Ponting shrugged off Australia's injury worries and the idea of there being risk in rushing Smith and Warner into the team.
Katich is confident that their captain Dinesh Karthik will once again excel in his designated finisher's role
Problems surrounding his family had made it tough for Usman Khawaja to be at the top of his game for Australia
Shane Watson's international future looked bleak on Monday after the all-rounder was left out of Australia's 13-man squad for this month's one-day series against India on Monday.
'It's tough going -- we get to play cricket, (so) we can't complain too much -- but in terms of wellbeing of players, staff and officials, how long can you stay in hubs for?'
I don't think there is any upcoming bowler in the fray who is capable of bowling 140-plus regularly, says Ishant Sharma.
With the Sydney Cricket Ground reliably Australia's most spin-friendly wicket, the hosts may find it tough going to manufacture a face-saving victory and square the series.
Australia ripped through South Africa's top order in the first hour, dismissed the tourists for 242 by tea and reached 105 without loss at close on the back of some Dave Warner fireworks on the opening day of the first Test on Thursday.
'Someone's got to do it and I might put my hand up. It's part of the game and what happened the other day with Shane (Watson) and Wahab (Riaz) was exceptional'
Former captain Mohammad Azharuddin said that even though India's 15-man squad for the upcoming World Cup looks balanced, the bowling attack does seem to pose a worry for the Virat Kohli-led team.
Australia captain Steve Smith struck a cultured unbeaten century on Thursday to steer Australia to 299 for four wickets on the opening day of the third Test against India in Ranchi, signalling he has put the review controversy at Bengaluru behind him.
Sachin Tendulkar may be approaching his 40th birthday, but Australian opener David Warner is aware of the threat the senior India batsman could pose in the upcoming Test series.
'Smith needs to show a lot of faith and patience with his spinners and get the field right, with a nice balance of attacking and defending' 'This tour of India has been a big focus for Cricket Australia for some time now and the preparation has been meticulous'
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon has been dropped from Australia's squad for the one-day international series in New Zealand next month, while in-form batsman Usman Khawaja has also been overlooked for the three-match series.
A selection of musings from around the cricket World Cup.
'If you had have told me then (he would captain Australia), I certainly wouldn't have believed you, but this game moves fast and sometimes things happen that are quite unexpected and that's exactly what's happened in this scenario.'
England's James Anderson is the first fast bowler to take 600 Test wickets.
A confident India will look to pile the misery on the a struggling Australia and seal the five-match series when the teams clash in the third One-Day International, in Indore, on Sunday.
'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.'
Virat Kohli's Indian team still has a long way to go before it is spoken of in the same breath as Australia of 2000s, believes former India pacer Ashish Nehra. Under Kohli's leadership, India earned its maiden series victory in Australia in 2018-19, achieving the feat after trying for seven decades.
Australia captain Aaron Finch says playing in the sub-continent can be intimidating, but having won an ODI series last year, he says 'Knowing that our game plan is good enough to beat India in India, that gives us a lot of confidence going there.'
Virat Kohli continued his day job of mesmerising fans with a magical willow
Australian opener Matt Renshaw, became the talking point after he was forced to take a 'toilet break'.
Greg Chappell said the defending champions cannot be written off as one of the strong contenders for the World Cup.
A scrappy India will have to lift their game by several notches against an improving Australia when the two fierce rivals clash in a virtual quarter-final cricket match of the ICC World Twenty20, in Mohali, on Sunday.
Cricket Australia said on Tuesday that Test skipper Tim Paine will also captain the one-day international team during next month's tour of England
'I faced Ashwin a couple times in IPL before this, so don't have much experience of playing him in Test cricket. But we have batsmen who can play spin well'
The Australian players have devised their own cultural pact and, under new coach Justin Langer, are expected to have 'elite honesty'.
The CPL, which was originally scheduled to commence on August 28, will now be played between August 26 and September 15.
Australia all-rounder James Faulkner says his team is not worried about the slow nature of the pitches and the Indians using it to their advantage as he feels the hosts are in equally good form.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has been rendered a doubtful starter for the fourth and final cricket Test against Australia in Ranchi, a scenario that has put the hosts under immense pressure on the eve of the decider of the bitterly fought series.
Aaron Finch has been dumped as Australia's captain in the shorTest form of the game and replaced by Test skipper Steve Smith just a month before the start of the World Twenty20.
Australia's top order batsman, who had averaged 49.31 in 2019, has not been included in the national side for over a year.
Australia opener David Warner says the third Test is all but over for India, after they were bowled out for 161 and Australia replied with 149 for no loss by the end of the first day.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell says India needs to 'sort their batting inadequacies' before the tour Down Under later this year
The prospect of a depleted Australia team struggling on home pitches against India in the coming summer could add further heat from broadcasters
Spinner Amit Mishra shone with four wickets but the Indian fast bowlers were far from impressive as their two-day warm-up match against West Indies Cricket Board President's XI ended in a draw at St Kitts. Shai Hope's unbeaten century was the highlight of West Indies Cricket Board President's XI innings on the second and final day of the opening practice game. WICB Board President's XI were 281 for seven when play was called off.
Virat Kohli and Indian cricket remained an enduring love story and Sourav Ganguly held out promise for a path-breaking reign off the field in a year during which the country finally embraced pink ball Tests. There were the heartbreaks, the biggest one being a World Cup semi-final exit, and not to forget the anxious wait on what Mahendra Singh Dhoni might do next after being on a sabbatical for half the year.
Netherlands' Kingma gets four-match suspension for ball-tampering.
India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday said the consolation win over Australia in the third and final ODI is a timely 'boost' for the remainder of the tour, made possible by the freshness that came with a changed squad.
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