Australia captain Steve Smith brushed off concerns about his fitness on the eve of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England on Wednesday before Mitchell Starc's return to spearhead the pace attack was confirmed as the only change to his team.
Pacer Prasidh Krishna says the unpredictable nature of the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground will keep them in the hunt since batting won't be easy for Australia in the fourth innings.
Australia racked up 469 in their first innings and then reduced India to 151/5 to put themselves in the box seat in the World Test Championship final.
Images from Day 5 in the fourth Test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
Australia captain Steve Smith said it has been 'an enjoyable tour' for the visitors after they outclassed India by 21 runs in the third ODI in Chennai on Wednesday.
Australia's Steve Smith is back on top of the list of batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after India captain Virat Kohli could manage only 21 runs in his two innings in the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington, which his side lost by 10 wickets to concede a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. This is the eighth time that Smith is on top of the rankings after first occupying the top position in June 2015.
IMAGES from the World Cup match between Australia and England played in Ahmedabad on Saturday
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the International Cricket Committee (ICC) for not taking any action against Australia captain Steve Smith over a decision review controversy in this week's Bengaluru Test.
Allowing India to play all their matches in Dubai robbed Pakistan of the honour of hosting the final and disrupted the schedule of the knockout matches.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has moved up a spot to seventh.
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.
Usman Khawaja will return to training on Tuesday after being cleared to play the second Test
Steve Smith continued his sizzling form with an unbeaten century as Australia laid a strong foundation on the first day of the second Test .
Smith was handed a one-year ban along with his then deputy David Warner exactly a year ago for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Shamar Joseph took 7 wickets to lead the Windies to a big win
- 'I think they've made a very brave and good decision in making Steve the captain' - 'I'm comfortable where my game's at, everything's going in the right direction, I'd just like to get more runs'
With an average of 65.17, he is only second behind Don Bradman.
India mounted a positive reply after Steve Smith's unbeaten 178 and Glenn Maxwell's maiden century powered Australia to a series-high 451 on day two of the third Test in Ranchi on Friday.
Once in a while, everyone is allowed a bit of slump in form and Steve Smith is no exception, stated David Warner, who can relate to his former skipper's woes against India having endured a similarly wretched run during the 2019 Ashes in England.
Cummins is one of cricket's most recognised players as a top performer in all three formats (test, one day and T20) who led Australia to the test and one-day world championships last year.
The Australian Cricketers' Association have always contested the bans were overly-harsh and have continued to push for all three to be able to return to representative cricket immediately.
Steve Smith has branded India favourites to win the T20 World Cup after Virat Kohli's side outclassed Australia in a warm-up match on Wednesday.
Australia's batting star Steve Smith on Monday said he would be willing to take part in the IPL if the T20 World Cup scheduled in his country for October-November is postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The BCCI is eyeing the September-October window for the indefinitely postponed IPL with the T20 World Cup unlikely to take place.
Pat Cummins, 28, becomes only the second specialist fast bowler to take the captaincy after Ray Lindwall, who led for one Test against India in the mid-1950s.
Steve Smith has demanded his team's batsmen lift their output and score centuries against South Africa in the wake of their humbling six-wicket loss in the second Test at Port Elizabeth.
Former captain Smith, who has endured boos from the home crowds for his role in last year's ball-tampering scandal but has responded by piling up 671 runs in five innings, said it was incredibly special to retain the Ashes in England, something Australia have not done for 18 years.
Selectors have recalled pace stalwart Hazlewood for the second ODI after he missed the MCG match to play Sheffield Shield cricket.
Smith's (28) ODI haul of 568 runs at 63.11 from 10 innings were enough to pip Finch (23) who scored 673 runs at 56.08 from 13 innings.
Banned Australian duo Steve Smith and David Warner will look to share their wealth of experience with budding cricketers when they make their highly anticipated return to club cricket in Sydney on Saturday.
Australia all-rounder Cameron Green will miss the home Test series against India in a blow for the hosts after opting for surgery on a stress fracture in his lumbar spine.
Australia's batting great Ricky Ponting on Friday said he was 'surprised' by the Indian camp's wording around Rohit Sharma's absence from the Sydney Test.
Steve Smith may have been disgraced for his role in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa but newly-appointed Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane said that he still respects him as a world-class batsman.
Australia captain Steve Smith led by example, smashing an unbeaten 108 against a sloppy Pakistan to secure his team's seven-wicket victory with five overs to spare in the third one-day international in Perth on Thursday.
Steve Smith's importance to Australia in the Ashes series has not just been in the torrent of runs he has scored but also in timing of his big innings, according to his team mate Pat Cummins.
Former captain Steve Smith and batsman Cameron Bancroft will not contest the sanctions imposed on them by Cricket Australia (CA) for their role in last month's ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, the banned duo said on Wednesday.
'I think he's got the technique, he's got the patience to partner up with Uzzy (Khawaja) to allow himself to score big.'
'He could be a huge loss. However we've got Todd Murphy waiting in the wings. He's been bowling beautifully in the nets.'
India will be under tremendous pressure when they face an equally circumspect Australia in a battle of two out-of-form batting units in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth
Australia's Steve Smith struck a superb 144 on his return to the side as they recovered from 122-8 to reach 284 all out against England in the first innings of the first Ashes Test before the hosts saw out two overs unscathed at Edgbaston on Thursday.
New Zealand quick bowler Neil Wagner defended his use of the bouncer but admitted to feeling "shaky" when he felled Steve Smith with a blow to the head in the second Test in Christchurch on Sunday.
