India managed to keep the five-Test series level at 1-1 heading into the Boxing day Test in Melbourne, the fragility of their top order remains a major concern for the tourists.
Shubman Gill has made far too many changes in his batting approach, which is hindering his run-scoring ability on away tours, feels former Australian captain Ricky Pointing
India included two debutants -- Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy -- while leaving out Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Ashwin's decision too came as a bit of a surprise, especially considering the team's reliance on him.
With a heavy downpour preventing the resumption of play after the break, the match was abandoned and the series remains locked at 1-1.
Jasprit Bumrah doesn't seem to be a long-term captaincy option given his nagging fitness concerns.
The problems in the hotel didn't for once affect their focus on the Test match ahead.
Australia have lost their last four Test series against India, including two successive defeats at home.
'Going into Brisbane, India need a tight strategy for Travis Head and they need to get Akash Deep in and maybe Ravindra Jadeja for Ashwin.'
While the whole batting unit faltered, the spotlight fell firmly on seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, whose lean patches in recent times have become a matter of concern.
Ravichandran Ashwin's wife Prithi Narayanan penned a heartfelt tribute for her husband following his recent retirement from international cricket, saying "it is time to set the burden of being you down" and embrace life beyond the game.
Michael Clarke feels the Australian selectors have erred by dropping Nathan McSweeney mid-series against India
'It's no secret that during the Ashes we relied too heavily on Steve so the rest of our top seven are really keen to score a lot of runs'
Just-retired R Ashwin's father Ravichandran kicked up a controversy on Thursday by claiming that "humiliation" could have been a reason for his son's decision to call it quits but the veteran off-spinner made light of the "dad comment", blaming it on lack of media training.
Under Kohli's captaincy, India became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia, besides recording some memorable wins elsewhere.
Gavaskar said India need to put their "head down" and try and get as close as possible to Australia's total. R
'For a person like me, it's all about how I feel in my mind, what kind of prep I'm having before each game, and how I'm feeling about myself.'
Sourav Ganguly names Rishabh Pant as the next-best red-ball batter after stalwart Virat Kohli and predicts him to have a "huge impact" in the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth on Friday.
'We were not thinking about a series win because we were just bowled out for 36.' 'The mood in the dressing room was a bit down. Ravi Bhai organised a team dinner. He arranged for karaoke, he started singing. He sang old Hindi songs. Everybody joined in.'
Virat Kohli's struggles against balls outside the off-stump in the ongoing Test series against Australia has the great Allan Border wondering if the Indian superstar has "just lost that edge".
Tim Paine captained Australia during India's last two tours Down Under in which the visitors recorded identical 2-1 series victories.
Australia's second-string pace attack produced a first-rate display to sink Pakistan with a comprehensive 29-run win in the weather-truncated first T20 International on Thursday.
Nikhil Chopra said that India must execute the plans they make during the upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in order to win the series.
Australia are already without another regular all-rounder in Cameron Green, who was ruled out of the India series after opting to have surgery on a stress fracture in his lumbar spine.
'It was an emotional moment for me today, I went to the graveyard. I entered my home, my mother started crying as soon as she saw me. I ate home-cooked food after a long time and it was really good to be back home.'
England captain Joe Root defended his decision to bat first in the opening Ashes Test against Australia and stood by the selections in their bowling unit despite going down to a heavy nine-wicket defeat at the Gabba on Saturday.
Virat Kohli booed by home fans after bumping shoulders with Konstas on the pitch after the 19-year-old smashed India's bowlers around the park early on.
With 765 international scalps in his bag, Ashwin is the second-highest wicket-taker from India after Anil Kumble.
The 38-year-old played the day-night Test in Adelaide and picked up one wicket.
Selectors have recalled pace stalwart Hazlewood for the second ODI after he missed the MCG match to play Sheffield Shield cricket.
Team India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar provided insights into the team's preparations for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has called for an improved performance from India's batting unit in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, saying the lack of runs from the top-order builds pressure on the lower-order.
'He pursued it, practised hard at it and continued to look for new things as his career progressed, to keep up with the times.'
Images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Jaiswal has made a reputation as one of the most ferocious Test openers in a long time, capable of scoring fast and big both.
Pujara could get the selectors' nod if Ajit Agarkar and his team decide to fall back on his experience.
Pat Cummins defends team behaviour, terms Travis Head 'a big boy' who can speak for himself
'I'm leaning towards McSweeney now for that opening role at the start of the Australian summer.'
Fans trouping in for the second India-Australia cricket one-dayer in Brisbabe on Friday were in for a surprise when retired former captain Michael Clarke's name showed up at the top of the home team's line-up on the Gabba's giant scoreboard.
If crowds flock to the India ODI on Friday, the Gabba could host a day-night Test.
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