Dashing opener Virender Sehwag became the fifth Indian batsman to complete 8000 runs in Test cricket when he reached an individual score of 20 against Australia in the first Test.
India has not won an ICC event since the Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, and the team is keen to break the drought this time around.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for the World Cup match against Pakistan?
Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was, on Tuesday, ruled out of the third and final Test against South Africa due to a hamstring injury and will be replaced by Dinesh Karthik in the squad.
'We realise we haven't been good enough across all facets of the game. The boys want to win, we want to win the series too.'
Twelve months on and things have not got any easier for Tennis Australia with Omicron spreading through the country just as the first players are set to arrive for warm-up events ahead of the Melbourne Park tournament.
India's opener Shikhar Dhawan and vice-captain Virat Kohli have recovered from their injuries sustained during the second Test against Australia and are fit to play the third match beginning in Melbourne on December 26.
Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 Melbourne Park champion, has not played on the WTA Tour since the Pan Pacific Open in September, where she pulled out of her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia in Tokyo due to illness.
It was a bitter pill for James Anderson and England's bowlers, who had battled hard to limit Australia to 267 and give their batsmen a chance to set the home side a chase.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
'We're absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead'
England resumed their first innings on 491 for nine but Cook was unable to add to his overnight total, with Pat Cummins dismissing tail-ender James Anderson for a duck with the first ball of the morning.
Karnataka pacer R Vinay Kumar was named as his replacement for the four-match Test series beginning in Melbourne on December 26.
Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar will join Australia's squad for the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney, captain Steven Smith said on Tuesday.
Australia named an unchanged 12-man squad for the fourth Test in Melbourne following the team's dominant 267-run win over England in Perth on Sunday.
The 50-year-old former Australia batsman opined that India have a potent bowling attack and if their batsmen cope with the bounce well, then the tourists could stage a comeback in the series.
Virat Kohli urged his batsmen to complement the superb effort of his bowling unit in the upcoming Boxing Day Test against Australia starting on Wednesday.
'(And) we've got a fourth guy who's a regular opener for India who's not fit (Vijay). We've got all four openers firing now. Shikhar was supposed to go (home) to Melbourne, now he's got a 190 in Galle. So, anything can happen in life'
Factbox on the four-Test series between Australia and India, which begins on Thursday
The captain couldn't be more happier with Ashwin's success.
'The whole batting line-up and team are talented. I am looking forward to them having a good game against England, which is their biggest test. If they win the semi-finals, they will lift the trophy.'
The England team under Heather Knight finished winless, their points coming from two washed out T20 matches in Adelaide and a drawn test in Canberra.
Plucked from obscurity when called up by selectors on Christmas Eve, the 32-year-old Victoria paceman finished with outrageous innings figures of 6-7 in four overs, sending his home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into delirium.
It was neither the 31-year-old all-rounder's fastest knock nor his most fluent as batting partners fell away, and he had to grind his way through some testing fast bowling.
Former Test captain Shahid Afridi said it would be a dream come true to have a Pakistan vs India final on Sunday at the MCG.
The Indian Weightlifting Federation is likely to face a ban after two of it's lifters tested positive at the Commonwealth Games.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has been ruled out of next week's fourth Test against India because of the injury he sustained to his right hamstring during the third game in Melbourne.
The 33-year-old was wearing pads but not a helmet as he was waiting for his turn to bat.
Top order batsman Usman Khawaja has suffered a setback in his bid to return to the Australia team for the second Test against West Indies after being ruled out of a domestic Twenty20 match by his Sydney Thunder side on Monday.
Factbox on former Australian spinner Shane Warne, who died on Friday at the age of 52.
"Everybody has different tags and rankings that go up and down throughout the year, and I suppose they end up with different names. But you come into a tournament on any day, anything can happen, especially looking across all these teams with match winners throughout."
Injured Australian speedster Jackson Bird has been ruled out of the remaining three Test matches against India due to a bone stress injury on his back sustained during the first warm-up game of the ongoing series.
Following is a fact box on the final Test of the four-match series between Australia and India
Pat Cummins said the Adelaide wicket had played a part in the humbling of India in the first test and the Australia paceman is hoping for another good track when the teams meet again in the second Test in Melbourne on December 26.
Former Sri Lanka captain Duleep Mendis once remarked that 'Murali' could turn the ball even on concrete and it was no exaggeration.
India end 2016 atop ICC Test Team rankings
Sent in to bat on a grassy MCG pitch on Sunday, England were skittled for 185
Reserve batsman Fakhar Zaman, who has been out with a knee injury, will also travel to Brisbane with Afridi.
'We're excited about Rohit coming back. Spoke to him yesterday, he's waiting to join the team.'
Lewis Hamilton wrapped up his pre-season testing with Mercedes in eye-catching style on Saturday with a lap that was easily the fastest seen so far this year in Barcelona.
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