Nitish Reddy's straight drive off Scott Boland that carried him past his maiden Test hundred has convinced the Australian pacer about the young Indian batter's potential with the bat.
The 3rd Test match in Kingston, Jamaica, will mark Australia's first day-night Test away from home and if they opt for a pace-heavy attack, Scott Boland could come into the side.
The aura of home advantage -- long regarded as a hallmark of India's Test side -- seemed secure. But in barely over a year, that fortress has not just cracked, it has collapsed, raising uncomfortable questions about strategy, selection, and temperament.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
Taking aim at senior players like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, among others, he said that if their aim was to prolong their send-offs till after the Ashes, it was a wrong mindset.
Glenn Maxwell's hopes of reviving his Test career may be over after the all-rounder missed out on selection in Australia's much-changed squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
Boland credited his intense rehabilitation for getting him back in the national reckoning.
'...there was a time there where it could have been 250 or 270 (run lead) or maybe even less there for a bit.'
Concerns that senior players would pull out of the tour due to security issues after both England and New Zealand withdrew from tours of Pakistan late last year have proven unfounded.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Ashes Test played between Australia and England at the MCG on Tuesday.
Plucked from obscurity when called up by selectors on Christmas Eve, the 32-year-old Victoria paceman finished with outrageous innings figures of 6-7 in four overs, sending his home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into delirium.
Sunil Gavaskar has advised India's flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant to "respect" the conditions before launching into his attacking strokes
Boland experienced English conditions on a tour with an Indigenous team of cricketers in 2018 and Cummins said he was convinced the 34-year-old would not need to overhaul his bowling approach to succeed.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja would open the innings for Australia in the WTC final against South Africa while the fit-again Cameron Green would bat at the No. 3 position.
Uncapped McSweeney to open with Khawaja in India series
Images from Day 3 of the fifth Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
'I didn't know that we'd won kind of everything until half an hour ago but that's always the aim.'
Skipper Pat Cummins, who missed the tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child in February and was also ruled out of the Champions Trophy campaign with an ankle injury, will take the reins against South Africa.
The opening day drew more than 50,000 fans making it the fourth highest attendance ever for a day of Test cricket at the Adelaide Oval.
Before the situation could escalate, a vigilant security official intervened, calming the cricket legend and escorting him towards the dressing room.
Images from Day 2 of the fifth Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Australia will have to dust off the cobwebs but are still fancied to successfully defend their World Test Championship crown against equally ring-rusty South Africa in the final at Lord's.
Virat Kohli's subdued 17 off 69 balls extended his lean patch in the series.
Head smashed a swashbuckling hundred to fetch Australia a first innings lead of 157 at his home ground the Adelaide Oval.
Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the second Test against India in Adelaide with a low grade side injury.
Virat Kohli's struggles in Test cricket hit a new low as he joined an unusual list of players dominated by tailenders.
Australia heaved a major sigh of relief on Wednesday after skipper Pat Cummins declared run-machine Travis Head fit for the Boxing Day Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Images from Day 3 of the fourth Test between Australia and India at the MCG on Saturday.
India lost seven wickets for the addition of just 70 runs as they crumbled in the first session itself. Here's how the Day 5 panned out.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between Australia and India at the MCG on Friday.
Buoyed by their win in the first Test in Perth, the Indian cricket team arrived in Canberra for the mid-series two-day game against the Australia Prime Minister's XI on November 30 and December 1 ahead of the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide on December 6.
'That is a stupid shot that is letting your team down badly.'
Kohli's farewell came during a turbulent Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, a place once synonymous with his rise.
The Delhi-based Gambhir will skip India's two-day pink ball warm-up game against Prime Minister's in Canberra starting November 30.
Virat Kohli survived a controversial catch call on the first ball he faced in the fifth and final Test at Sydney on Friday.
Reddy took to social media with a witty post dedicated to his teammate Mohammed Siraj, adding a lighthearted touch to his incredible achievement.
Australia finished second in the league table during the 2023-25 WTC cycle, behind South Africa, having claimed 67.54 per cent of the points on offer to them.
Speaking ahead of the first Test from June 25 onwards at Barbados, Joseph said as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald, "To take 13 wickets across the series was a good feeling. A lot has changed. There were a lot of opportunities that came my way."
Josh Hazlewood, who was recalled after recovering from a side injury that ruled him out of the second Test, did not start on the ground on day four at the Gabba on Tuesday and bowled only one over before chatting to a team physio during a drinks break.
Australian head coach Andrew McDonald backed Mitchell Starc ahead of the Ashes series starting from June 16 at Edgbaston.
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