India would eye nothing less than a clean sweep when they take on an Australian side significantly weakened by injury blows, in the third and final T20 International, in Sydney, on Tuesday.
A series win will be an ideal confidence booster for India before the visitors hit Test match mode.
Team India possess a much more balanced squad in the shortest format.
Images from Tuesday's IPL match between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab, in Dubai.
Finch scored 114 in an opening stand of 156 with David Warner (69) to lay a platform before his predecessor as captain Smith smashed 105 off 66 balls to drive Australia to 374 for six -- their highest total against India.
Australia buried India under an avalanche of runs for a 51-run drubbing in the second ODI and an unassailable 2-0 series lead after the majestic Steve Smith produced another master-class in the form of a 64-ball 104, in Sydney, on Sunday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Thursday.
There were three attractive half-centuries but a top and lower-middle order collapse saw hosts Karnataka manage a below-par 264 for 9 against Saurashtra on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final on Thursday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2020's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 46.
India A completed their domination in the 50-over tri-series with a five-wicket thumping of England Lions in the final at the Kennington Oval, on Monday.
From Under-19 talents such as Prithvi Shaw and Shivam Mavi to last domestic season's top run-getter Mayank Agarwal, the list includes all those whom the selection committee found worthy of national or A team call-up in the near future
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players of the India-New Zealand ODI series.
Some of their bowling and fielding frailties exposed in the series-opener, India will aim for quick course correction when they take on a resurgent New Zealand in a must-win second ODI, in Auckland, on Saturday. India find themselves in a familiar situation after the loss in Hamilton. But the visitors have come from behind against the West Indies and Australia to win their last two ODI series and Virat Kohli's men will aim to do the same against the Kiwis.
With only 17 ODIs left for India before the World Cup, senior pros like Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin will aim to remain relevant in the 50-overs format in the forthcoming Deodhar Trophy.
Virat Kohli would hope for a turnaround when India take on an under-prepared Sri Lanka in the second Test in Bengaluru
Virat Kohli's position as India's ODI captain, his Test deputy Ajinkya Rahane's future as vice-captain in the longest format along with 100-Test man Ishant Sharma's place will be up for discussion when the national selectors pick the jumbo squad for the tour of South Africa later this week.
England Lions cruised to a seven-wicket victory in the opening encounter of the Tri-nation 'A' series, in Derby, on Friday.
Karnataka took control of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Mumbai by taking a commanding 222-run lead over the 41-time champions on day two of the five-day game at the Vidharbha Cricket Association stadium in Jamtha.
The focus will be firmly on India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw when Mumbai take on Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B game, beginning in Mumbai on Friday. Both Rahane and Shaw failed with the bat in the last Ranji Trophy game against Railways which the domestic giants lost by 10 wickets inside two and half days.
The R Ashwin-led Kings XI slipped to the fifth spot after suffering back-to-back losses against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. Overall, the hosts have registered four wins from eight matches this season.
Left chasing shadows in the first two games, a listless Indian team would most certainly tweak its bowling combination in order to avoid a second successive clean-sweep when it takes on Australia in the third and final ODI, in Canberra, on Wednesday.
Unmukt Chand has been appointed India A captain for the upcoming ODI tri-series involving Australia A and South Africa A starting in Chennai on August 5.
An inconsistent Delhi Daredevils will look to break the home jinx when they take on Mumbai Indians in their sixth match of the IPL cricket tournament at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Thursday.
Delhi Capitals avenged their shocking first-leg defeat with a five-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab, brightening their prospects of making the play-offs of the Indian Premier League.
Injuries, confusion over team changes and replacement players have compounded problems for India, who look bereft of a clear strategy and have stumbled after a good start at the World Cup.
Vijay Shankar and Shreyas Iyer scripted a superb chase to help India 'A' notch up a thrilling four-wicket win over New Zealand 'A' in a high-scoring unofficial, in Mount Maunganui, on Friday.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list IPL 2020's 50 Most Valuable Players up to Game 34.
Kings XI Punjab skipper K L Rahul was relieved to see his team finally get over the line comfortably, but said the top-four batsmen must consistently close out games in the remainder of their IPL campaign.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will miss the remainder of his side's limited overs tour to Sri Lanka after injuring his shoulder in Sunday's 78-run victory that clinched the one-day international series.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji identify India's most valuable players in ODI games this season.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday
India captain Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the limited-overs series against the West Indies, scheduled in the United States and the Caribbean, from August 3. Kohli and Bumrah will, however, be back for the two-Test series, which is a part of the inaugural World Test Championship.
'Since we cannot trust the net bowlers about their exposure to COVID, it would be ideal to go with a large contingent as we can be assured of all the players' safety as they will be in a bio-secure environment.'
Cheteshwar Pujara missed out on a second successive double hundred but his 182 went a long way in Saurashtra piling up a mammoth 570 in their first innings against Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy.
Kings XI Punjab registered a comfortable six wicket win over laggards Rajasthan Royals
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the important numbers after the third week of IPL 2020.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable Players in the India-England ODI series.
A new look Kings XI Punjab under Ravichandran Ashwin will take on Delhi Daredevils in their opening encounter of IPL-2018 here tomorrow, as both sides look to begin the T20 tournament on a winning note.
Zaheer Khan made an impressive comeback from a year-long hiatus complementing Nathan Coulter-Nile brilliantly as Delhi Daredevils spanked Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets in an Indian Premier League match on Friday.
Check out the star arrivals.
