India opener Rohit Sharma has progressed six places to a career-best eighth position in the MRF Tyres ICC men's Test player rankings after a fine performance in the low-scoring third Test against England in Ahmedabad.
Australia took 90 minutes to complete formalities, with Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc sharing five of the last six West Indies wicket.
Rahul Dravid urged the ICC to cut down on the number of 'meaningless' ODIs and focus on major tournaments like the World Cup, besides exploring the possibility of day-night Test cricket. The middle-order maestro was speaking in Canberra, at the annual Bradman Oration.
Should India bolster its batting by including Rohit Sharma at No 6? Pick India's playing XI for the first Test.
Virat Kohli would hope for a turnaround when India take on an under-prepared Sri Lanka in the second Test in Bengaluru
Mayank Agarwal, who struck a double century in the first Test against Bangladesh in Indore, jumped one place to 10th with 700 points.
The Indian players geared up for the day-night second Test against Sri Lanka as they practiced with the pink ball in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Ajinkya Rahane will not be bogged down by the pressure of captaincy if he leads India in the last three Tests against Australia in Virat Kohli's absence, said batting great Sunil Gavaskar.
Under Ravi Shastri's tutelage, India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia when they upset the hosts 2-1 in 2018-19 before winning their second successive series two years later.
Floodlit day-night Test cricket receded further into the distance Friday when the International Cricket Council (ICC) said at least 18 months' research needs to be done on different coloured balls.
Attributing his recent success to tweaking his bowling grip, India speedstar Umesh Yadav said the modification gave him more control and improved his consistency to ball outswingers.
The day-night pink ball Test finished inside three days as India beat Sri Lanka by 238 runs to win the two-Test series 2-0.
Australia's World Cup winning captain Michael Clarke feels the Indian skipper should fly back from Surrey to play the historic one-off Test in Bengaluru.
India's reluctance to play a day-night Test on their next tour of Australia has surprised spinner Harbhajan Singh, who remains convinced that Virat Kohli's team are skilled enough to conquer the challenges of pink-ball cricket.
'It's a hugely important series and after the year everyone had it is going to bring a huge amount of joy to cricketing fans.'
Australia will trial a modified pink ball featuring a black seam in the domestic Sheffield Shield competition next week after complaints from players about visibility issues during the inaugural day-night Test last November.
The duo is scheduled to arrive at 9.40am, while the rest of the team will arrive in batches, local team manager Samrat Bhowmcik told PTI.
There had been plenty of talk around the heavily-lacquered ball especially during twilight time.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal will miss the third and final Test against the West Indies after his appeal against a ball-tampering ban was dismissed by a judicial commissioner.
New Zealand paceman Kyle Jamieson is likely to play only in the opening pink ball Test against England in the two-match series as staff take a cautious approach with the recovering quick.
Off the back of the spectacular success of the inaugural day-night Test last month, Cricket Australia has today announced an additional day-night round of Sheffield Shield cricket this summer.
To become youngest Test debutant on Australian soil
Virat Kohli's lean run in international cricket continued as the India captain failed with the bat in the first innings of the third Test against England at Headingley on Wednesday.
The first Test of the four-match series, beginning on December 17 will be played at the Adelaide Oval in a day-night contest. Australia have an unbeaten record in day-night Tests having won all the pink ball Tests they have played.
BCCI has reacted sharply to the Committee of Administrators red-flagging a proposed Day/Night Test match against the West Indies in October despite positive feedback from national chief coach Ravi Shastri.
'India not the strongest bowling unit without Ishant Sharma'
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is in talks with British manufacturer 'Dukes' for supply of pink balls which can be tested before zeroing in on a particular brand for the proposed day-night Test matches later this year.
Test matches have witnessed a decline in attendances in recent years, throwing the door open to a number of means to engage fans, including the introduction of day-night Tests.
Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody feels India should have given a chance to in-form batsman Shubman Gill ahead of Prithvi Shaw in the opening day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide.
Pietersen backs for D/N format to save Test cricket
Coloured seating at the newly-built Motera stadium could make the job of the fielders a little bit harder in terms of citing the pink ball in the day-night Test.
'No more red ball... it doesn't swing, it doesn't do anything, goes soft after 25 overs. It has been pathetic for so long now. Except for the Dukes ball in England, it has been rubbish.'
Australia paceman Mitchell Starc has been fined half of his match fees for throwing a ball at New Zealand batsman Mark Craig during the final day of the first Test at the Gabba.
'We've learnt to stand up - it all started from Dada's (Sourav Ganguly) team'
Feeling refreshed and stronger from the long break since COVID-19 put a halt to cricket in March, Starc hopes he might be able to return to top speed.
Islam compared the Indian pace attack to the lethal West Indian fast bowlers of the 1970s and 1980s.
Images from Day 1 of the pink-ball first Test between Australia and India, in Adelaide, on Thursday.
Coming into the series at the back of a convincing series win over Pakistan, Australia will look to seal their seventh day-night Test win when they face New Zealand in the opening Test beginning in Perth on Thursday.
Brushing aside the incessant talk around spin-friendly pitches in India, big-hitting England all-rounder Ben Stokes has said that Test players should be proficient in handling all kinds of conditions.
Kohli was first to enter the nets to take throwdowns from the Indian support staff
