Australia have barely put a foot wrong in the five-match series and will head to the MCG confident of pushing England toward a second successive whitewash on home soil.
Smith has managed just 10 runs in the first two matches, while Labuschagne could not capitalise on the starts
The Melbourne Cricket Ground was kept on standby to host back-to back matches against India, who won the traditional Boxing Day Test at the MCG by eight wickets on Tuesday.
Jadeja hit his 15th fifty in the longest format of the game on Monday in the Boxing Day Test against Australia.
Paine was given out purely based on a Snicko spike as there was no mark on Hot Spot, which is the correct protocol.
Jadeja, who suffered a concussion during the first T20 international, also sustained a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the first Test.
The humiliation in Adelaide has opened up 'serious wounds' for India and Australia now have a good chance of inflicting on the visitors a whitewash in the four-Test series, reckons former captain Ricky Ponting.
David Warner failed to take field against India in the ongoing Boxing Day cricket Test after the Australian opener suffered a nasty blow on his right forearm at the MCG nets.
The celebrated Boxing Day Test will remain in Melbourne, Cricket Australia said today, after a report that administrators could reshuffle fixtures.
Smith was miffed after the umpire's decision to term the delivery of New Zealand paceman Neil Wagner as 'dead ball'
'It was an emotional moment for me today, I went to the graveyard. I entered my home, my mother started crying as soon as she saw me. I ate home-cooked food after a long time and it was really good to be back home.'
'India were on top of their game, they deserved to beat us for the first time in their history. But our guys are two years better and a lot of the Indians are the same, more experienced. I can't wait to see them go. Can't wait.'
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the third Test?
India spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are both under an injury cloud ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, leaving the tourists with a potential selection conundrum.
Gavaskar was impressed with Rahane's field placements
'We are looking at one session at a time'
With this, he went past former Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara's earlier record for most centuries in a single edition -- Sangakkara had scored four hundreds in the 2015 edition.
The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, which comprise three back-to-back matches in a span of five days.
The legendary Sachin Tendulkar says the current England team is in complete awe of India's world-class seam attack with only its skipper Joe Root looking capable of getting a big hundred.
Formula One race in Melbourne will proceed as planned this week and there is 'no chance' fans will be excluded because of coronavirus fears
The 33-year-old surpassed former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had claimed nine dismissals in a Test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 2014.
India will not face arch-rivals Pakistan in the group stages with both teams placed in separate groups.
Captain Virat Kohli bettered Rahul Dravid's long-standing record of most Test runs scored overseas by an Indian in a calendar year.
Research shows that kids who suffer cyberbullying can go through depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
Brett Lee offered his perspective on what the tournament means for women's cricket.
Australians can expect a backlash from the top ranked Test side in the world, according to former captain Ricky Ponting.
Peter Siddle has been brought into Australia's squad while uncapped fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been called into the New Zealand squad.
According to Pujara, his nemesis Patrick Cummins bowled the 'ball of the series' about which he couldn't do anything.
India has played only a handful of Boxing Day Tests and their record at the MCG is not very impressive. Both teams have played each other in five Boxing Day Tests, four of which have been won by Australia and one ending in a draw.
Vihari knows it will be a fight to get into the playing XI but he is ready to don the role of a finisher the same way he agreed to open for India in unfamiliar conditions in Melbourne.
When play resumed after the lunch break, Australia were dismissed for 300 after Kuldeep picked his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket, with figures of 5 for 99.
Smith's (28) ODI haul of 568 runs at 63.11 from 10 innings were enough to pip Finch (23) who scored 673 runs at 56.08 from 13 innings.
Lambasting the DDCA for deciding to install a statue of its late former president Arun Jaitley at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi, spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi has asked the body to remove his name from the spectators' stand, named after him in 2017.
However, ECB chief executive Tom Harrison put the cold water on the prospect, saying that it was highly unlikely that a day-night Test would be there in the schedule when the Ashes series would return to England next year.
Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha and young opener Prithvi Shaw are unlikely to be picked for the remaining Tests in Australia as India look to ring in wholesale changes after the batting debacle in Adelaide.
Australia all-rounder David Hussey, who played a big part in his team's 31-run victory over India in Sydney, is looking for a perfect game to make it 2-0 in the second Twenty20 international at the MCG on Friday.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Friday.
The match between Thailand and Pakistan in the ongoing Women's World Cup was abandoned due to rain. Thailand players kept their fans entertained while dancing to the tunes of Venga Boys' famous track 'We like to Party'
"I really felt for Shafali Verma at the end, it was tough seeing her in tears but she should be very proud of the way she's performed in Australia," Brett Lee wrote in his column for the ICC.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances