Australia all-rounder James Faulkner is in line to make his Test debut after replacing Usman Khawaja for the fifth and final Ashes Test, starting at The Oval on Wednesday.
Australia were two wickets from victory at the end of day four of the first day-night test against Pakistan on Sunday, but the tourists were buoyed by a feisty fourth innings chase and a brilliant unbeaten century from Asad Shafiq.
Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood says he is fit and ready for the Ashes series against England after taking six wickets and coming through a Sheffield Shield match unscathed.
Australia have barely put a foot wrong in the five-match series and will head to the MCG confident of pushing England toward a second successive whitewash on home soil.
Penpix of players in Australia's Ashes squad.
Australia may unleash an all-pace attack against Pakistan for the series-opening day-night Test in Brisbane, home captain Steve Smith said.
The 23-year-old fast bowler has not played a Test since his stunning seven-wicket debut against South Africa as an 18-year-old in 2011.
Factbox on the four-Test series between India and Australia, which starts at Pune on Thursday:
All-rounder Hilton Cartwright will make his debut for Australia in the dead rubber third Test against Pakistan in Sydney on Tuesday, with left-armer Steve O'Keefe returning to the side as a second spinner alongside Nathan Lyon.
Uncapped leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson , 23, joins lead spinner Nathan Lyon and left-arm orthodox Ashton Agar and Steve O'Keefe.
India A could not take advantage of a strong opening partnership and lost four quick wickets for an addition of just 16 runs as they ended the third day of their four-day game against Australia A at 158 for four, still needing 108 runs to avoid the innings defeat, in Brisbane on Saturday.
'We have plenty of options here to cover the forced changes of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Marsh, so we'll have another look at the wicket tomorrow and we'll name the team at the toss'
Australia's fast bowling stocks got some welcome news on Tuesday after James Pattinson suggested he could be fit in time for matches later in the Ashes series against England.
Cricket Australia has said that it will not be divulging the nature of injuries sustained during a match unless the player is ruled out of the Test during the return Ashes series.
The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy is locked at 1-1 and the match at Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), which is organising it's first-ever Test, is set to be a make-or-break affair for both teams.
Australia captain Steve Smith brushed off concerns about his fitness on the eve of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England on Wednesday before Mitchell Starc's return to spearhead the pace attack was confirmed as the only change to his team.
Australia have chosen the experience of Peter Siddle over the potential of the uncapped Joe Mennie as their third seamer for the opening Test against South Africa, which starts on Thursday.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Having dismissed England's openers for a combined 17 runs on day four, Hazlewood required just one delivery to make the first breakthrough of the morning.
Australia have decided to put captain Michael Clarke under wraps with fast bowlers Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle ahead of next week's Ashes opener, withdrawing the trio from domestic fixtures to prepare for the test in Brisbane.
Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has backed himself to be fit for the first Ashes Test in two weeks and dismissed an untimely hamstring injury as a "niggle".
Australia's selectors sprung a major surprise on Friday by naming uncapped fast bowler Joe Mennie in a 12-man squad for the first two matches of a three-test series against South Africa beginning in Perth next week. Mennie was part of an inexperienced bowling attack that was humbled by the Proteas batsmen in the recent one-day series in South Africa, which the hosts won 5-0. Despite accumulating figures of 0-82 on debut, the 27-year-old was preferred to Jackson Bird, who toured New Zealand and Sri Lanka as part of the Australian test squad.
Australia have achieved what Steve Smith set out to do when he assumed the captaincy last year by climbing to the top of the test rankings after beating New Zealand on Wednesday with the batsman admitting the trick now "was to stay there". The seven-wicket victory coming just after lunch on the final day at Hagley Oval sealed a 2-0 series win against Brendon McCullum's side and confirmed Australia's ascendancy to the pinnacle of test cricket for the first time since July 2014. "It's a good start for us. We want to win every series we play and winning away from home is a big goal of mine and the team's," Smith told reporters. "We came here at the start of the series wanting to win 2-0 and we knew if we did that we would be number one in the world. "I guess the challenge for this group now is to extend that gap and try and play some very good cricket home and away." Smith, who first captained the side for three tests against India in Michael Clarke's absence at the end of 2014, assumed the role in a full time capacity after his predecessor retired following the Ashes series loss to England last year.
Australia broke Pakistan's dangerous third-wicket partnership to reduce the tourists to 177 for three, still 361 runs in arrears, at tea on a rain-disrupted third day of the third and final Test on Thursday. - Scorecard: Opener Azhar Ali was the batsman to fall for 71, leaving elder statesmen Younus Khan, who is inching towards his 34th Test century on 84 not out, and Misbah-ul-Haq, who has made 18, to resume for the extended final session.
Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.
Pat Cummins exceeded expectations in his first Test match in more than five years and the speedster will pose a sweet selection headache for Australia, bowling coach David Saker said on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Holland played two Tests in Sri Lanka in 2016 but has not appeared for his country in any format since.
'I think they're feeling the pressure a little bit to be honest'
Indian captain Virat Kohli has been rendered a doubtful starter for the fourth and final cricket Test against Australia in Ranchi, a scenario that has put the hosts under immense pressure on the eve of the decider of the bitterly fought series.
Bowling coach Craig McDermott, who rejuvenated Australia's pace attack before resigning last year, will return to the role for the Test team in a major boost for the hosts ahead of the Ashes series against England.
Australia can take the top Test ranking from India with a series victory
Factbox on the second Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Saturday:
Mitchell Starc shone with bat and ball as Australia dismissed Pakistan for 163 to secure an innings and 18 run victory in the second Test on Friday, the win giving the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
A little bird in the know of things tells me that Allu Arjun will most likely become the face of a global cola brand very soon. And he has jacked his brand endorsement price to an unheard of Rs 7.5 crore per day, leaving the likes of Virat Kohli and Ranveer Singh trailing by quite a margin, reveals Sandeep Goyal.
Australia vice-captain David Warner found it "bizarre" that pundits and fans continue to criticise the team despite winning their last two Test matches after a run of five losses.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja's maiden 10-wicket match haul against England in Chennai has propelled him to second position behind teammate and India's star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the ICC Test bowler rankings released on Wednesday.
Photos from Day 3 of the first Test played at The Gabba on Saturday
Opening batsman David Warner enjoyed a gift-wrapped century after being reprieved on 99 as Australia endured a meandering first day of the Boxing Day Test against England on Tuesday.
Sukanya Verma goes down memory lane to recap the desi sightings at the Oscars.
Before the two teams face off in a much-anticipated four-Test series starting on December 17, Australia A are scheduled to play two three-day tour games against India A, which features Test specialists.
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