Pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed career-best Twenty20 international figures of 4-12 to guide Australia to a 20-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday, in a rain-affected opener of the five-match series.
High on confidence after decimating a high-profile Royal Challengers Bangalore, an upbeat Gujarat Lions will be aiming to lift their game a notch higher when they face title contenders Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League encounter, in Rajkot on Saturday.
Leg-spinner Ryan Burl picked up 5 for 10 in just three overs on Saturday as Zimbabwe stunned Australia in the third One-Day International in Townsville, registering an exciting three-wicket victory and denying the hosts a series clean-sweep.
Virat Kohli's breezy 85 went in vain as Australia prevailed by 12 runs in the final Twenty20 International to avoid a series whitewash
Opener Shikhar Dhawan admitted that India were completely outplayed by Australia and that it was the middle-order collapse that triggered the loss in the opening ODI at the Wankhede in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Australia and Pakistan are currently playing the second match of a two-Test series in the UAE, with Tim Paine's side seeking their first series win in Asia since 2011 after a battling draw in the last match.
Australia play India in three One-day internationals in Sydney and Canberra from Nov. 27, followed by three Twenty20's from Dec. 4.
Debutant Pakistan off-spinner Bilal Asif ripped through the Australian middle-order with six wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 202 on the third day of the first Test, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
Rising Pune Supergiants now face an uphill task of taming the rampaging Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League clash, in Pune, on Friday.
Australia buried India under an avalanche of runs for a 51-run drubbing in the second ODI and an unassailable 2-0 series lead after the majestic Steve Smith produced another master-class in the form of a 64-ball 104, in Sydney, on Sunday.
CSK's Harbhajan Singh and Mumbai Indians' Lasith Malinga were among the other big names to be released by their respective sides ahead of next month's auction.
Australia beat India by three wickets with the final delivery in a low-scoring first Twenty20 international.
Marsh is a vital part of Australian white-ball teams because of his powerful hitting and accurate seam bowling. He also is seen as a potential T20I captain following the recent retirement of ICC T20 World Cup winning skipper Aaron Finch.
'The T20 game is doing very well and there's no need to tinker with it.'
Australia's top cricketers are effectively unemployed.
Australia defeated New Zealand by eight wickets to win their maiden Twenty20 World Cup title on Sunday.
Australia will start favourites in Thursday's clash but a passionate Bangladesh are expected to make life tough for the holders.
Captain Virat Kohli hit an unbeaten half-century, while Krunal Pandya picked up a career-best four-wicket haul to guide India to a series-levelling victory in the third and final T20 International against Australia.
Kings XI Punjab face the uphill task of not only pulling the rug from under the feet of formidable Chennai Super Kings but also boosting their net run-rate in the last IPL round-robin match to salvage hopes of sneaking into the play-offs.
Table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders and a transformed Kings XI Punjab cross swords in an Indian Premier League contest in which big-hitting Jamaicans Andre Russell and Chris Gayle will be up against each other in Kolkata on Saturday.
Warner struck a tournament-high 166 to set up Australia's 48-run victory over Bangladesh on Thursday and now leads the runs list with 447.
Upbeat after convincingly winning the One-Day International series 4-0, Australia's Twenty20 captain Aaron Finch is confident that the hosts can handle the more experienced Indian reinforcements in Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina who have joined the visitors for the three-match rubber starting in Adelaide, on Tuesday.
Virat Kohli maintained his top spot in the latest International Cricket Council rankings of T20 batsmen while India have gained a spot by virtue of their series win against England to climb to the second spot in the team rankings.
Steven Smith maintained his purple patch to hit a brilliant unbeaten 102 to secure Australia's three-wicket victory against England in a high-scoring tri-series match at Hobart on Friday.
Shakib Al Hasan, on Monday, became the leading run-scorer in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
Steve Smith and George Bailey's brilliant knocks overshadowed Rohit Sharma's magnificent 171 as Australia beat India by five wickets in the first ODI of the five-match series in Perth on Tuesday.
Steve Smith's brilliant hundred and a clinical show by the bowlers at the death helped Australia beat England by 12 runs in their World Cup warm-up match, in Southampton.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa bowled a sensational spell with the ball to help Australia register a narrow four-run victory against India in the rain-hit first T20 International in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Bangladesh thrashed Australia by 60 runs in Dhaka on Monday to secure a comprehensive 4-1 series win, with the tourists' batsmen managing just 62 in 13.4 overs, their worst ever total in the format.
Gujarat Lions defeated Rising Pune Supergiant by seven wickets to register their first win in the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League
Mumbai Indians have so far looked like anything but IPL's five-time champions, losing both their opening games - against Delhi Capitals by four wickets, followed by a 23-run defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals.
Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood received his reward for some fine domestic form on Wednesday when he was included in a pace-heavy 13-man squad for the first two One-Day Internationals against South Africa next month.
And, Shaheen Afridi won the T20I bowling award for his annihilation of India in the 10-wicket win for Pakistan at the T20 World Cup.
It was a stunning turnaround for an Australia team which had lost five T20 series on the trot heading into the World Cup.
India produced a clinical bowling performance, led by Mohammed Shami, to restrict Australia to 236 for seven
After back-to-back losses against Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers eked out a seven-wicket win over table-toppers Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad and David Warner's men need another inspiring show.
India moved within two wickets of an emphatic victory in the third Test after reducing Australia to 258 for eight at the close of day four.
England's rampant one-day side powered to a fourth straight win over Australia, following up their world record rampage at Trent Bridge with a commanding six-wicket victory at Chester-le-Street on Thursday led by centurion Jason Roy.
Starc took five wickets for 48 runs and Josh Hazlewood 3-11 as Australia bowled out the West Indies for 123 to win the 1st ODI
Cameron White scored an unbeaten 41 and steered Australia to a dramatic two-wicket victory over South Africa on the penultimate ball of the match to clinch the Twenty20 international series 2-1 on Sunday.
