Dhoni's men will be slight favourites as it will be Bairstow's last game
Captain Michael Clarke said Australia had the world's best Twenty20 opening batsmen after his team crushed India by 49 runs on Friday.
Half-centuries from David Warner and Shane Watson, and splendid bowling by Dirk Nannes, saw Australia crush India by 49 runs in the Super Eights of the ICC World Twenty20, in Barbados, on Friday. Chasing a mammoth 185 for victory, India were dismissed for 135 in 17.4 overs, their first loss in the tournament.
Shrugging off their shock defeat to Zimbabwe in a warm-up game, Australia began their Twenty20 World Cup campaign in style, thrashing the defending champions Pakistan by 34 runs in a group C match at St. Lucia on Sunday.
Michael Clarke, long the heir apparent to Ricky Ponting, finally assumed the throne when he was named Australia's 43rd Test captain on Wednesday, a day after his mentor quit the post.
Australia retained off-colour Matthew Hayden and replaced the injured trio of Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson with three uncapped players for the third and final Test against South Africa. Having already conceded the three-match series to Graeme Smith's men, the selectors on Tuesday drafted in three uncapped players -- pacemen Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus and all-rounder Andrew McDonald -- in the 12-man squad.
Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria spun a web around the Australian batsman to reduce the hosts to 286 for 8 on Day 3 of the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Tim Bresnan was drafted in as a "horses for courses" bowler but ended up hailing the greatest day of his Test career after he blasted through Australia's top order to drive England towards Ashes triumph on Tuesday.
Australia recovered from a top order collapse in their second innings to end Day 3 in the first Test 307 runs ahead of Pakistan at the MCG on Monday. After dismissing Pakistan for 258 just before tea for a first-innings lead of 196, they were 111 for 3 at stumps.
Simon Katich fell eight runs short of a century as Australia finished Day 1 in the opening Test against the West Indies on 322 for 5, in Brisbane, on Thursday.
A bellicose Mike Hussey hit 81 not out to lead Australia to 220 for five when play was abandoned early on the second day of the first Ashes Test against England on Friday.
Australian paceman Peter Siddle destroyed England's lower middle order by taking a hat-trick and finishing with 6-54 as the visitors were dismissed for 260 late on the first day of the first Ashes Test on Thursday.
Australia's Peter Siddle claimed an outstanding hat-trick to sink England further on the first day of the first Ashes Test on Thursday.
Cricket Australia has picked Doug Bollinger ahead of fellow pacer Stuart Clark for a spot in the 12-man squad for the first Test against West Indies at the Gabba starting next week.
The second wicket partnership of 64 runs between Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting is Australia's highest for the second wicket at the venue against any opponent, eclipsing the previous best of 50 runs against India, registered by the same pair on 29-10-2006.
According to Cricket Australia, Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies bowling great Courtney Walsh will coach the star-studded Ricky Ponting XI and Shane Warne XI teams in a charity cricket match
Images from the ICC Champions Trophy match between Australia and Pakistan at Centurion.
Images from Day 1 in the first Test between India and Australia at Molahi.
The start of the Ashes third Test between England and Australia was delayed on Thursday due to heavy rain over the past 24 hours.
The presence of many players who are deep into their 30s is a boon and not bane for Chennai Super Kings as they head into the 13th IPL after the long coronavirus-forced break, the team's bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji said on Wednesday.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has said that the prospect of changes to the team's batting line-up for October's Test tour of India is remote.
Australia's captain steered his team to 136 for two at the close, just 34 runs behind Pakistan who bowled out the Australians for 88 on the first day of the second Test at Headingley.
Shane Watson scored a quick fifty and Mitchell Johnson claimed three wickets as Australia beat Bangladesh by 38 runs in an ICC World Twenty20 warm-up game in Nottingham on Monday.
The 26-year-old bowler, who has been named in country's 30-man preliminary squad for the World Twenty20 scheduled in June, was stopped by CA as it doesn't want to risk his availability in Twenty20 World Cup in England later this year.
Australia have a huge hunger for an Ashes triumph in England, according to all rounder Shane Watson, while batsman Steve Smith believes this year's series will not even be close if the tourists play to their potential.
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has described his team's nine-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals as a "well-earned" and "timely" victory and hoped to carry forward the momentum in the remaining IPL matches.
The speculation around the mood inside India's dressing room became a subject of ridicule for Australian skipper Steve Smith, who said the home team does not need to sedge the tourists as they are busy "whingeing among themselves".
Australia coach Mickey Arthur on Monday said that his men will "hammer down" the visitors in next month's One-Day International tri-series as well once all-rounder Shane Watson comes back into the team.
Tasmanian batsman Alex Doolan could be in line for a test debut pending the fitness of all-rounder Shane Watson after being named in Australia's 14-man squad for the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney.
New Zealand face a daunting fourth innings run chase as Australia climbed into the box seat in the second Test being played in Hamilton on Monday.
Dirk Nannes (3 for 21) and Shaun Tait (3 for 30) ripped through the West Indies batting line-up to help Australia to a comfortable 38-run victory in the opening Twenty20 international at Hobart.
Australia thrashed Pakistan by 140 runs in the second one day international at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Australia batsman Michael Hussey doffed his hat to in-form Gautam Gambhir and had no hesitation admitting that the visitors will be happy if the banned left-hander is not allowed to play the fourth and final Test, starting in Nagpur on Thursday.
Solid knocks from openers Shane Watson (89) and Simon Katich (99), who put on a stand of 132, and Mike Hussey (81 not out) gave the hosts early command of the match despite skipper Ricky Ponting being forced to retire hurt on 23 after being struck on the arm by Kemar Roach.
The ICC said that pending a hearing into Gautam Gambhir's the appeal against the one-match ban he could continue playing under Code of Conduct regulations.
Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir was handed a one-Test ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee on Friday for breaching the spirit of the game in the third Test against Australia. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement the player would lodge an appeal against the decision.
The lack of runs from their Indian batters -- Prithvi Shaw (106 runs in 8 matches), Manish Pandey (160 runs in 10 games), Sarfaraz Khan (53 runs in 4 games) and Lalit Yadav (66 runs from six games) -- proved a big factor in another below-par season for Delhi Capitals.
Opening batsman Chris Rogers wants an unchanged Australian team for the fifth and final Ashes Test as a reward for the eleven players who beat England in the first four matches to emphatically wrest back the urn.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's heroics with the bat went in vain as Chennai Super Kings went down by four runs against Kings XI Punjab in a close finish in the Indian Premier League.
A day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that players can be transferred for the second edition of the DLF Indian Premier League team, owners are already drawing up their wish lists.
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