India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday said the consolation win over Australia in the third and final ODI is a timely 'boost' for the remainder of the tour, made possible by the freshness that came with a changed squad.
Images from the Australia-Bangladesh World Cup match in Nottingham, on Thursday.
Usman Khawaja struck his second century in three matches as Australia thumped India by 35 runs in their final one-dayer to seal a come-from-behind 3-2 series victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, on Wednesday.
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.
Left chasing shadows in the first two games, a listless Indian team would most certainly tweak its bowling combination in order to avoid a second successive clean-sweep when it takes on Australia in the third and final ODI, in Canberra, on Wednesday.
Ricky Ponting said Australia is open to shuffling the batting line-up if the circumstances dictate a more flexible approach in the ongoing World Cup.
India's top order fired in unison and their bowlers produced a tidy display to beat reigning world champions Australia by 36 runs in a thrilling World Cup match.
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.
The third and deciding one-dayer will be played in Bengaluru on Sunday.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Ashes Test played at the Gabba in Brisbane on Friday.
Cricket can be a game of some complexity and nuance but as England showed in their dismantling of Australia in Thursday's World Cup semi-final, it can also be a remarkably straightforward sport.
England entered their first World Cup final since 1992 after decimating five-time champions Australia by eight wickets, riding on a fearless knock of 85 from Jason Roy on Thursday.
India showed commendable character in Rajkot to level the series, proving that the panic buttons were pressed prematurely following the 10-wicket loss in Mumbai.
A series win will be an ideal confidence booster for India before the visitors hit Test match mode.
Finch scored 114 in an opening stand of 156 with David Warner (69) to lay a platform before his predecessor as captain Smith smashed 105 off 66 balls to drive Australia to 374 for six -- their highest total against India.
Pakistan succumbed to a 41-run loss to Australia on Wednesday and are now in an increasingly precarious position in eighth place in the standings.
Australia won't be too disappointed after losing to India as they have time to dissect this loss, fine tune their process, tinker with batting orders and bowling options and manoeuvre things around before the semi-finals come around, writes Steve Waugh.
Australia coach Justin Langer said that England are obviously the red-hot favourites going into the World Cup and said the team deserves to be the number one team in the world.
Opener Smriti Mandhana's 37-ball 66 went in vain as Australia beat India by 11 runs to win the Tri-Nation Women's T20 Series in Melbourne on Wednesday. Set a target of 156, India were bowled out for 144.
Unbeaten half-centuries from Manish Pandey (95) and Ambati Rayudu (62) helped India 'B' and India 'A' register victories against South Africa 'A' and Australia 'A' respectively in separate quadrangular one-day series matches in Bengaluru.
Kedar Jadhav and Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck unbeaten fifties to help India pull off a tricky chase and beat Australia by six wickets in the first One-day international on Saturday.
Images from the World Cup match played between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Oval in London on Saturday.
They stand on the opposite ends of IPL's success spectrum but there is little to separate between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in the tournament's 13th edition as they head into a blockbuster Qualifier 1 match, in Dubai, on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians had roared back to form after thrashing RCB by five-wickets in the last game, there are problems aplenty for DC.
Australia cruised to an 80-run victory over Pakistan in the third One-dayer in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Images from Tuesday's IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab, in Dubai.
Flavour of the season Rahul Tewatia didn't prove to be third time lucky in what turned out to be an incredible death overs performance by the Delhi Capitals pace attack in their 13-run victory against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
According to Steve Smith, the key to India's victory was their partnerships in the middle.
Australia made it to the ICC women's T20 World Cup final, coming through a nerve-shredding semi-final against South Africa in Sydney on Thursday. They'll face India at the MCG on March 8 - International Women's Day. India's semi-final against England was abandoned without a ball bowled.
A merciless England, however, wrecked their title defence, crushing them by eight wickets with nearly 18 overs to spare.
India's Virat Kohli led from the front with a sparkling 61 not out to help secure a series-levelling six-wicket victory over Australia in the third and final Twenty20 International in Sydney.
Delhi Capitals have made the perfect start to IPL, with two morale-boosting victories, while SunRisers Hyderabad are the only side yet to register a win in the tournament, having lost both their games.
Opener David Warner thumped a maiden Twenty20 international century as Australia kicked off their home summer with a ruthless 134-run thrashing of Sri Lanka, at Adelaide Oval, on Sunday.
Images from Tuesday's first One Day International between India and Australia at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai.
Images from Thursday's World Cup match between Australia and the West Indies, at Nottingham.
The fifth and final ODI against Australia will be one last chance for Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja to do something special and stake their claim for a place in the World Cup team
Ashton Turner took an experienced Indian attack to the cleaners with some unbelievable hitting, helping Australia chase down a record breaking target of 359 runs and level the five-match series.
Australian big-hitter Glenn Maxwell has attributed his inconsistent run in the IPL over eight seasons to frequent changes in his role, something that is very clear to him when playing for his country.
The second T20 International between India and Australia was called off due to rain at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Hetmyer smacked three sixes and eight fours in his entertaining knock, helping his side chase down a modest target of 128.
