The grand comeback party of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma endured a quick 22-ball ending, and their lowkey outing reflected in India's seven-wicket defeat against Australia.
Pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed career-best Twenty20 international figures of 4-12 to guide Australia to a 20-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday, in a rain-affected opener of the five-match series.
Australia has rested pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood for the remainder of the home international season which includes the remaining three ODIs of the five match series and the following three T20 internationals. The home side is already missing their premier fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Patt Cummins owing to injury, with senior paceman Mitchell Johnson announcing retirement. Pacer John Hastings has been retained as Hazlewood's replacement for the third ODI, set to take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
"I had some good success against him in Australia and hopefully with these conditions pretty similar to those, I can get on top of him early and put that pressure back on him," Hazlewood's told Cricket Australia website (cricket.com.au).
Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
Having played as many as 15 Tests against India, Hazlewood is looking forward to the challenge of playing the Asian giants at a neutral venue.
Australia have not lost a Test match at the Gabba since 1988.
Expect nothing less than hostility, fire and close contests as Ben Stokes' England come armed with their Bazball philosophy to try and get the better of a depleted Australia.
The Perth Stadium curator has promised the wicket will be green, fast and bouncy but Stokes offered no thoughts on whether England would attack with four quicks or pick the specialist spinner, Shoaib Bashir, in their 11.
Former captain Tim Paine has been appointed coach of the Australia 'A' team for this season with the country approaching a transition to a new generation of players as a handful of Test stalwarts near retirement.
Australia have tried and tested five openers in the format since David Warner had his last dance after last year's Caribbean World Cup. Marsh remained tight-lipped about the appearance of the rest of the batting unit but confirmed there were discussions about Tim David's place.
Shreyas Iyer's inspiring leadership faces its toughest test yet when Punjab Kings host an equally upbeat Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League in Mullanpur on Thursday.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's bid for a maiden home victory this IPL season will depend on their batters' ability to handle the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell when they face the Punjab Kings on Friday.
Krunal Pandya recorded his first fifty in IPL since 2016, helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru pull off a six-wicket win over Delhi Capitals.
Virat Kohli may reclaim the RCB captaincy in IPL 2025.
RCB's pace trio have combined picked up 33 wickets in a total of 90.5 overs bowled so far in IPL 2025.
Australia has made a couple of changes to its squad, addressing Hazlewood's absence and the top-order issues. Sam Konstas replaces Nathan McSweeney in the squad for the fourth Test.
Jhye Richardson will replace injured paceman Josh Hazlewood but opener David Warner has been cleared to play against England in the second day-night Ashes Test.
Openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli will brace for a fiery showdown against thunderbolts from express pacer Jofra Archer as Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru look to get back to winning ways in the IPL match in Jaipur on Sunday.
Australia paceman Josh Hazlewood will miss the second and final Test against Bangladesh after picking up a side strain on Tuesday which also rules him out of the subsequent limited-overs tour of India.
McDonald also said the selectors would consider a Test recall for Mitch Marsh, even if Australia's white-ball captain said last week he would be watching the Ashes series beer in hand.
Sammy expressed frustration that his side were on the "sharp end of the stick" for two caught behind decisions that had been referred to Holdstock which saw Australia batter Travis Head given not out, while Windies 'keeper batter Shai Hope was adjudicated out.
RCB will look to Virat Kohli not just for runs but also for inspiration as they chase that elusive IPL title -- a drought that has persisted for the last 17 years since the IPL's inception in 2008.
Windies were restricted in their second innings by economical seamer Josh Hazlewood (3-23) and spinner Nathan Lyon (3-42).
Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood feels England don't know how to beat Australia.
Uncapped in T20Is, Fraser-McGurk was included in Australia's World Cup squad as a reserve player but never got a chance to shine on the global stage.
Australia's Josh Hazlewood is concerned about a COVID-19 outbreak at his Indian Premier League franchise in the United Arab Emirates, the seamer said on Monday. Hazlewood is in England for Australia's limited-overs series, three Twenty20 matches in Southampton followed by three 50-over internationals in Manchester.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed the Men's Test Player-of-the-Year award. It marked his first Australian Cricket Award, with Hazlewood taking 30 wickets at just 13.16 in Tests against the West Indies, New Zealand, and India.
Australia is on the cusp of scripting another milestone. If the Baggy Greens trounce the Proteas, they will become the first team to defend the WTC mace successfully.
West Indies' fearsome bowling attacks of old, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph tore through Australia on Wednesday
Brett Lee's thunderbolts had taken Rohit Sharma's 'sleep away' when he first started out but among the current lot, Josh Hazlewood is one speedster the India swashbuckler 'doesn't want to face' in Tests.
'He showed an awareness of what was required, which belied the fact that he was making his Test debut.'
Concerns that senior players would pull out of the tour due to security issues after both England and New Zealand withdrew from tours of Pakistan late last year have proven unfounded.
Australian batter Matthew Short is relishing the opportunity to face "world-class" Indian bowlers in the ongoing five-match T20I series.
The unexpected 10-day break has left both the RCB and the KKR with different goals to achieve and common challenges to hurdle over.
Uncapped McSweeney to open with Khawaja in India series
Australian batsman Steve Smith narrowly missed reaching the 10,000-run milestone in Test cricket during the final match against India in Sydney. He acknowledges the significance of the milestone, describing it as "a different beast." Smith's pursuit of the landmark weighed heavily on his mind during the match, and he even joked about associating the number 38 (the runs he needed) with teammate Josh Hazlewood, whose jersey number is 38. Despite falling short, Smith remains hopeful of achieving the milestone on the first day of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
Bavuma said his hamstring was 'feeling good' ahead of his return, and the South African skipper also confirmed he would bat at number three for the opening match of the three-game series behind openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram.
Kuldeep slips to third in ODI rankings, Maharaj regains top spot
With no ODI series in Australia in the next two years, it is impossible to think that the legendary duo will again be seen Down Under in India blues.
