India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed his team's failure to build partnerships for the defeat against New Zealand in the first One-dayer and asked his batsmen to step-up with more consistent performances.
Australia will play against Sri Lanka in the first T20I at North Sydney Oval on September 29.
Cheteshwar Pujara was India's most consistent batsmen in the Test version in 2013, while Virat Kohli continued his scoring spree in ODIs. A look at the top performers in Tests and ODIs in 2013.
With a powerful batting lineup, power-hitting all-rounders and bowlers capable of taking early wickets and strangling sides through the middle and at the end of an innings it would not surprise if India did clinch their third World Cup title.
Kuldeep Yadav, among all the players in this team, has more experience of playing with pink ball and the kind of revolution he produces, he could make it difficult for batsmen to spot the black seam of the pink kookaburra under lights.
Wahab, 33, said it is a dream come true to get a chance to play his third successive World Cup.
Bhuvneshwar is again likely to be confined to the benches for his second successive marquee event, starting in England from May 30.
A hapless Indian bowling attack was smashed all over the park by South African batsmen in the fifth and final ODI, which the home side lost by 214 runs, but captain MS Dhoni defended them, saying that the Wankhede wicket was "too true" to offer any assistance to them.
Sachin Tendulkar's 18-year-old son announced his arrival in the international arena with a wicket in his first 12 balls for India U-19, and the significance of the game was not lost on the cricket fraternity.
Let's have a look at some of Rahul Dravid's finest knocks in international cricket.
Shubman Gill opened the innings for KKR in last year's IPL but he is ready to play any role this season as per his team's needs.
Virat Kohli became only the second batsman in the history of the game to cross the 900-point mark
After a long wait of 12 years, Ishant finally got a five-wicket haul (5/22) at home.
The International Cricket Council congratulated former South Africa Test captain AB de Villiers for an illustrious 14-year international career that saw him excel across all three formats of the game.
One of the primary focus of Monday's encounter could be the inclusion of Indian cricket's latest enfant terrible Hardik Pandya, who is coming back from provisional suspension for his loose talk on a TV chat show.
Anointed as India's No. 4 in the batting line-up in ODIs with the World Cup in mind, Ambati Rayudu said the responsibility does not 'pressurise' him at all.
'When you saw him, you immediately knew that he was something special.'
Ricky Ponting picked India skipper Virat Kohli to lead his all-star Test team of the decade
India slumped to a new low as they suffered their first ever ODI series defeat against Bangladesh following an embarrassing six-wicket defeat in the second cricket One-dayer that gave the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series in Mirpur.
Sunil Joshi is backing Bangladesh's spin bowlers, led by the in-form Shakib Al Hasan, to hold their own against India when their World Cup campaign continues next week.
Virat Kohli has emerged as the most valued celebrity in India for the fifth year in a row, topping the Duff & Phelps Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2021 despite seeing a dip in his brand value to $185.7 million last year from a high of $237.7 million in 2020. The annual report explained that brand Kohli faced a decline following the cricketer's resignation from the ODI (One Day International) and T20 captaincy and "associated exchanges" with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and recent on-field outcomes. "However, we believe that with the reduced workload after stepping down from captaincy, Kohli can focus now on what he is known for - his batting - and continue his journey on becoming the world's best batsmen," it added.
India now are the only team to have chased 350-plus thrice and in each of them Kohli has been the backbone with centuries in each.
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav credited Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his success in his first outing on South African soil, saying the former India skipper eased 50 per cent of his workload by providing useful advice from behind the stumps.
CSA on Friday said that Marco Jansen has replaced Ottniel Baartman, who has been ruled out "due to medical reasons of a separate nature.".
'This hat-trick tops my list as I was under pressure for last 10 months'
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup
'We have the best spinner and three outstanding pace bowlers, against the outstanding Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. So it takes some mental and physical energy out'
Virat Kohli shared the experience of facing the top bowler in the nets
After succumbing to a seven-wicket defeat against India in the second ODI, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy blamed his batsmen for failing to capitalise on a good start.
Mohammad Shami, who troubled the Australian batsmen with his pace and swing in a career-best haul of three for 42, said he just concentrated on the basics without indulging in anything extraordinary in the abandoned fourth ODI in Ranchi.
Razzaq feels overall the standard of cricket worldwide has declined.
Former BCCI chief Narayanswami Srinivasan revealed how he exercised his authority as then Board president in 2011-12 to save Mahendra Singh Dhoni from being sacked as India captain after suffering a 0-4 Test series whitewash in Australia. The national selection committee led by Mohinder Amarnath was keen on replacing Dhoni as the captain after India suffered 0-4 successive whitewashes in England and Australia in 2011-12.
The most impressive among the Pakistani pacers, who made life difficult for Indian batsmen, Junaid Khan revealed that the legendary Wasim Akram's inputs about the host batsmen's 'weaknesses' helped him get eight wickets in the just-concluded three-match ODI series.
With quality bowling attacks, Australia and India may have the edge at the World Cup in England where fortunes are likely to be made or marred in the middle overs.
His cricketing brain, always sharp, was blessed with exceptional speed of information absorption and processing. He could quickly zero in on what needed to be done and use the element of surprise to overpower the opposition, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
With openers and regular captain Virat Kohli occupying the top three spots and wicket-keeper Dhoni a floating option in the batting order, a number of players have auditioned for the middle order over the last couple of years.
Check out the statistical highlights of the second ODI between India and Bangladesh in Mirpur on Sunday.
It was Pakistan's 11th ODI loss in a row.
'I don't know how we approach this kind of an itinerary where you go for a holiday in between and then come back to play Test matches. One week break was enough post the WTC final. The thing is you need to play continuously. I am amazed this itinerary was approved.'
The wrist-spin duo of Kuldeep and Chahal have been a regular feature in India's ODI format confining finger spinner Ashwin to the sidelines and relegating Ravindra Jadeja as the third specialist spinner.
