A rampant Mumbai Indians will present a stern test of character for the rattled Punjab Kings in a virtual semi-final when the two teams face-off in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Australian opener Matthew Short suffered an injury while fielding but he returned to open the batting and Smith said he could take a few days to recover.
Australia bowled out Sri Lanka for 231 in the hosts' second innings and then chased down the target of 75 losing the lone wicket of opener Travis Head.
Dimuth Karunaratne's Test career ended in a whimper as Sri Lanka's most prolific Test opener fell caught behind to Kuhnemann after making 14.
Jake Fraser-McGurk set the IPL alight with his smashing performance with the bat for Delhi Capitals, hitting 330 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 234.
Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant's woeful form with the bat and Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer's sublime touch have made Sunday's mid-table clash an engrossing contest -- one that could decisively shape the fortunes of either side as the IPL enters its business end.
With 539 scalps in 134 matches at an average of 30.39 and best figures of 5/39, Lyon is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Tests and has 24 five-wicket hauls and five ten-wicket hauls.
Australia might experiment in the group stage to find their best XI. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa will play a crucial role while left-arm spinner Ashton Agar is also expected to be in the mix.
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.
With Mahendra Singh Dhoni being the same player and no one to "bell the cat", CSK are in unusual mess with a mis-firing top-order where the skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has had to give up his opening slot.
Almost half of the Australian team currently playing in the T20 International series in India will return home after the third match in Guwahati.
Australia are hosting West Indies for three T20s between Feb. 9-13 as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the Caribbean and U.S. in June.
Delhi Capitals will be desperate to arrest their slump and stay in contention for a play-off berth when they take on high-flying Punjab Kings in a crucial IPL match in Dharamsala on Thursday.
If Punjab goes for a flat deck, there is no guarantee that the bowling unit can defend anything in the 220 range, especially when KKR have the likes of Sunil Narine, Rinku Singh, and Venkatesh Iyer in their ranks.
Both teams have struggled in the ODI format recently. World champions Australia lost to Sri Lanka (0-2) and Pakistan (1-2) in their last two series, while England, now coached by Brendon McCullum in all formats, haven't won an ODI series since their disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign.
SRH's ultra-aggressive approach with the bat has backfired spectacularly as they have suffered four defeats in a row -- leaving them languishing at the bottom of the points table.
Preity Zinta, like Punjab Kings, is a fighter. Her disappointment today only adds to the fire for tomorrow. The tears she held back will likely fuel next season's charge. Because if there's one thing the IPL has taught us, it's that passion like hers doesn't fade. It only comes back louder.
David Warner became Australia's first player from the nation to make 100 appearances in all formats of cricket
Images from India's first T20I against Australia in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Shreyas Iyer had led KKR to their first IPL title in a decade last year. However, on Saturday, he returns as captain of a rejuvenated Punjab Kings chasing a play-off spot.
Young leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha has been cut along with fast bowler Nathan Ellis and rookie all-rounder Aaron Hardie.
Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant is looking to make his mark and secure a win in his team's first home game of the season.
Yuzvendra Chahal led a stunning comeback for Punjab Kings with 4/28 as they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs in their low-scoring Indian Premier League thriller on Tuesday.
Uncapped Inglis joins Australia stars in T20 World Cup squad.
The Australian media summed up their team's 295-run hammering by India in the opening Test with strong headlines such as 'Perth-etic Humiliation' and 'Monster Loss', former players called for some tough decisions, including sacking Marnus Labuschagne.
He will be back-up for Australia's regular wicketkeeper Alex Carey until Inglis returns to the squad for the rest of the five-Test series against England.
Australian chair of selectors George Bailey said Fraser-McGurk and Short made "compelling cases" for selection, and provide better than adequate cover should squad members go down during the tournament.
The three-match ODI series between Australia and West Indies will start from February 2 till February 6 in Brisbane, Sydney, and Canberra respectively.
Captain Mitchell Marsh hammered 39 off 12 balls before Josh Inglis and Stoinis drove Australia to 156 for three for victory, the highest chase achieved within 10 overs in men's T20Is.
Rajasthan Royals face a tough challenge against a marauding Punjab Kings batting lineup, led by in-form Shreyas Iyer.
Australia will open their campaign in the T20 World Cup against South Africa in the first game of the Super 12 stage at the Abu Dhabi Stadium on October 23.
They will meet the winner of Wednesday's second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand in the final in Dubai on Sunday.
David Warner has been under pressure after a poor run of form with the bat but returned after injury to the 17-man squad for the June 7 WTC final against India at The Oval and the first two Ashes Tests.
Their pre-tournament decision to fill the squad with five spinners drew a lot of flak from all corners, but it is now proving to be a masterstroke on the slow pitches in Dubai.
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch said that Alex Carey and Rishabh Pant, two left-handed wicketkeeper-batters will be extremely important for their respective sides during the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.
Australia's selectors decided against sending any out-of-form batters Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to play for the Prime Minister's XI against India.
In a nail-biting finish at the MCG, Australia clinched a thrilling two-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first ODI on Monday night.
Hazlewood makes the cut as Australia confirm WTC final squad
Former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne said the time is right for fast bowler Pat Cummins to succeed Tim Paine as captain of the Test team.
Australia will be without their premier pacers but their envious pedigree in ICC tournaments make them favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy from Group B.
