Mumbai Indians had roared back to form after thrashing RCB by five-wickets in the last game, there are problems aplenty for DC.
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".
Images from Thursday's IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, in Abu Dhabi.
Openers Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns struck sedate half centuries as Australia 'A' cantered to a nine-wicket victory over South Africa 'A' in the first tri-series cricket match in Chennai.
Down with a recurrent back injury, Australia's regular skipper Michael Clarke said the actions of David Warner and other teammates in Birmingham had an "impact on his leadership".
Pace legend Glenn McGrath, who has often predicted results of Australia's Test rubbers, forecast yet another 5-0 clean sweep by his country against England in the upcoming Ashes series.
Former Australian cricketer Geoff Lawson feels India would need a combination of tight technique and tough minds to get the better of the Aussies.
Australia pace bowler Kane Richardson is to return home for further examination on a back injury and has been replaced by Joel Paris in the squad for their final one-day match against New Zealand in Hamilton on Monday. Richardson, 24, did not play in Australia's four-wicket victory in the second match in Wellington on Saturday. "Kane Richardson's back pain hasn't subsided sufficiently to take part in the final ODI in Hamilton," a Cricket Australia spokesperson told Australian reporters in Wellington on Sunday.
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.
Josh Hazlewood had to wait a while for his Test debut but no one can accuse him of wasting his chance when it came after he became the 33rd Australian to take a five-wicket haul on debut in the second Test against India on Thursday.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum broke the world record for the fastest Test century held jointly by his idol Viv Richards on Saturday without ever being aware he was about to make cricket history.
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.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2020's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 46.
Carlos Brathwaite shone briefly for West Indies but the rain was the only real winner on Monday as wet weather washed away all but 11.2 overs of play on the second day of the third Test against Australia.
Battle commences at Edgbaston on Thursday and the last time Australia won there was the opening match of the 2001 series which they ended up dominating 4-1.
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.
Australian captain Michael Clarke made his expected declaration overnight and then his bowlers worked their way through the South African batting line-up to dismiss them for 287 and claim an overall lead of 207 runs.
Australian great Glenn McGrath says the handling of the 'homework gate' saga during the team's tour of India earlier this year was "pretty poor" and felt it "all blew up" in the middle of the 0-4 Test series drubbing.
There will certainly be some distinct home advantage for Australia along with the experience of playing more Day/Night Tests.
Refreshed Australia pace spearhead is confident of regaining his rhythm quickly for the Champions Trophy after being sidelined nearly three months with a foot injury.
Phillip Hughes' tragic death came back to haunt Australia after star all-rounder Shane Watson was hit on the helmet by a vicious bouncer from pacer James Pattinson during their training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Hardik Pandya hasn't featured in Tests since 2018 and has only recently recovered from a career-threatening back injury.
Australia have cut opening batsman Ed Cowan and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade from their list of 18 centrally-contracted players, but handed opener Phillip Hughes another chance to establish himself in the national set-up.
England batting coach Graham Thorpe said they will not give up hope of saving the third Test against Australia, but a woeful batting display from the hosts on Friday left them with a mountain to climb to regain the Ashes.
Jofra Archer's first five-wicket haul in Test cricket put England in command on a weather-affected opening day of the third Ashes Test at Headingley on Thursday as they bowled Australia out for 179.
'I cannot believe that D'Arcy Short has been left out of the side. I don't know what he's done wrong. He can bowl and his batting at the top is dynamic. He's in terrific form, and he and Finch make an awesome partnership at the top'
David Warner and Shaun Marsh smashed fifties to complement their bowlers' efforts as Australia crushed England by seven wickets in the third one-day international in Sydney on Sunday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Images from Wednesday's Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, in Abu Dhabi.
Australia have included uncapped George Bailey in their 12-man squad for the first Ashes encounter against England next week in a gamble the 31-year-old can replicate his "extraordinary" limited overs form in the Test arena.
After taking a first innings lead of 233 on Friday before conceding three quick wickets, England batted throughout the day to reach 333 for five at the close with Joe Root unbeaten on 178, his second Test hundred.
Ferguson, who will need five to six weeks to recover, is returning to New Zealand and a replacement for him will be named on Tuesday, coach Gary Stead told reporters on Monday.
Nathan Lyon took 5-68 as a dominant Australia dismissed New Zealand for 251 before the home batsmen took over to extend their lead to 243 by the close of play on the third day of the third and final Test in Sydney on Sunday. Already 2-0 down in the series after thumping defeats in Perth and Melbourne, New Zealand have been ravaged by illness and injury and now face a huge battle to avoid a third heavy loss before they head home. Images from Day 3 of the third Test in Sydney on Sunday.
Australia cricketer Phillip Hughes remains in an induced coma on Thursday after spending a second night in a Sydney, with the local ambulance service now under scrutiny for their response to the accident.
Chappell still believes that Australia might have a slight edge in Test matches
Justin Langer said the contest would likely be an exciting one thanks to the two teams being evenly-matched.
Top-order batsman Shaun Marsh has been dropped from Australia's side for their second Test against West Indies, despite scoring 182 in the comprehensive first Test victory in Hobart.
In a televised interview, the former Australian captain also spoke of his dressing room bust-up with Simon Katich among other controversial topics
Images from Tuesday's IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, in Abu Dhabi.
The India squad to play New Zealand in a five-ODI, two-Test tour is as dominant a force in world cricket as at any stage when retired batting great Sachin Tendulkar donned the pads.
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