The Australians struggled in the first Test in all departments, with only captain Michael Clarke, debutant Moises Henriques and pacer James Pattinson putting up a semblance of a fight. Now, with the Hyderabad pitch, once again, likely to favour spinners, the Aussies will have to dig deep if they have to square the series.
With Yuvraj Singh in prime form and Australian Moises Henriques and Ben Cutting making all-round contributions, Sunrisers are favourites going into the match.
# India (572) have recorded their highest total against Australia at Chepauk, beating the 501 in 2000-01. The said total is India's second highest at Chepauk, next only to the 627 against South Africa in March 2008.
Images from the Indian Premier League (IPL VI) match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Thursday.
Australia have named a trio of unproven all-rounders in their Test squad for the tour of India and thrown a life-line to discarded spinner Xavier Doherty as they scramble to find a winning combination ahead of back-to-back Ashes campaigns.
Phil Hughes returned to form with a century before Xavier Doherty and Moises Henriques took three wickets each to lead Australia to a series-levelling 32-run win over Sri Lanka in the final one-day cricket international on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli's brilliant innings under pressure enabled Royal Challengers Bangalore to eke out a thrilling six wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL cricket tournament on Friday.
Australia suffered a huge blow ahead of Wednesday's second one-dayer against India as fast bowlers Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson as well as all-rounder James Hopes were ruled out of the match due to injuries.
Statistical highlights of Tuesday's Champions League Twenty20 match between New South Wales and Chennai Super Kings, in Chennai.
New South Wales made a sensational fightback by smashing 16 runs in the final over before defeating Trinidad and Tobago via the Super Over Eliminator in a dramatic Champions League Twenty20 match in Chennai on Wednesday.
Australian cricketers in state side New South Wales continue to be hot property in the Indian Premier League (IPL)and young opener David Warner has become the latest to take the IPL plunge, signing a two-year deal with the Delhi Daredevils. The 22-year-old hit a NSW one-day record score of 165 not out against Tasmania in a Ford Ranger Cup game last month.
Worried that Twenty20 is diluting the fabric of cricket, Australia captain Ricky Ponting advised youngsters in the national team to set their priorities right by choosing the country first over cash offered by Indian Premier League and Champions League T20. The quartet of Clint McKay, Burt Cockley, Jon Holland and Moises Henriques in the current ODI squad in India tasted success with NSW and Victoria in the Champions League but Ponting hopes they will become addicted.
Manoj Tiwary staked his claim for a maiden call-up to the Test squad with a timely century before Australia's spinners bowled out India A for 451 on the second day of the warm-up match in Chennai on Sunday.
With a view to build a team for the 2011 World Cup, Australian selectors on Thursday included three new faces while leaving out batsman Brad Hodge in the preliminary squad of 30 for the ICC Champions Trophy to be held in September in South Africa.
India failed to defend their title in the Twenty20 leg of the Emerging Players Tournament, suffering a 29-run defeat to the Australian Institute of Sports in the final at Brisbane on Thursday.
Chris Gayle smashed 67 off 38 balls as the West Indies sealed a six-wicket win over Australia in the third Twenty20 international in St Lucia on Monday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in their five-match series.
Last season, Punjab finished 6th, narrowly missing on the playoffs.
James Faulkner, man-of-the-match in the 2015 World Cup final against New Zealand, has been omitted from the 15-man squad named on Thursday, with selectors opting for all-rounders Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
Sunrisers Hyderabad face an uphill task to find their way through in the ongoing Indian Premier League as they get ready to take on formidable Chennai Super Kings.
FIXTURES (Start at 14.40 local, 0910 IST, 0340 GMT)
David Warner slammed a whirlwind 50-ball 92 to set up a comfortable 15-run win for Sunrisers Hyderabad over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League match, in Hyderabad, on Saturday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has promised safe return passage for every foreigner involved in the lucrative eight-team league.
Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin believes his team bounced back in the tournament at the right time and lavished praise on young pacer Arshdeep Singh for taking two crucial wickets in his IPL debut.
The visitors chose to bat first and set West Indies a target of 190 after Marsh struck six sixes and four boundaries, while skipper Aaron Finch scored 53 runs off 37 balls.
David Warner played another blazing knock smashing 31-ball 59 runs to power Sunrisers Hyderabad to a convincing victory against struggling Kings XI Punjab at the Hyderabad Stadium on Saturday. Chasing a modest 144-run target, the Sunrisers' skipper attacked from the start scoring seven boundaries and three sixes in his match-winning knock which gave Hyderabad it's third win in a row. Shikhar Dhawan played a supporting role scoring a patient 45 runs off 44 balls. For Kings XI Punjab, it was their fourth defeat in five matches. Earlier, the Sunrisers dished out another superlative bowling effort to restrict Kings XI to 143 for six. Electing to bowl first after winning the toss, the SRH bowlers, including the promising Mustafizur Rahman, Moises Henriques and others picked up wickets at regular intervals and also did not allow Punjab to score big runs. Moises Henriques scalped two wickets, while Bangladesh pacer Rahman deserves a special mention as he claimed two wickets, including a wicket in a maiden over, giving away just nine runs off his four overs.
Shane Watson claimed a hat-trick as Rajasthan Royals restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad to a 134 for 9 in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Thursday. However, his effort was in vain as Hyderabad came back with a vengeance to dismiss the former champions for 102 and win by 32 runs for only their third victory this season.
Unbeaten in all the three games they have played so far in the tournament, Gujarat Lions would look to continue with their impressive winning run when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Rajkot on Thursday. The Lions have been in red-hot form in their debut season with convincing wins in all the three games and they would seek to maintain a clean slate tomorrow at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The home side will also be bolstered by the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who did not play in the Lion's seven-wicket thrashing of defending champions Mumbai Indians in Mumbai due to his wedding.
India had a forgettable outing with both bat and ball as Australia bounced back in the T20 International series with a crushing eight-wicket win in the second match in Guwahati, on Tuesday.
Former Australia batsman Mark Waugh believes the International Cricket Council should consider appointing a neutral doctor to assess players hit on the head and make the decision regarding concussion substitutes.
Sunrisers Hyderabad produced a clinical performance to seal their place in the Qualifier 2 as they crushed the hopes of two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders with a comfortable 22 runs win in the IPL Eliminator.
An upbeat Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to carry on their winning momentum to book a berth in the play-offs when they take on an equally-keen Royal Challengers Bangalore in a crucial IPL match at Uppal, in Hyderabad, on Friday.
Media reports have said pace spearhead Pat Cummins, opener David Warner and several others might miss the tours after returning home following the abrupt suspension of the Indian Premier League last month.
Delhi Daredevils will be aiming to display more impact in their batting department as they face a formidable challenge from defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL encounter, in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
Kolkata Knight Riders star pacer Pat Cummins says 'people in Australia would also like to help'.
A vintage Yuvraj Singh blasted a quickfire half-century to help champions Sunrisers Hyderabad outclass Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 in the opening match of the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League in Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad face each other in a must-win IPL match.
All-rounder Cartwright gets call-up, recovering Starc still sidelined
Australian cricketers, including big buys Glenn Maxwell and Jhye Richardson, are going to be part of the action.
India will be itching to avenge the thrashing they got in Guwahati when they take on an edgy but resilient Australia in the series-deciding third and final Twenty20 International in Hyderabad on Friday.
Images from the first Twenty20 International between India and Australia, in Canberra, on Friday.