In what will be a dress rehearsal of their opening game in the World Cup, an unbeaten Australia take on England in the cricket tri-series final, in Perth on Sunday.
England paceman James Anderson ripped shellshocked Australia to shreds with six wickets to bowl the tourists out for a paltry 136 on the first day of the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
Peter Siddle has been brought into Australia's squad while uncapped fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been called into the New Zealand squad.
Australia's Marnus Labuschange struck another half century to pile on the runs and the misery over New Zealand on Day 3 of the day-night Test in Perth on Saturday. Earlier, Starc picked a five-wicket haul.
Australia bundled out England for a paltry 103 in their second innings to win the second Test match at Lord's on Sunday by a massive margin of 405 runs on the fourth day.
tung by the defeat in the series opener despite putting up a big score, India will have to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on Australia in the second One-Day International on Friday, fully aware that any slip-up will make their task of bouncing back difficult.
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.
'I think they're feeling the pressure a little bit to be honest'
Aaron Finch and his men arrived in India as clear underdogs, having endured a wretched couple of years in the format during which they lost six ODI series in a row and were ravaged by a ball-tampering scandal.
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.
Factbox on the second Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Saturday:
A quick look at the Oscar 2016 nominations.
Australia thrashed Afghanistan by 275 runs in their Pool A match of the ICC World Cup at the WACA in Perth. Images from the match.
The victory puts the pressure back on title rivals Liverpool who are at Cardiff City on Sunday and trail by a point with each side having played 34 games.
Ponting shrugged off Australia's injury worries and the idea of there being risk in rushing Smith and Warner into the team.
Opening batsman David Warner made his first one-day international (ODI) century outside Australia to set his team on their way to a 36-run victory over South Africa in the fourth match of a triangular ODI series.
As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Hazlewood said his team has been making plans for Kohli and a few 'options' will be in place.
Manchester City had to battle back from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Premier League newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers who gave the champions a real test at Molineux on Saturday.
Photographs of the Day 4 play of the second Test between India and Australia being played in Brisbane.
Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to secure Manchester City a 1-0 English Premier League victory at Leicester City after yet another penalty miss by Pep Guardiola's side on Saturday. Chelsea's Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso returned to the starting lineup to stunning effect by grabbing a goal apiece in a crucial 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in the battle between the London rivals for fourth place.
Ravichandran Ashwin's 25th five-wicket haul was the cornerstone of India's remarkable turnaround as the hosts defeated Australia by 75 runs in the second cricket Test to level the four-match series.
Quinton de Kock shone on a gloomy day in Hobart with a sparkling century that propelled South Africa to a commanding 203-run lead over Australia at lunch on day three of the second Test on Monday. - Scorecard: The wicketkeeper-batsman's 104, in a defiant 144-run partnership with Temba Bavuma, frustrated Australia's bowlers for nearly the entire session at Bellerive Oval before he was bowled by Josh Hazlewood. Bavuma was 74 not out at the break, with paceman Vernon Philander on three, the Proteas having taken full advantage of a bloodless bowling display to push to 288 for six.
'Over the last 12 months Virat's averaged 133, Shikhar 75, and Rohit 50; so there's a lot of runs and balls faced from their top three. It's important to get them as early as you can because once they get in, they score fast and they don't seem to get out too easily'
Batsmen Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges and Joe Burns have been rewarded for their strong form over the past 12 months by being awarded central contracts by Cricket Australia on Friday.
Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc will return from a broken foot during Australia's limited-overs triangular series in the West Indies in June.
Australia won the ICC cricket World Cup for a record fifth time when they beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Australia's Aaron Finch hit his fifth one-day international century to drive the hosts to a 73-run victory over South Africa in Canberra on Wednesday and a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
The on-field verbal duel between rival captains Virat Kohli and Tim Paine has been one of the talking points of the second Test in Perth but Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood played it down, saying it was done in good spirits.
Both Australia and New Zealand played down any significance of the umpires warning the visitors for throwing the ball to wicketkeeper Peter Nevill on the bounce in order to aid its deterioration during the third day of the second Test on Monday.
Selectors continue to fret over who bats after the second wicket falls, however, with a series of candidates having fluffed their auditions.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney, on Friday.
Captain Ishan Kishan and Ricky Bhui smashed unbeaten centuries as three-time champion India crushed Canada by 372 runs in their warm-up match of the U-19 World Cup in Mirpur on Saturday.
Factbox on the fifth Ashes Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
India, along with the mighty Australia, will start as title contenders in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Chasing a revised target of 235 from 33 overs following two rain interruptions, Australia were struggling at 53 for three in nine overs when the heavens opened up for the third time in the day, forcing the onfield umpires to abandon the game as both the sides split points.
Brendon McCullum's dismissal in the final over of the day put Australia firmly in control of the first Test in Wellington on Sunday, as New Zealand were reduced to 178-4, still 201 runs behind the tourists' mammoth first innings of 562.
Dark sunglasses were the order of the day for Australia's triumphant cricket team.
