Ponting shrugged off Australia's injury worries and the idea of there being risk in rushing Smith and Warner into the team.
England have called up uncapped batsman Ollie Pope to replace out of form David Malan while paceman Chris Woakes comes in for all-rounder Ben Stokes for the second Test against India, which begins on Thursday at Lord's.
India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli gave Gareth Southgate's side a deserved 2-0 last-eight win over Sweden on Saturday, and they must now prepare to take on Croatia in three days time for a spot in the World Cup final.
The coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, in December and has now spread across the globe. The Chinese authorities are trying to contain the epidemic while other countries, including India, are working on plans to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak.
Nat Geo nature photographer of the year Varun Aditya shares some of his best pictures.
Bangladesh bowling coach Heath Streak has decided to step down from his current position at the end of this month.
Nkwe replaces West Indian Ottis Gibson, the previous head coach, for the trip which starts in September and includes three Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals.
Moments to remember from the quarter-finals.
The 2020 assembly polls marked the coming of age of a politician who valiantly went down fighting an army of battle-hardened veterans.
Sreesanth, who was part of the triumphant Indian squads in the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup, was earlier named in one of the squads for a local T20 tournament to be conducted by Kerala Cricket Association in Alappuzha from December 17.
In Kudankulam, while addressing the media, India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal displayed an illustration, which shows the national emblem with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti instead of the Sarnath lions.
Very few today realise that without Brigadier John Dalvi's courage, we would never have known what really happened during those tragic days of October/November 1962, reveals Claude Arpi.
There has been no change in KL Rahul's wretched form even after his comeback from suspension but India 'A' coach Rahul Dravid is not worried as he has confidence in the talented opener's quality.
This is the first time, since the JDU-BJP alliance came to power in 2005, that the saffron party has staked claim for the speakers post.
'The Himmatsinghji Report is still 'missing'.' 'It is a great loss for the knowledge of India's borders.' 'It would have an immense value at a time China is bound to shift its attention to other border fronts in the Himalayas,' notes Claude Arpi.
He may have been dropped by South Africa for their crucial two games of the recently held World T20 in India, but fast bowler Dale Steyn has brushed off criticisms against him with respect to T20 cricket and defending his record in the shortest format of the game. Steyn is preparing to open his account for his fourth Indian Premier League franchise, when the Gujarat Lions take on Kings XI Punjab at Mohali on Monday. The 32-year-old is regarded as one of the best and most skilled bowlers in world cricket having amassed more than 400 wickets in Test matches and 175 in 112 one-day internationals for South Africa. However, it is the shortest format that Steyn is yet to cement his place in the Proteas squad. He was even the target of a verbal barb during the tournament from Afghanistan batsman Mohammad Shazhad, who labelled the Proteas quick "not dangerous" and added he was disappointed the South Africans had left Steyn out for their clash against the Associate nation.
The brothers, who began their ad journey a decade apart from each other, Piyush in 1979 and Prasoon in 1989, will be the eighth recipient of the award.
Priyanka catches up with India's little champions on the eve of Republic Day as they narrate their stories.
England also named their final one-day squad before the World Cup, with fast bowlers Tom Curran and David Willey returning to a unit who defeated Sri Lanka 3-1. Tom replaces brother Sam as Liam Dawson and Olly Stone also miss out.
As the Soviet achievements keeping the Russian economy afloat are waning, President Dmitry Medvedev, on Thursday, sought an urgent modernisation of the country, insisting that it should happen "through democratic values and institutions".
The jobless armies of youthful India are getting angrier and desperate, warns Shekhar Gupta.
Smashing Warner. Amazing Stokes. Super Smith. Pure Amla...
A senior Madhya Pradesh minister has sought a law that allows people to domesticate or keep big cats like lions and tigers as pets, for their conservation.
He said that India will work with Singapore to bring the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to early conclusion. He also said the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement has been reviewed and the two sides will work to further upgrade it.
A forest safari is the best way to observe animals in their natural habitat.
Chants of 'Jai Jagannath' rent the air all over as the news about the Supreme Court giving its nod for holding the world famous car festival in the pilgrim town reached the state bringing cheers among people, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
Top-ranked double trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi has got a lion's share of Rs 97.37 lakh from the Sports Ministry's Rs 6.85 crore financial assistance for 22 athletes, considered medal prospects in next year's London Olympics.
Belgium won a tense penalty shootout 3-2 against three-times champions Netherlands to win their first men's hockey World Cup title.
England's top T20 players are struggling to win IPL contracts due to their involvement with the national side, Indian skipper MS Dhoni has said.
It is understood that barring captain Virat Kohli, almost all the Test team regulars will be in action in the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
A wall hanging featuring Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad left the prime minister in awe
The mispronunciation outraged a large number of Harris' supporters and her spokesperson Sabrina Singh said, "I'll keep it simple: If you can pronounce 'former' Senator David Perdue, you can pronounce 'future' Vice President Kamala Harris."
Still unsure about where you want to travel during the long Diwali weekend? We'll help you out.
Left-arm pacer Junaid Khan on Wednesday shrugged off rumours about him considering options regarding switching to England cricket team after being repeatedly ignored by Pakistan selectors. The reports stated that Junaid is looking to permanently settle in England and gradually represent The Three Lions in international cricket. The left-arm pacer admitted that he was immensely disappointed for not being selected for Pakistan's upcoming England tour.
Yadav vowed to dislodge the government headed by Nitish Kumar, whom Congress leader Avinash Pandey in his address accused of "apharan" (hijacking) of the mandate in the previous elections.
Former South Africa international Gulam Bodi has been charged with attempting to fix matches in the country's domestic Twenty20 competition, the country's cricket authorities said on Thursday. Bodi, who played two one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match for the national side in 2007, has been charged with 'contriving to fix', or otherwise improperly influence aspects of the 2015 competition", they said. Cricket South Africa (CSA) said in December it were investigating an "intermediary" for betting syndicates and had laid charges. The 37-year-old, who was born in India but emigrated to South Africa as a teenager, did not feature in the tournament as a player, having last turned out in domestic cricket for the Highveld Lions in January 2015.
Uncapped duo Jake Ball and James Vince have been named in England's squad for their home test against Sri Lanka at Headingley on May 19, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dedicated to the nation the 182-metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the tallest in the world, and said it will be a reminder about the courage of a man who thwarted efforts to disintegrate India.
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