Kohli, with 903 rating points, is 34 points behind Smith (937).
The fast bowler's beguiling mix of aggression, control and intellect may make him the most feared of the Australian pace trio with the Dukes ball in hand.
Captain Ben Stokes and Harry Brook helped England stretch their lead over Australia to 189 on day three of the crucial fourth Ashes test at Old Trafford, with the hosts moving on to 506-8 at lunch.
Batting maestro Virat Kohli hogged the front pages with the Hindi headline Yugon Li Ladai (Fight For The Ages), while young batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal was hailed as Navam Raja (The New King) in Punjabi.
The 123-match veteran, affectionately nicknamed 'The GOAT'
Warner's participation was considered doubtful for the next red-ball assignments for Australia, especially after his horrendous run in India with the bat.
Ponting called for an investigation into the ball change and now the owner of Dukes' ball is set to launch an internal probe into the row.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed the Men's Test Player-of-the-Year award. It marked his first Australian Cricket Award, with Hazlewood taking 30 wickets at just 13.16 in Tests against the West Indies, New Zealand, and India.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
Ash Barty ended Australia's 44-year wait for a home winner at the Australian Open when the world number one staved off a fightback from American Danielle Collins to complete a 6-3, 7-6(2) win.
Smith will look to reprise his performance from the 2019 Ashes series in England, where he amassed 774 runs in his four Tests
"One stat stands out: 375,000 people coming through the gates in that Melbourne Test match, beating the record set 90 years ago of 350,000," Shastri said.
Australia opener Usman Khawaja has vented his frustration after the team lost 10 World Test Championship (WTC) points for slow over-rates.
Former India spinner R Ashwin has called for a shift away from the superstar culture prevalent in Indian cricket, urging for a more grounded approach.
After Australia had declared their first innings on 420-8, England avoided the follow-on and asked Australia to bat again, declaring at 275-9.
Legendary pacer Glenn McGrath has slammed England for playing casual cricket against Australia in the ongoing Ashes.
Test cricket will see two players featuring in their 100th game together for only the fourth time when India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and England batter Jonny Bairstow take the field in Dharamsala on Thursday.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday.
Alongside old war horses James Anderson and Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer, Matthew Potts, Saqib Mahmood, Ollie Robinson, Sam Curran and Olly Stone are also likely to fight for a place in the team for the Ashes, which will begin with the first Test at Edgbaston on June 16.
'We felt a bit like we got the Ashes stolen the other day'
England fast bowler Jofra Archer was ruled out of the Ashes series against Australia.
James Pattinson will take an indefinite break from cricket and has been ruled out of the Ashes series against England after reaggravating his lower back stress fracture, Cricket Australia said on Wednesday.
India won their seventh ICC trophy, while registering their third Champions Trophy triumph.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the opening Ashes Test played between England and Australia at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday.
England spinner Rehan Ahmed has been added to the Ashes squad for the second Test against Australia.
A superb 75 from Harry Brook and some big hitting from tailender Mark Wood earned England a pulsating three-wicket victory in the third Ashes Test.
Lyon had suffered a "significant calf tear" while fielding on day two of the second Test that Australia won by 43 runs
As the prestigious Ashes gets underway, here's a look at the milestones that can be achieved.
Smith said the IPL has helped him get used to play alongside rival international players and he is eager to play alongside Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been leading Sussex this season.
World champions Australia will hope to round off one of the nation's most successful seasons in cricket with victory in a rare Test series in New Zealand starting at Wellington's Basin Reserve on Thursday.
Hazlewood has been replaced in the squad by Riley Meredith
Labuschagne said he is focused on winning matches for Australia, not on convincing anyone about his return to form.
Former West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has come out in support of Virat Kohli, who has been struggling for runs in recent times, saying the Indian batter is still the "best player in the world". Gayle said that Kohli's current form is just a "patch" and that the Indian captain will "pick himself up" and come back stronger.
Ahead of the Ashes, Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon urged his teammates to remain calm in the face of the 'Bazball' threat.
Disgraced batsman David Warner's hopes of playing in the third Ashes Test looked slim on Friday after he failed in both innings of Australia A's tour match against a Zimbabwe Select XI in Harare.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the second ODI against England on Sunday?
The Gujarat Giants will be hoping to improve their bowling and fielding after a disappointing defeat in their Women's Premier League season opener. They will face the UP Warriorz, led by Deepti Sharma, who will be looking to capitalize on their strong spin bowling attack. The match will be a crucial one for both teams as they seek to make their mark in the tournament.
Jonny Bairstow slammed four sixes as he helped England post 592 all out in their first innings on Day 3, their highest Ashes innings total on home soil since 1985, giving the hosts a first innings lead of 275.
"I will be walking out with you to bat at the MCG," R Ashwin told Virat Kohli in a short note on X Friday, a subtle and endearing demonstration of their closeness in the team.
Images from Day 2 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, on Thursday.
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