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?
Mayank Yadav should be on the plane to Australia if Mohammed Shami is not available for selection, asserted Brett Lee, one of the most destructive fast bowlers of all time, who has high hopes from the Indian pace sensation on the true, bouncy wickets Down Under.
The dawn of a new era had begun under Sourav Ganguly's aggressive leadership. With Ganguly and Coach John Wright at the helm India had transitioned into a force to be reckoned with.
'When we go to Australia, they play India only at five Test centres. They don't play us in Canberra. They don't play us at any of the other venues where they won't be very familiar with the conditions. So do England'
At this point it is still anyone's game, with a draw also an option, says Prem Panicker in his analysis of Day 4.
Ricky Ponting advised star batters Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to stop trying hard to rediscover their best and pushing themselves too hard and just focus on watching the ball and scoring runs.
This period saw big stars of the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev fade into the sunset while it was witness to the birth of slew of young Indian cricketers that made their mark home and abroad.
Following David Warner's retirement from Tests, Steve Smith opened the batting for Australia in series against West Indies and New Zealand.
Hanuma Vihari, part of India's back to back series wins in Australia, reckons the services of veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara will be be dearly missed when the team aims for a hat-trick Down Under later this year.
Australia will take the same 12-man squad to Perth for the third Ashes Test this week after humbling England by 218 runs to win the second match in Adelaide on Monday.
Virat Kohli has succumbed to spin three times in the first two Tests, while scoring just 68 runs in four innings.
'That's one we need to tick off, definitely, in particular at home... we should pretty much win every series here at home.'
India pacer Mohammed Shami said on Monday that he is completely pain-free and is still not out of reckoning for the marquee Test tour of Australia starting next month.
Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith believe that Virat Kohli is an Australian in the way he thinks, acts, and has the desire to perform in big games.
India have won all the last four series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, taking into account their home wins in 2016-17 and 2022-23 -- both also 2-1 results in a four-match contest.
Johnson sidelined for Aus tour of UK
India's batting is a major concern with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggling for runs ahead of the tour of Australia.
Naib joins the Capitals for his base price of Rs 50 lakh.
Andy Murray continued his strong build-up in his quest for a maiden Australian Open title with a comfortable victory over Frenchman Benoit Paire in the Hopman Cup mixed-team event in Perth on Monday.
Without bigger contributions from their senior players -- Masood and Babar Azam among them -- Pakistan may struggle to prevent the losing streak from stretching to 16 in Melbourne, for all of Hafeez's fighting words.
Eoin Morgan said the current Indian team ranks as "one of the greatest in their own conditions".
Ricky Ponting feels that left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed could be a valuable addition in the Indian squad
Pat Cummins is looking at the upcoming five-Test series against India as a chance to 'make amends' for the successive defeats at home against their fierce rivals.
Roundup of matches across the country in the ongoing BCCI Ranji Trophy
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
Having gone down swinging in an enthralling Adelaide Test, Australia barely have time to pick themselves up off the canvas before another potentially bruising contest against a confident India in Perth.
India would look to carry on the momentum and seal a win against Great Britain in the quarterfinals of the men's hockey competition of the Paris Olympics in Paris on Sunday.
The 19-year-old from Mumbai, wearing a protective brace on his left ankle, was seen jogging around the Adelaide Oval before the start of the fifth and final day of the first Test.
Former Australian coach John Buchanan on Thursday congratulated Jay Shah on becoming the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman and expressed hope that the incumbent Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary will be able to make all three formats of international cricket a priority for all in the age of T20 franchise cricket.
Pakistan are already depleted in attack, with injured quick Naseem Shah sidelined and Haris Rauf having opted out of the series to play in Australia's T20 Big Bash League.
The second India-Australia Test begins on Friday at the new Perth Stadium, which has succeeded the WACA as the city's premier venue for internationals, and which has a drop-in pitch.
Khurrum Shahzad was one of the few success stories for Pakistan in the first Test against Australia in Perth.
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been included in the Test squad for the upcoming two-match series against Bangladesh.
Virat Kohli's side are determined to keep the momentum rolling into the second clash in Perth and inch closer to a breakthrough series triumph Down Under.
Two Indian brothers were murdered allegedly by a compatriot after a dispute over money in the western Australian city of Perth on Friday. The brothers, one aged 20 and the other 19, died after being grievously injured in a fight over money and living arrangements at a rented Crimea Street unit in Morley area, where they were believed to have been staying with two others, 'Perth Now reported.
India surpassed that mark when Richa Ghosh hammered a four in the first ball of the 109th over bowled by Annerie Dercksen.
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar says his career took flight following the Test innings of 114 on a bouncy WACA track in 1992 against a hostile Australian attack in Perth.
'The real problem for Shaheen Afridi is the pressure of being the spearhead of this Pakistan attack and without much real support at the other end when it comes to pace, genuine pace.'
Virat Kohli is the second fastest behind Don Bradman to score 25 Test hundreds, notes Rajneesh Gupta.
Australia's board had hoped the 60,000-seat venue in Burswood would be ready to host the third Ashes Test between the sides from December 14-18 but construction delays ruled that out, with Perth's traditional WACA ground staging it instead.
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