Aaron Finch suffered a blow to his head during a Sheffield Shield encounter on Saturday and was substituted by Travis Dean after Australia's limited-overs captain experienced concussion symptoms.
While Shaun Marsh gets another go at resurrecting his career
The shell-shocked hosts have a week to regroup before they again engage an Australian touring party which made Virat Kohli and his team of world-beaters look quite ordinary in a 333-run first test rout inside three days.
Brimming with confidence after an emphatic win over India in Pune Test, Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh on Wednesday said they are expecting a 'great fight'.
The Australian team management chose Peter Handscomb ahead of Travis Head
Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar could turn out to be Australia's X-factor and should be considered as their 'second spinner' in pursuit of the visitors' first Test win in India since 2017.
Australia captain Steven Smith rubbed salt into India's wounds saying that the hosts dug their own grave by preparing a rank turner which backfired badly in the first Test.
Ravindra Jadeja struck a fifty to give India a handy first innings lead before returning to claim three Australian wickets as the home side stood 87 runs away from a series-clinching victory in the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala on Monday.
Kusal Mendis remained unbeaten on a match-high 86 to help Sri Lanka weather a wobbly morning and reach 116 for four at lunch on the third day of the bowler-dominated first Test against Australia on Thursday.
Anil Kumble helped Pujara to overcome the challenges posed by Steve O'Keefe in the ongoing Test series against Australia.
Rangana Herath picked four wickets in the second innings to spin Sri Lanka to a 106 win over Australia in the first Test in Pallekele on Saturday.
Sri Lankan Kusal Mendis struck a majestic maiden century on day three of the first Test against Australia to leave the bowler-dominated contest evenly poised at Pallekele on Thursday.
Virat Kohli will face the toughest battle of his fledgling captaincy career when India take on a resurgent Australia in the second cricket Test.
The overnight batsmen each survived a review to power India to 435 for six at lunch in response to Australia's 451 after a wicketless session played out under an overcast sky.
Sridharan Sriram, who played eight ODIs between 2000 and 2004, was part of the Australian coaching set up since 2015.
Virat Kohli's woeful form continued as India 'A' were shot out for a paltry 135 by Australia 'A' in the second unofficial 'Test' in Chennai on Wednesday.
Pakistan's spinners scythed through Australia's top order in the second innings to get them close to victory in the first Test after twin centuries from Younus Khan and youngster Ajmal Shehzad helped the hosts set an improbable target.
Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha turned out to be the biggest gainer while comeback man Amit Mishra got five wickets and more importantly vital overs under his belt as the first unofficial 'Test' match between India A and Australia A ended in a tame draw.
Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat against an Indian side missing their inspirational skipper Virat Kohli through injury in the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala on Saturday.
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday threw his weight behind the beleaguered Indian team and said that the Virat Kohli-led side will bounce back from the embarrassing defeat against Australia in the first Test in Pune.
Shreyas Iyer stroked his way to an unbeaten half-century in an otherwise unimpressive batting display by India 'A' in reply to Australia's first-innings total of 469 for seven declared on the second day of the three-day practice game in Mumbai.
Nathan Lyon is pleased to have bagged the prized wicket of 'head of the snake' Virat Kohli.
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin feels that Indian team will be forced to make a couple of changes in their playing eleven for the second Test against Australia after the hammering it took in the opening match in Pune.
Failing to put up any fight against a rampaging Australia A, India A suffered a 10-wicket loss in the second unofficial Test to go down 0-1 in the two-match series on Saturday.
Galle has built a reputation as a spinners' paradise but Australia captain Steve Smith hopes there will be substantial reverse swing at the venue as his top-ranked team bid for a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the second test. Sri Lanka inflicted a 106-run defeat on the touring side at Pallekele last week in the opening match of the three-test series with the spinners taking 18 out of 20 Australian wickets to fall.
India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday hardly minced words in criticising his team's shambolic show in the 333-run loss to Australia, saying it was easily the side's worst batting display in the last two years.
Nathan Lyon walked into the record books with career-best figures of 8 for 50 as India suffered another batting debacle.
Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson feels that Indian team will be 'nervous' considering the pacer-friendly conditions of Dharamsala where Steve Smith and his boys should feel more confident.
India coach Anil Kumble gave a measured response on Friday after his team's spectacular collapse against Australia in the opening Test, calling it just one bad day for his world No 1 team.
Batsmen have dominated Australia's series against New Zealand, but the pink ball and a green-tinged wicket should swing the balance of power back to the bowlers when Adelaide hosts Test cricket's inaugural day-night match.
Captain Virat Kohli loathed the way Indian batsmen negotiated a rank turner, saying they showed how not to bat on such tracks and termed the massive defeat against Australia as their 'worst' batting performance in recent times.
An Australia team that stared down the hardened bureaucrats and faceless money men of the nation's cricket board to strike a huge win in pay negotiations showed precious little unity when put under pressure by Bangladesh, the ninth-ranked Test team.
Sri Lanka set Australia a stiff 268-run victory target before claiming three wickets in a truncated afternoon session to take the upper hand on the penultimate day of the first Test in Pallekele on Friday.
Cricket Australia has roped in Muttiah Muralitharan as spin consultant ahead of Australia's tour to Sri Lanka.
Sarfraz Ahmed's belligerent century powered Pakistan to a strong 454 in their first innings on the second day of the first Test against Australia on Thursday.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke feels that fast bowler Mitchell Starc's absence due to injury will have a huge bearing on the final outcome of the four-Test series against India.
The former India captain has also backed skipper Virat Kohli to come good in the 2nd Test
When India lost the Wellington Test by 10 wickets, was it the worst defeat for Virat Kohli's team? Rajneesh Gupta has the answers.
At the close, after 75 overs were squeezed in around two lengthy rain interruptions, the West Indies were 207 for six with Denesh Ramdin on 23 and Carlos Brathwaite not out 35 after winning the toss.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances