The nail-biting win over defending champions Mumbai Indians was certainly a morale-lifter but the inconsistent Kings XI Punjab have another tough battle at hand when they take on table toppers Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
Delhi Capitals has been the worst hit by the injuries
Both DC and RCB have looked solid so far and are placed atop the standings with three wins out of four games each.
The match, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, will also be a face-off between skippers KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, both seen as future India captaincy material.
England quick Jofra Archer will keep up his aggressive approach in Sunday's World Cup final against New Zealand after his bouncer left Australia's Alex Carey with a bloodied chin in Thursday's semi-final at Edgbaston.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Ashes Test played at the Gabba in Brisbane on Friday.
India's quest to find the right combination for the upcoming World Cup ended with a 35-run defeat in the decisive fifth ODI against Australia as they lost the series 2-3.
Pakistan succumbed to a 41-run loss to Australia on Wednesday and are now in an increasingly precarious position in eighth place in the standings.
India would eye nothing less than a clean sweep when they take on an Australian side significantly weakened by injury blows, in the third and final T20 International, in Sydney, on Tuesday.
A series win will be an ideal confidence booster for India before the visitors hit Test match mode.
Australia coach Justin Langer said that England are obviously the red-hot favourites going into the World Cup and said the team deserves to be the number one team in the world.
Team India possess a much more balanced squad in the shortest format.
The Men in Blue have never won a bilateral ODI contest on Australian soil.
India's vacant cupboard of all-rounders will give Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri numerous points to ponder.
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.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat on a flat track in the final, posting 183 for eight in their 20 overs with the innings anchored by opener D'Arcy Short's stylish 76 from 53 balls.
Carey was named a co-vice captain of the limited-overs sides captained by Aaron Finch during the home summer, and has impressed with his glovework during recent series against Pakistan and India.
Australia have named the following 17-man squad for the five-Test Ashes series against England, which begins at Edgbaston on Aug. 1.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji reveal the Most Valuable Players of the India-Australia ODI series.
The duo has been left out of Australia ODI squad for UAE despite bans ending before tour end
Kedar Jadhav and Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck unbeaten fifties to help India pull off a tricky chase and beat Australia by six wickets in the first One-day international on Saturday.
'This was a very impressive win because they did it the hard way'
Langer's side secured their spot in the last four with a 64-run win over hosts England at Lord's on Tuesday and return to the famous north London ground on Saturday to face neighbours New Zealand in their penultimate round-robin tie.
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.'
For Kohli, who led India to their first Test series victory in Australia but skipped the second half of the New Zealand tour, the series will be the last chance to identify the batsman to fill a middle order spot in an otherwise settled side.
Rajasthan will take inspiration from their two big wins in Sharjah, to turn things around against a dominant Delhi.
Andre Russell and Eoin Morgan's power-hitting will be the focus of all eyes when the in-form Kolkata Knight Riders taken on Delhi Capitals with an aim to light up the Sharjah skyline in what promises to be another six-hitting IPL contest in Sharjah on Saturday.
Air quality to be closely monitored ahead of Australia Tests
Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list the Most Valuable Players during the India-Australia ODI series.
Australia cruised to an 80-run victory over Pakistan in the third One-dayer in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
India didn't need a wicket-keeping coach during the Dhoni era, but would need one once the legend retires.
England, says former Australia captain, were outstanding against Australia and deserve their place in the final.
The comprehensive loss to a rampant England side was the first time Australia had made the last four of the competition and not advanced to the final.
Usman Khawaja struck his second century in three matches as Australia thumped India by 35 runs in their final one-dayer to seal a come-from-behind 3-2 series victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, on Wednesday.
They stand on the opposite ends of IPL's success spectrum but there is little to separate between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in the tournament's 13th edition as they head into a blockbuster Qualifier 1 match, in Dubai, on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians had roared back to form after thrashing RCB by five-wickets in the last game, there are problems aplenty for DC.
Sri Lanka have not played a match at the World Cup since June 4, forced to split points with Bangladesh and Pakistan following two washed out games.
Flavour of the season Rahul Tewatia didn't prove to be third time lucky in what turned out to be an incredible death overs performance by the Delhi Capitals pace attack in their 13-run victory against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
According to Steve Smith, the key to India's victory was their partnerships in the middle.
