Two-nil down and with a harried captain insisting his team was neither dead nor buried, there was an unnerving sense of deja vu at the WACA as England made their final preparations on the eve of the third Ashes Test on Wednesday.
Dhoni's men will be slight favourites as it will be Bairstow's last game
Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali led England's charge to a 169-run victory over Australia with a day to spare in the first Test in Cardiff, on Saturday to make a flying start in their bid to regain the Ashes
Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson feels India would be under pressure ahead of the third Test despite leading 1-0, as the hosts would want to seal the four-Test series by wrapping up the issue in New Delhi.
Veteran seamer Jhulan Goswami was named in the Indian women's team for the T20 tri-series involving Australia and England with Harmanpreet Kaur back as the leader.
'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'
England were caught out by Australia's aggression during the ill-fated 2013/14 Ashes campaign but captain Joe Root says they are fully prepared for short-pitched bowling and on-field chatter when the series kicks off in Brisbane next week.
Ayew strikes as Palace hold Southampton to 2-2 draw
South Africa's success in Australia is often put down to their comfort on the hard local tracks, which can be similar to those at home, but they could face some unfamiliar conditions this year.
'It was a competitive target, probably like Virat said 180. They like chasing. They chased that really well.'
Galle has built a reputation as a spinners' paradise but Australia captain Steve Smith hopes there will be substantial reverse swing at the venue as his top-ranked team bid for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second test. Sri Lanka inflicted a 106-run defeat on the touring side at Pallekele last week in the opening match of the three-test series with the spinners taking 18 out of 20 Australian wickets to fall.
After bagging back-to-back man of the match awards in the ongoing cricket tri-series, left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc said he is relishing the opportunity of leading Australia's bowling attack in the absence of pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson.
Both former skipper Smith and Warner have agreed to turn out at the Australia nets to bat against the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazzlewood and Pat Cummins to help them prepare face Virat Kohli and Co in the upcoming four-Test series.
We've tried Dinesh Karthik, we've tried Jadeja, we've tried Vijay Shankar, three guys have been tried and they've not proved useful so maybe we can find a good youngster for No 5, says former India batsman Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
He may have had to relinquish his captaincy and a place in the side during the World Cup, but Kings XI's George Bailey utilized his 'spare' time to prepare himself for the IPL.
Australian captain Steve Smith says rookie pacer Barinder Sran has impressive variations in his armoury and was discussed in the dressing room.
'They have tried too hard to be that stereotypical Australian team that are aggressive and go hard at people.'
For the captain, Pant is one for the future with the kind of talent he possesses.
The batsman's unbeaten 110 at the WACA cauldron anchored a 174-run stand with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow (75 not out) to push England to 305 for four at stumps as the tourists emerged on top after an intriguing opening day.
A depleted Rajasthan Royals will have an onerous task of stopping the mighty CSK
But Smith believes the world champions have a quality squad to bounce back in the series.
The side leave later on Monday for the series in England, where they can expect a hostile reaction after being embroiled in a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in late March. The sides will play five one-day matches and a Twenty20 international.
The 21-year-old had to chase down James Guy and Jack McLoughlin to win the title, pulling ahead in the final 100 metres to edge out compatriot McLoughlin and the Englishman to touch in three minutes, 43.76.
Under-pressure Australia batsman Usman Khawaja is "frustrated" after failing to convert a number of starts in the Ashes series but insists his batting is in a good place as he looks for form in the tour match against Derbyshire on Thursday.
Notwithstanding the 2-0 scoreline in favour of the home team, former Australian all-rounder Michael Bevan feels Indians have a good chance to bounce back in Melbourne in the third cricket Test, starting Friday.
Captain Virat Kohli has thrown his weight behind India's struggling openers but the tourists' defeat in Perth showed they have yet to find a solution to their top order woes.
Even as they struggle to find the winning formula, laggards Kings XI Punjab will still fancy their chances when they host Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Mohali on Monday.
Had he been the captain, Ponting says he wouldn't have allowed Kohli to get a good start.
With the Sydney Cricket Ground reliably Australia's most spin-friendly wicket, the hosts may find it tough going to manufacture a face-saving victory and square the series.
'We played a lot of cricket throughout the year, so injuries are bound to happen. And there will be some concerns about form and fitness. I don't see there will be any drastic changes to the squad'
Following untimely injuries to Mitchell Starc and Adam Milne, Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer Varun Aaron is ready to step up and believes that the extra responsibility would act as motivation.
English cricketers can "forget" about the shorter format unless they embrace the Indian Premier League, according to the maverick Kevin Pietersen, who says his efforts to get his countrymen to play in the IPL have fallen on "deaf ears".
'Since we cannot trust the net bowlers about their exposure to COVID, it would be ideal to go with a large contingent as we can be assured of all the players' safety as they will be in a bio-secure environment.'
A recall for one-Test paceman Pat Cummins has been a long time coming but New South Wales captain Moises Henriques believes it still might be too soon for the bowler he considers a "freak of nature".
After retiring from international cricket, former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson will be making a sort of a comeback on the big stage when he represents Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League. Johnson's only competitive game of cricket since retiring from the international arena last November was a club game in Perth five weeks ago. But the left-armer hasn't lost any of the speed or skill that made him one of the fiercest fast bowlers in the world according to Kings XI captain David Miller. "The fire is definitely there and the pace is up there as well," Miller said. "I don't see why he's not going to do well.
Australian legend Glenn McGrath has said the Indian fast bowlers did a good job in the recent World Cup after a dismal show in the preceding tri-series.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will be leading the defending champions for the 10th year, would be used as a floater if required
Having turned the tables in the one-dayers after a shoddy show in the Test series, New Zealand speedster Tim Southee is confident that the Black Caps can script history by winning their first ever bilateral ODI series in India.
'They are in the process of building a new team. But from what I watched in the first Test, some of the players are really good. You can't just rule Australia out of the series. Of course India are more superior but again they have to continue playing good cricket'
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