'India's resilience has got to give up at some stage. They can't keep doing what they've been doing, being so resilient, and tomorrow it might be that day. The last day of the series, potentially playing for another draw, I've just got a feeling that something's got to give. And Australia on the other hand, they know they have to go flat out and give everything to win the series.'
The Sydney Test, apart from being an enthralling battle between the ball and the bat, drew attention for Indian players facing racists remarks.
India were 98 for 2 at close of play on the fourth day of the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday, still 308 runs behind Australia and a full day's batting away from saving the match.
A ball-tampering scandal that devastated Australia cast a dark cloud over a dramatic cricketing year
Steve Smith scored Australia's first century of the series to drive the hosts to 338 all out but India stood firm with 96 for two to leave the third Test in the balance at the end of the second day in Sydney on Friday.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Friday.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and India, at the SCG, on Sunday.
"It's the other end of the spectrum now ... You can't wait just to get out there on the cricket field and running around with your mates, getting stuck into training and playing games."
Pandya is undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a lower-back injury during the Asia Cup in Dubai.
Josh Hazlewood took five for eight as Australia romped to an emphatic victory by eight wickets inside three days in the first Test at Adelaide Oval on Saturday after skittling India for 36, their lowest innings score in 88 years of Test cricket.
The India team sent out a message saying Ashwin was after all to be included in the squad and a decision on whether he played would not be made until the first morning of the match on Thursday.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between Australia and India, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Monday.
Gilchrist said home conditions would make Australia hard to beat when the World Cup starts next October.
India will be hoping to repeat their success of two years ago when they registered their first-ever Test series win in Australia, while the hosts would be keen to avenge that loss.
'If you're friendly with any Indian player it doesn't mean that you are getting IPL contract'
Paine's batting lineup has been rated the worst Australia has ever, so the bowlers could well be under pressure
Bandon Mein Tha Dum is about a team that hits rock-bottom, loses key players, has its global reputation shrink overnight, but despite all the setbacks, pulls off one of the greatest comeback victories in the history of international cricket, applauds Shailesh Karkera.
The 31-run victory in Adelaide was India's first series-opening win on Australian soil.
Dean Elgar scored an unbeaten century but an excellent spell of bowling from Australia seamer Pat Cummins restricted South Africa to 266 for eight at the close of play on the opening day of the third Test at Newlands on Thursday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 5th Ashes Test played between England and Australia on Thursday.
Denly fell six runs short of his maiden Test century and Ben Stokes made a sparkling 67 in bright sunshine at The Oval to put England in a strong position to level the series at 2-2.
Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas destroyed Australia, picking up five wickets in both innings, as the hosts won the second and final Test by a huge margin of 373 runs to clinch the series 1-0.
Australian media can't have enough of 'miracle man' Stokes after Headingley thriller, compare him to Ian Botham.
Australian batsmen David Warner and Cameron Bancroft signed up for a limited overs tournament in Northern Territory in July as they look to return to cricket in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal which saw them banned from the national team.
As Steve Smith and David Warner padded up at suburban Sydney cricket grounds over the weekend, the warm spring sunshine may have seemed fitting weather for the banned Australian cricketers to take a small but important step in their rehabilitation.
While ODI captain Aaron Finch said the team backed Justin Langer "100%", reports of players being put off by the coach's "grumpy" temperament have continued to surface.
Though Smith is absolutely free to make a return to the national team for next year's World Cup and Ashes series in England, he can only fill back the leadership role in March 2020.
ICC's proposal to introduce four-day Tests has met with stiff opposition
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.
Ricky Ponting believes the hosts will hold an edge over India in the second Test at the Perth
Agarwal, thrusted into the squad following failure of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, responded with a 76-run knock off balls, sorting out India's opening woes to some extent.
Usman Khawaja scored 75 runs to lead an Australia fightback on the third day of the second Test against South Africa at St George's Park, but succumbed just before close of play after seeing the tourists cancel out a first innings deficit.
On the back of some great all-round performance, Australia thumped New Zealand by 247 runs to win the Boxing Day Test and take a 2-0 series lead. Images from Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test played at the MCG on Sunday.
The 2-0 whitewash by Tim Paine's side, Pakistan return home with more regrets than highlights.
CCTV footage from the players' tunnel at Kingsmead showed Australia vice-captain David Warner and South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock involved in a fiery exchange as players climbed the stairwell to their dressing rooms during the tea break.
Cricket Australia is considering the prospect of turning its four-match Test series against India later this year into a five-Test series as it continues looking for ways to compensate the financial losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. India's tour of Australia will begin with a T20 tri-series in October and is scheduled to end with a four-match Tests series in December. In between there is the T20 World Cup, scheduled for an October 18 start, but the mega event's future is also shrouded in uncertainty due to the global health crisis.
Australia opener David Warner believes India's Rohit Sharma has the firepower to surpass West Indies great Brian Lara's record 400 not out in a Test match.
New Zealand have already booked their spot for the inaugural WTC final, leaving India, England and Australia vying for the other.
'His expression was like a million dollars!'
'They have got so much talent. And in the last 10 years when they have not been playing home Test matches (for security reasons), they have done a remarkable job to be as competitive as they have and continue to bring on the level of talented players they have.'
