Pucovski rode his luck and Marnus Labuschagne showed resolve as the duo hit half-centuries to put Australia in a dominating position in a rain-curtailed opening day at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Australia to open T20 World Cup defence against New Zealand.
Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley rejected the idea of making changes to the remaining Ashes schedule.
MCG moved to improve the playing surface after receiving the negative rating from ICC following last year's drawn Test against England, when only 24 wickets fell in five days.
Nathan Lyon took 5-68 as a dominant Australia dismissed New Zealand for 251 before the home batsmen took over to extend their lead to 243 by the close of play on the third day of the third and final Test in Sydney on Sunday. Already 2-0 down in the series after thumping defeats in Perth and Melbourne, New Zealand have been ravaged by illness and injury and now face a huge battle to avoid a third heavy loss before they head home. Images from Day 3 of the third Test in Sydney on Sunday.
Factbox on the second Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Saturday:
Cheteshwar Pujara's masterful 193 and Rishabh Pant's magnificent unbeaten 159 extinguished Australia's hopes of winning the SCG Test.
Rishabh Pant was hit on the left elbow while batting on Day 3 of the third Test against Australia at the SCG on Saturday and was taken for a scan.
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been hit with a team fine for criticising Matt Wade over his decisions as captain of the Victoria state side, skipper Steve Smith said on Saturday.
Peter Siddle has been brought into Australia's squad while uncapped fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been called into the New Zealand squad.
Coach Darren Lehmann gave Australia a mark of '7.5' out of 10 for a year in which they won the World Cup but lost the Ashes, the series most prized by home fans.
Australia are looking forward to getting back into competitive cricket in the first Test against India next week in the wake of Phillip Hughes's tragic death, wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said on Saturday.
Both former skipper Smith and Warner have agreed to turn out at the Australia nets to bat against the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazzlewood and Pat Cummins to help them prepare face Virat Kohli and Co in the upcoming four-Test series.
'We're excited about Rohit coming back. Spoke to him yesterday, he's waiting to join the team.'
Sri Lanka have suffered a double injury blow with batsman Dimuth Karunaratne almost certainly out of the World Cup and spinner Rangana Herath likely to miss at least a week of action, Mahela Jayawardene said on Friday.
'The first two Tests have been tough cricket, it's 1-1 and that probably shows how close the series has been'
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar slammed Australia skipper Tim Paine for sledging Ravichandran Ashwin during the drawn third Test in Sydney, saying his behaviour was "unbefitting" of a leader and could cost him his captaincy.
India will eye revenge for their defeat in one-day series as they meet fierce rivals Australia in three Twenty20 Internationals, starting on Tuesday, January 26 at Adelaide Oval. Games will also be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (January 29) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 31). The matches will see some of the world's explosive batsmen in action, while the series is also tipped as a much-needed preparatory ground ahead of the crucial World T20 scheduled to be held in March in India.
West Indies head into the match in Nelson, New Zealand, with a shaken-up squad that has failed to gel since an acrimonious dispute over player contracts.
Purists may hope for a better balance between bat and ball compared to previous slugfests, and the big grounds and long boundaries may offer some relief for bowlers while putting a premium on fielding.
Australia captain Steve Smith will seek an explanation from match referee Chris Broad over a Decision Review System malfunction during his team's march to victory over West Indies in the second Test on Tuesday.
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.
30 years have passed since a team made Australia follow on at home! India's first innings lead of 322 is their biggest ever in Australia. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers.
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