favour his skills at the new Perth Stadium.
The 40-year-old Pietersen said a win against India is similar to a victory against arch-rivals Australia and urged the selectors to play both Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the same XI.
Australia are perhaps fortunate that there is such a short gap between Tests given the navel-gazing that is likely to follow their first defeat in the opening test of a home Summer for 28 years.
Off-spinner R Ashwin, who has been phenomenal in home conditions, has made it to the Test team as the 12th man, while pacer Mohammed Shami has been included in the ODI team.
Wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy smashed her way to a brilliant 133 off 115 balls with the Southern Stars piling up a massive 332 for 7.
Paul di Resta finished the Australian Grand Prix in the 10th position as Sahara Force India opened the season with one point, although it was a disappointing start for rookie Nico Hulkenberg, whose race lasted less than a lap, in Melbourne on Sunday.
The first Test got spicier as Indian opener Virender Sehwag was on Tuesday involved in an altercation with Australian pacers James Pattinson and Peter Siddle during the visitors' first innings.
Although the Malabar is a routine exercise which has been carried out for several years now, security experts attach a lot of traction to it in view of China's assertive behaviour in the South China Sea, observes Rup Narayan Das.
Legendry spinner Shane Warne has issued an open invitation to West Indies to get aid from their former great Brian Lara following their humiliating defeat in the first Test against Australia.
Forced to play their home matches in Malaysia due to security concerns, Syria had fallen behind when Robbie Kruse tapped in from close range in the first half but the underdogs refused to buckle to their vastly more experienced opponents.
Australia defeated West Indies by a massive 177 runs to win the second Test match in Melbourne and claim the series 2-0.
Australia cruised to a 19-run victory in a rain-affected Twenty20 tri-series final with New Zealand to claim the world number one ranking in the shortest form of the game for the first time.
According to AFP, Clarke said the six-and-a-half weeks he had spent recuperating from hamstring surgery had not driven a wedge between him and the squad.
South Africa beat Australia for the third game in a row when they won the second Twenty20 international by 17 runs on Sunday. Chasing 157 for victory on Sunday, Australia were derailed by off-spinner Johan Botha, who claimed two for 16 in four overs as the visitors crashed to 103 for five after 15 overs having been 63 for two at the halfway mark.
Australian cricket fans prepared themselves for one final decent night's sleep on Tuesday before seven weeks glued to television sets.
Debutant Shikhar Dhawan's record opening stand with partner Murali Vijay helped India take full control on day three of the third Test match against Australia in Mohali on Saturday.
Opener Ian Bell plundered 187 off 145 balls and Stuart Broad captured four wickets as England crushed the Australian Prime Minister's XI by 60 runs in Canberra on Wednesday. Bell starred in England's imposing 391 for six to set the PM's eleven a run-chase of almost eight runs an over at Manuka Oval.
A record 183-run opening partnership between Shane Watson and Brad Haddin propelled Australia to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Canada in a Group A match of the World Cup in Bangalore on Wednesday.
The series against the West Indies is India's only chance to iron out flaws before embarking on the tough tour of Australia. Hence, skipper Mahendra Singh hinted that the hosts will try out a few things in the home rubber against the Caribbeans, starting in Kochi on Wednesday.
Opener K L Rahul missed out on a hundred while captain Cheteshwar Pujara struck a solid fifty to steer India 'A' to 221 for six on a rain-affected first day of the first 'unofficial' Test against Australia 'A', in Chennai, on Wednesday.
India A could not take advantage of a strong opening partnership and lost four quick wickets for an addition of just 16 runs as they ended the third day of their four-day game against Australia A at 158 for four, still needing 108 runs to avoid the innings defeat, in Brisbane on Saturday.
Australia's hapless performances in the 2-0 series loss to South Africa came in for huge criticism from the country's local media on Wednesday, with demands for heads to roll in both the dressing room and the corridors of power at Cricket Australia.
Australia opener David Warner will miss the first two one-day internationals against the West Indies with a fractured thumb and has been replaced in the squad by Usman Khawaja, Cricket Australia said on Wednesday. Warner was struck by a Mitchell Johnson delivery while batting in the nets at Perth, suffering a minor left thumb fracture and ruling him out of the matches on Friday and Sunday at the WACA.
In a team that mostly includes aggressive stroke-players, the 22-year-old Rahul's fortitude makes him just the right choice. The fact that he played in Australian conditions in recent times, having opened for India 'A', will be an added advantage.
Andrews will tell the Rudd government-ordered inquiry into the bungled case, which opens on Wednesday, that the Australian Federal Police did not inform him of evidence debunking allegations against Dr Haneef's second-cousin Sabeel Ahmed - allegations that had led to the subsequent terrorism charge against the Gold Coast doctor. The inquiry, headed by former Supreme Court judge John Clarke, will probe if the AFP ignored the vital information.
Images from the World Cup match between Australia and Zimbabwe, in Ahmedabad on Monday.
Kane Williamson staged a fight-back along with opener Tom Latham (36), and Ross Taylor (26) as New Zealand reached 140 for 2 (42 overs) at close of play on Day 2 of the 2nd Test at the WACA in Perth on Saturday.
'Mumbai stands tall yet again.' Bollywood raves about the city's resilience.
The star pull-outs from this year's Commonwealth Games continue with French Open finalist Samantha Stosur becoming the latest to decide against competing in the Delhi event to focus on top WTA tournaments. The Australian tennis ace joins the country's top male tennis player Lleyton Hewitt in pulling out of the Games, according to an Australian Associated Press report.
Captain Usman Khawaja and his opening partner, Joe Burns, smashed scintillating centuries as Australia 'A' thrashed a hapless India 'A' by 119 runs in the second tri-series match in Chennai on Friday.
By retaining the No.1 position till the April 1 cut off date, Virat Kohli's men will receive a cash prize of US $1 million.
# Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara shared a stand of 108 -- India's second highest opening partnership against Australia at Feroz Shah Kotla -- after 121 between Nari Contractor and Pankaj Roy in December 1959.
