Both sides made one change from Wednesday's first match, won convincingly by Australia by 93 runs.
Allan Border opened up on the team's selection and said Australia overthought during the first Test in Nagpur.
Opening batsman Prithvi Shaw, who had suffered a left ankle injury while attempting a catch in the practice game against Cricket Australia XI has been ruled out of the ongoing four-Test series against Australia.
According to Cricket Australia, Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies bowling great Courtney Walsh will coach the star-studded Ricky Ponting XI and Shane Warne XI teams in a charity cricket match
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald said the hosts would field their strongest side against Pakistan, which means a welcome return for spinner Nathan Lyon, who will chase his 500th Test wicket after injury ruled him out of the last three matches of the Ashes.
Pathan conceded that Jasprit Bumrah is the only automatic selection among the bowlers.
For the team management, it is a choice between a younger man's (Sarfaraz) flamboyance and fearlessness versus a seasoned campaigner who has been a Test captain and is part of the national set-up for a decade now.
Former India selector Sandeep Singh picked India's playing XI for the WTC Final.
With the cricket world still mourning the tragic death of Phillip Hughes, the first Test between India and Australia next week was on Saturday put off to an unspecified date and might even be cancelled to pay homage to the young batsman.
Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the game, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said after it was criticised for selecting a second-string squad featuring seven debutants for the country's two fixtures in New Zealand next month.
India will play their 100th Test against Australia as they meet in the Boxing Day Test
To have 11 fielders on the field, Australia had to field their masseur and logistics coordinator Grant Baldwin.
New Zealand's former star batter Ross Taylor has suggested that fast bowler Neil Wagner's retirement was "forced", hinting at the possibility of unrest in the Kiwi camp.
The first day of the tour game between India and Cricket Australia XI was abandoned without a ball being bowled here at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Both Prasidh and Avesh Khan lack variety and innovation as they keep pitching the ball at the same length. Both bowl in late 130s or early 140s but consistently pitch it back of the length and the nature of Indian tracks make it a cannon fodder for batters.
The two were recalled to Australia's team for the 2019 World Cup, starting in England and Wales from May 30.
Australia suffered a big setback after senior fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the World Test Championship final against India.
'We leave it up to the players to decide whether or not they want to participate and request NOCs'
Australia's World Cup captain Michael Clarke struck a fine half-century in a Sydney Grade cricket match for Western Suburbs as the premier batsman races ahead of time to be fit for the 50-over showpiece event starting mid-February.
Australia will want to steer clear of another defeat at the hands of India when the teams lock horns in the 4th ODI in Bengaluru, so it will only be prudent if they bring in Faulkner for the faltering Richardson and give Agar the boot, says Norma Godinho.
Ian Chappell's belief stems from India's incredible depth of talent and its success ratio of late.
Leading a T20 side for the first time, Australia's World Cup winning skipper Pat Cummins says the shortest format is not taxing on body but the travel involved in the two-month long IPL and different-style preparations to face a variety of teams is certainly a huge challenge.
Usman Khawaja will replace Travis Head in Australia's middle order for this week's fourth Ashes Test against England in the only change to the side that wrapped up the series in Melbourne last week.
Pakistan replaced veteran stumper Sarfaraz Ahmed with Mohammad Rizwan for the second match of the three-Test series.
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'He was sent home after three matches to rest. So, if this is going to continue, how will you ensure that he is fully ready?'
The Indian team for Australia classified by IPL franchise.
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden also wants Kohli to bat as much as possible in the powerplay.
Vettori also expects Cameron Green to play a big part in the WTC final, especially after his superb showing in the just-concluded IPL.
Former West Indies captain Brian Lara will be in the same team as Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer in the upcoming Bushfire relief fundraiser match. Ponting's side, which will be coached by former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, also comprises of lethal pacers such as Brett Lee and Wasim Akram. On the other hand, Gilchrist side's has a solid top-order comprising of Yuvraj Singh, Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds.
Without bigger contributions from their senior players -- Masood and Babar Azam among them -- Pakistan may struggle to prevent the losing streak from stretching to 16 in Melbourne, for all of Hafeez's fighting words.
'That person can win you matches with fielding, he can win you matches with bowling and he can win you matches with batting. His performance gets better when the match is good.'
Snubbed Maxwell eyes county cricket to fuel Test bid.
In recent years, India's batters have struggled against spin.
Experienced opener David Warner named Marcus Harris to replace him as Australia's opener in red-ball cricket.
In the next 18 months, India will play several marquee events including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia in November, next year's ICC Champions Trophy and a possible appearance in the World Test Championship Final in June.
The 19-year-old from Mumbai, wearing a protective brace on his left ankle, was seen jogging around the Adelaide Oval before the start of the fifth and final day of the first Test.
Rahul didn't provide any definitive answers about three key slots in the team -- the wicketkeeper, the third spinner and the number five in the batting order.
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