The legendary Indian cricketer was the Man of the ODI series, but the Most Valuable Player title went to an unlikely Aussie, point out Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
Australia's hopes of winning back respect and moving on from a ball-tampering scandal that plunged the team into disgrace face their first test on Sunday when Tim Paine's rebuilding side meet Pakistan in the series-opener in Dubai.
Australia wrested control of the third Test back from England for the second day in a row on Saturday, reducing the tourists to 180 for four at the close of play and taking another major step towards reclaiming the Ashes.
A disciplined Australia ended a rare display of defiance by England's middle order batsmen to push to the brink of victory in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide at the close of day four on Sunday.
Australia have included uncapped George Bailey in their 12-man squad for the first Ashes encounter against England next week in a gamble the 31-year-old can replicate his "extraordinary" limited overs form in the Test arena.
'All the talking stops very quickly and the series becomes a normal series after the first two hours'
Rain frustrated Australia's bid to win the third Test against England at Old Trafford on Sunday and keep alive their slender hopes of regaining the Ashes. At the premature close of the fourth day, Australia led England by 331 with three second innings wickets remaining.
Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh drove Australia to within 74 runs of a series-winning victory at the dinner-break in the third and final Test in Adelaide on Sunday after New Zealand's pacemen captured three early wickets.
Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar will join Australia's squad for the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney, captain Steven Smith said on Tuesday.
Aus coach Darren Lehmann refused to blame selection errors and concedes being outplayed by England
With Australia taking a 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series against India, the scales are titled highly in favour of the hosts. History also shows that the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been a happy hunting ground for the hosts. With the Boxing Day Test around the corner, here is a quick look at how the teams stand.
Australia's injury woes deepened on Wednesday when a hamstring problem forced all rounder Mitchell Marsh from the pitch for treatment.
Australia vice-captain Alex Carey said the ODI series win against a top team like India 'will mean a lot' considering the hosts' struggles over the last 12 months.
'I cannot believe that D'Arcy Short has been left out of the side. I don't know what he's done wrong. He can bowl and his batting at the top is dynamic. He's in terrific form, and he and Finch make an awesome partnership at the top'
Shane Watson's international future looked bleak on Monday after the all-rounder was left out of Australia's 13-man squad for this month's one-day series against India on Monday.
Pat Cummins exceeded expectations in his first Test match in more than five years and the speedster will pose a sweet selection headache for Australia, bowling coach David Saker said on Saturday.
Australia's selectors sprung a major surprise on Friday by naming uncapped fast bowler Joe Mennie in a 12-man squad for the first two matches of a three-test series against South Africa beginning in Perth next week. Mennie was part of an inexperienced bowling attack that was humbled by the Proteas batsmen in the recent one-day series in South Africa, which the hosts won 5-0. Despite accumulating figures of 0-82 on debut, the 27-year-old was preferred to Jackson Bird, who toured New Zealand and Sri Lanka as part of the Australian test squad.
Steve Smith scored a sparkling century and put on 128 for the sixth wicket with Brad Haddin to rescue Australia and push the hosts to 326 all out shortly before close of play on the first day of the fifth Ashes Test against England on Friday.
Gearing up for the pace test that awaits India in Australia come December, batsman Rohit Sharma said the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle would be a tough challenge to deal with but the Indians are no longer intimidated by bouncy tracks Down Under.
A dominant Australia were five wickets away from reclaiming the Ashes after hammering England with the bat and reducing them to 251 for five with the ball at the end of the fourth day of the third test at the WACA on Monday.
A fired-up Mitchell Johnson dismissed England captain Alastair Cook cheaply in a hammer blow for the tourists after Australia declared for a mammoth first innings of 570 to be firmly in control after day two of the second Ashes Test on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta lists some amazing coincidences in cricket -- a feature guaranteed to amuse you in these anxious times.
Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.
Australia's remarkable Ashes fightback left England staring at a first innings total of 527 for seven on Friday and the loss of two late wickets on day two of the third Test made the task look even more imposing.
As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
The Men in Blue have never won a bilateral ODI contest on Australian soil.
Younis Khan hit a stellar double hundred while skipper Misbah-ul-Haq also joined the run-feast with his sixth Test century as Pakistan tightened their grip on the second and final test against Australia on Friday.
A series win in Australia will certainly put Kohli on a higher pedestal even though the quality of the home team's batting line-up suffered adversely due to the bans of former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.
Pujara was the dominant figure with his second century of the series, a dogged but faultless 106 off 319 balls
Australia's fast bowling stocks got some welcome news on Tuesday after James Pattinson suggested he could be fit in time for matches later in the Ashes series against England.
Jimmy Anderson is the first Englishman to take 500 Test wickets.
Australia captain Michael Clarke was in reflective mood on the eve of his final Test match against England at The Oval as he plotted a consolation victory to finish the series on a high.
Shane Watson has been dropped from the Australia team for this week's second Ashes Test against England and will be replaced by fellow all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday.
Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson is at full throttle and ready to torment England's batsmen again in the Ashes series, his captain Michael Clarke said on Tuesday.
- 'It's always our goal to take 20 wickets' - 'It backfired at the Gabba with them trying to get stuck into us and Mitch fired back'
An injury-ravaged Michael Clarke may have raised doubts about his future by stating that he may never play again, but Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann is confident that the inspirational skipper will be back sooner or later.
Former Australian cricketer Geoff Lawson feels India would need a combination of tight technique and tough minds to get the better of the Aussies.
Australia will play their first Test series in Sri Lanka in more than five years, with a three-match series beginning on July 26 in Kandy. The Australians will embark on a two-month tour of the island nation from July 11, playing three Tests, five ODIs and two T20 Internationals. Steve Smith's side leapfrogged India in February to finish the latest 12-month period in first spot on the ICC Test Championship table, while Sri Lanka have dropped to seventh place after a disappointing year following the retirements of legendary batting duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena. Only three members of the Australian side that beat the Black Caps in their most recent Test series - Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle and Usman Khawaja - have experienced Test cricket in Sri Lanka.
A mis-firing Australia head into the second Test against South Africa in Hobart under pressure to save the series and avert a full-blown crisis which would almost certainly be triggered by a fifth consecutive Test defeat.
Photos from Day 2 of the 3rd Test played at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday
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