Punjab are lying at the bottom of the table with only one win from six matches, while the in-form Lions are the top of the IPL standings with six wins from seven matches.
South Africa struggled to handle Australia's seam attack on a tricky Wanderers pitch, limping to 85 for three at the close of the second day of the first Test Friday.
Former Australian captain Allan Border on Tuesday advised struggling pacer Mitchell Johnson to take a break international cricket for a week to recapture his rhythm.
Australia may have made batting look easy while chasing 300-plus totals against India successfully twice, but opener Aaron Finch credited the team's inexperienced bowlers for it, pointing out that the current attack combined has played less ODIs than the now retired Mitchell Johnson.
IMAGES from the Group B Champions Trophy match between Australia and England in Lahore on Saturday
Their pre-tournament decision to fill the squad with five spinners drew a lot of flak from all corners, but it is now proving to be a masterstroke on the slow pitches in Dubai.
Australia reduced England to 203 for six to move to the brink of a consolation victory on the third day of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday.
Notwithstanding the 2-0 scoreline in favour of the home team, former Australian all-rounder Michael Bevan feels Indians have a good chance to bounce back in Melbourne in the third cricket Test, starting Friday.
With 10 points from 11 games, it is a must-win encounter for Dinesh Karthik and his men if they want to keep their play-off chances alive.
Despite being hit by the absence of key bowlers due to injuries as well as international commitments, Chennai Super Kings will still like to display their on-field ruthlessness while taking on wooden spooners Gujarat Titans in a 12th round IPL encounter in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Australia will resist the temptation to tinker with their team on tour against West Indies and plan to field their best 11 in a bid to sweep the two-Test series and build momentum for the Ashes, selector Rod Marsh has said.
Chennai Super Kings' batters dazzled before the bowlers ran riot to thrash Gujarat Titans by a thumping 53-run margin.
After several losses in the early years of the new century, a resurgent India notched up two consecutive series wins in Australia to become the Aussies' nemesis.
England's Stuart Broad was taken to hospital for a scan on an injured foot during the third day of the third Ashes Test on Sunday in a further blow to the struggling tourists.
Images from the athletics action at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris, on Friday.
Australian James Faulkner's superb all-round show helped Rajasthan Royals outclass Kings XI Punjab by 26 runs in their opening Indian Premier League match in Pune.
Photographs of the Day 4 play of the second Test between India and Australia being played in Brisbane.
With quality bowling attacks, Australia and India may have the edge at the World Cup in England where fortunes are likely to be made or marred in the middle overs.
Clarke, like most of the visiting batsmen, has struggled in the English conditions and is averaging 18 compared to his Test career average of almost 50.
The leaden-footed Australians found themselves bamboozled by Pakistan's wily spinners and their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand can expect similar treatment from Misbah-ul-Haq and his men in a three-Test series starting in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The dawn of a new era had begun under Sourav Ganguly's aggressive leadership. With Ganguly and Coach John Wright at the helm India had transitioned into a force to be reckoned with.
Delhi Daredevils face a herculean task to revive their IPL campaign when they clash with Kolkata Knight Riders
Josh Hazlewood will be Australia's third pace bowler in this week's first Test against New Zealand after Peter Siddle was named 12th man on Wednesday.
The ICC's rating is presumably due to the uneven bounce that became more prevalent later in the recently-concluded second Test between Australia and India.
Gujrat Titans will be striving for much needed consistency when they meet Delhi Capitals in an Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Watson used to take flak for his inability to convert half centuries to centuries but recently his problem has been progressing from scores in the 20s and 30s.
Having represented Pakistan in five cricket World Cup campaigns, legendary pacer Wasim Akram feels that it will be a challenge for sub-continent bowlers to perform in this edition of the 50-over showpiece event in Australian and New Zealand.
Australia captain Michael Clarke said his team would be fired up by defeat in the first Test against Pakistan but clearly needed to improve in all facets of the game to square the series later this week.
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh has backed pace bowler Mitchell Starc to convert his World Cup form into the Test team ahead of series against West Indies and England.
South Africa batsman AB de Villiers became the first player in the history of Test cricket to score a half-century in 12 consecutive Tests after he crossed 50 in the first innings on the opening day of the second Test against Australia, at St George's Park, on Thursday.
Steven Smith scored a brilliant century (192) as Australia recorded a massive 530 in the first innings as Indian bowlers were hammered all over the park. Losing the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan (28), India ended the day on 108 for 1 in their reply. Check out some of the images from the second day's play of the 3rd Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Tanveer Sangha, the son of Indian immigrants, shot into the World Cup selection frame with a stellar, four-wicket debut for Australia.
Nathan Lyon's wish to see the end of some England careers after another Ashes whitewash could easily come true if the tourists' struggling senior players fail to lift quickly, former Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson said.
Pace spearhead Trent Boult led the way with three wickets after David Warner's brisk half-century laid the foundation as Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded a 20-run win over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League in Mohali, on Monday.
India registered just three victories in 11 Tests, worse than even Zimbabwe and the West Indies...
English skipper Eoin Morgan expressed disappointment in the manner his side surrendered in the tri-series final to Australia by 112 runs but said that they will come back stronger in the World Cup beginning on February 14.
After a below-par effort against Pune Supergiants, the Delhi Darevils will be looking to hit the straps rightaway with their prime players set to comeback in the playing XI as they take on bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab in an IPL encounter at Mohali on Saturday. Following three horrendous seasons, the Daredevils have had a decent outing so far under Rahul Dravid's mentorship and Zaheer Khan's captaincy, having won five of their eight games and are placed third in the eight-team table. There has been no standout performer as such but contributions from most of the players in their five victories has made it clear that Dravid's men are certainly not dependant on any one individual to carry the team forward.
James Pattinson will replace fellow-quick Mitchell Starc in the Australia team for this week's opening test against West Indies, captain Steve Smith said on Wednesday, reviving a promising career that had stalled because of injury.
Publicly labelled 'soft' by former Test bowler Shane Warne only a few months ago, paceman Mitchell Starc has come of age.
Joe Burns will bat at number six when he makes his debut for Australia in the third Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting on Friday. The 25-year-old, regarded as one Australia's most promising young batsmen, replaced injured all-rounder Mitch Marsh in one of two changes to the Australian team that won last week's second Test in Brisbane. Paceman Ryan Harris, who missed the second Test because of a thigh problem, returns at the expense of Mitchell Starc.
