Superb centuries from Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell lifted Australia to a dramatic three-wicket victory over England on Wednesday as the visitors clinched the one-day international series 2-1.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
Australian captain Aaron Finch is confident Glenn Maxwell's ODI absence won't last long.
A few bruised egos will eye redemption when India square off against Australia in the second Test in Melbourne from Saturday, ready to bounce back in skipper Ajinkya Rahane's hour of reckoning after their batting debacle in the series opener in Adelaide.
Australia's hopes of winning back respect and moving on from a ball-tampering scandal that plunged the team into disgrace face their first test on Sunday when Tim Paine's rebuilding side meet Pakistan in the series-opener in Dubai.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said that IPL final will be held in Mumbai and not Ahmedabad.
'He is a really exciting talent and probably the guy I am looking forward to seeing the most this summer. I have seen the Aussies a lot and I have seen a lot of the Kiwis, but I am really excited to see him'
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list the Most Valuable Players during the India-Australia ODI series.
Pujara has been criticised for his ultra-defensive approach in the series so far and instead of propping up his team's response to Australia's first innings total
Australia made a good start before a dramatic collapse saw them slip from 144 for two in the run chase to be 207 all-out.
Kohli is now five points clear after Smith's knock of 36 in the Adelaide Test
'I think there'll be a huge fallout from this (defeat). There's not too many times that you lose to the second or third (choice) side.'
Chappell still believes that Australia might have a slight edge in Test matches
Sohail and Asad Shafiq (80) put on 150 for the fifth wicket on a placid track at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as Australia's bowlers toiled in the intense heat.
Smith's tally of 774 runs from seven innings with a Bradmanesque 110-plus average in a bowler-dominated series illustrates how he single-handedly carried Australia's run-scoring burden.
Left chasing shadows in the first two games, a listless Indian team would most certainly tweak its bowling combination in order to avoid a second successive clean-sweep when it takes on Australia in the third and final ODI, in Canberra, on Wednesday.
Following is a fact box on the final Test of the four-match series between Australia and India
In the video, Archer plays a straight drive just like Smith and then he goes on to leave the ball in exactly the same manner as Smith.
'Whatever he does, it will be the right thing because he knows what lies ahead'
'They have got so much talent. And in the last 10 years when they have not been playing home Test matches (for security reasons), they have done a remarkable job to be as competitive as they have and continue to bring on the level of talented players they have.'
India captain Virat Kohli will end the year at the top of the ICC Test ranking chart for batsmen but five-day specialist Cheteshwar Pujara slipped a place to fifth. With 928 points, Kohli is way ahead of second-placed Australian maestro Steve Smith (911) and New Zealand's inspirational skipper Kane Williamson (822), while Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, who has amassed 1,085 runs in 11 Tests this year, improved a place to grab the fourth spot.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji reveal the Most Valuable Players of the India-Australia ODI series.
Debutant Pakistan off-spinner Bilal Asif ripped through the Australian middle-order with six wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 202 on the third day of the first Test, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
India suffered the ignominy of being restricted to its lowest-ever total in Test cricket, collapsing to 36 for 9 in a terminated second innings against Australia on the third morning of the Day/Night first Test, in Adelaide, on Saturday.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Saturday.
Warner, himself, said he had no regrets but admitted he was thinking about Lara's record as he motored past 300.
'To stick to your guns when all the cricketing greats, coaches and textbooks say you are wrong -- that takes real courage. And now everyone is watching him bat in amazement, and trying to learn from him. The textbooks on batting technique may need to be rewritten'
Images from Day 5 of the fourth Ashes Test, at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Smith, however, had developed symptoms overnight and after further testing on Sunday, which is part of the process, Saw ruled him out of the fifth day.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane
Babar Azam fell one run short of his maiden century as Pakistan set Australia a mammoth victory target of 538 on day three of the second and final Test.
Steve Smith's unconventional technique will warrant a slightly wider line from Indian bowlers, the iconic Sachin Tendulkar said, urging the pacers to target the 'fifth stump' to blunt the redoubtable batsman during the upcoming series in Australia.
Australia opener Matt Renshaw is a doubt for the series-opening Test against Pakistan after suffering a head injury in a tour match in Dubai.
According to Steve Smith, the key to India's victory was their partnerships in the middle.
'I think it makes total sense in Test cricket'
Factbox on the five-Test Ashes series between England and Australia
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.
Chasing a record 468 for victory, New Zealand were teetering at 31 for two at the break with Tom Latham 10 not out and Ross Taylor unbeaten on five. Images from Day 4 of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand in Perth on Sunday.
Former captain Smith, who has endured boos from the home crowds for his role in last year's ball-tampering scandal but has responded by piling up 671 runs in five innings, said it was incredibly special to retain the Ashes in England, something Australia have not done for 18 years.
Former Test skipper Allan Border says that if Australia take the last eight English wickets on the final day of the fourth Ashes Test on Sunday and retain the coveted urn, the credit can go only to one man -- Steve Smith.
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