A heavy downpour frustrated Australia on day two of the fourth and final Test in Brisbane on Saturday, with play abandoned after tea and India spared from resuming on 62 for two in reply to the home side's first innings 369.
The first Test of the four-match series, beginning on December 17 will be played at the Adelaide Oval in a day-night contest. Australia have an unbeaten record in day-night Tests having won all the pink ball Tests they have played.
Captain Steve Smith frustrated England with a fighting half-century and pushed Australia to 165 for four at the close of a see-sawing day two, rescuing the hosts after a top order collapse in the series-opening Ashes Test in Brisbane on Friday.
The World Cup is just a couple of months away, and even after even a 0-2 loss in the just-concluded T20 series there won't be any shift in plans as far as skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri are concerned.
Rohit Sharma is ready to be flexible about his batting position in the eagerly-anticipated Test series against Australia
India will be hoping to pull off a miracle on Sunday by surviving Australia's relentless bowling onslaught.
Ravichandran Ashwin will become only the 14th Indian player and 77th overall in world cricket to complete the milestone of 100 Test matches.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test at Perth on Monday
The hard-hitting 27-year-old becomes the fifth Australia player to leave the Indian Twenty20 tournament early following the departures of captain Steve Smith, John Hastings and Mitchell and Shaun Marsh
India will eye revenge for their defeat in one-day series as they meet fierce rivals Australia in three Twenty20 Internationals, starting on Tuesday, January 26 at Adelaide Oval. Games will also be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (January 29) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 31). The matches will see some of the world's explosive batsmen in action, while the series is also tipped as a much-needed preparatory ground ahead of the crucial World T20 scheduled to be held in March in India.
England, who hold the urn, were dismissed for 233 in their second innings in the opening session of the fifth and final day of the maiden pink ball Ashes Test.
West Indies were bowled out for 271 in their first innings after Australia pacer James Pattison ended Darren Bravo's stubborn resistance at tea on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
Australia's pace spearhead Mitchell Starc has been under fire for his lacklustre form during the home summer.
Australia pace legend Glenn McGrath termed himself a traditionalist and said he is dead against the idea of shortening the five-day game to a four-day affair as proposed by the ICC. The International Cricket Council is considering introduction of four-day Tests as part of the World Test Championships from 2023, an idea which is supported by Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts.
Hosts Australia will pull on a classic uniform from the 1980s featuring green strip on bright gold top and pants when they take on India in the three-match ODI series.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 4th Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday
'Show us your visa' chants heard at MCG; spectators warned against racism
Virat Kohli has scored 1,138 runs in overseas Tests this year -- that's the most by an Indian in a calendar year, points out Rajneesh Gupta.
A confident and wiser Australia are well-equipped to take the fight to India in a series that could literally be decided by a coin-toss, according to former Test bowler Ryan Harris.
Two teams with fault lines in their batting, up against two of the best bowling sides in the game today -- the question that determines the outcome is, is your weakness greater than mine?
Following is a fact file on the first Test match between Australia and India in Adelaide and how the teams have performed at the Adelaide Oval over the years:
India's hopes of breaking their ICC trophy drought after 2013, remained unfulfilled as Australia handed them a crushing loss at the WTC Final.
Kusal Mendis remained unbeaten on a match-high 86 to help Sri Lanka weather a wobbly morning and reach 116 for four at lunch on the third day of the bowler-dominated first Test against Australia on Thursday.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 4th Test played at the SCG on Sunday
Australia batsman Adam Voges produced a Man of the Match performance as they emphatically beat West Indies by nine wickets in the first Test in Dominica on Friday
'He showed what Test cricket is all about.'< 'It is not about hitting the ball and looking fancy out in the middle, it is about showing grit.'
Karunaratne fell for 86 in the final session but Mendis was batting on 84 at stumps
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test at Perth on Sunday
Harish Kotian evaluates the Indian team's performances in the first Test.
England spinner Graeme Swann, who has dismissed some of Australia's best players, has joked he could get knighted and become PM in five years time if England win 5-0 and he takes 50 wickets in the Ashes.
'We've just got to make sure we get enough balls in the right areas and be relentless and patient and stick two up their nose an over' Australia have not lost a series home or away to West Indies since 1992/93.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc along with spinner Nathan Lyon played all four Tests against India. While Cummins and Hazlewood starred with the ball, Starc and Lyon had to toil hard for wickets.
Australia on Tuesday named Steve Smith and David Warner in their Twenty20 squad for home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan as selectors firm up plans for next year's World Cup on home soil.
How do India and Australia's teams stack up? Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann said more thought needed to be given to the positioning of the "spidercam" TV camera after his captain Steve Smith spilled a key catch in the fourth Test against India on Thursday.
Australia captain Tim Paine said thoughts of how to outwit England batsman Ben Stokes keep him awake at night.
Having finally bowled India out for 336, Australia finished Day 3 on 21 for no loss, an overall lead of 54 runs in the final match of a see-saw series which remains level at 1-1.
Azhar Ali hit his fourth Test ton against Australia as Pakistan piled on 476-4 before declaring
India head into the third Test with momentum after dampening Australia's Christmas cheer with a dominant eight-wicket win in the second match in Melbourne.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between Australia and South Africa at the SCG on Wednesday.
