Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's reign at the top of ICC's ODI batting charts may come under threat from Mike Hussey if the Australian manages to carry his good Test form into the One-day series against Pakistan starting in Brisbane on Friday.
The Ashes remains the pinnacle of Test cricket for James Anderson like any Englishman but the showdowns against India also rank pretty high as the world No.1 side brings out the absolute best in him -- the 2012 away series being a case in point.
Ricky Ponting on Wednesday became Test cricket's most victorious player and captain after Australia emphatically won the first Test against Pakistan at the MCG.
Steve O'Keefe was instrumental in helping Australia record one of the most famous test victories in recent times but hosts India have been quick to put their heavy defeat down to the pitch in Pune rather than the 32-year-old spinner's performance.
'I am sitting here with a smile on my face knowing there is one less very competitive, very talented guy that we don't have to deal with'
Test cricket returns to Brabourne stadium after 36 years with the third and final match of the series between India and Sri Lanka and the organisers have promised to make it memorable with a good wicket for the December 2-6 game.
India couldn't have hoped for a worst start to a long South African sojourn but pacer Jasprit Bumrah on Thursday asserted that if one debacle dents the team's confidence then it 'does not deserve' to play Test cricket.
PV Sindhu appears 'vulnerable' on the counter-attack and that is a big factor in her losing many a title clashes, including recent loss to Saina Nehwal in the singles final at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, observed former India coach Vimal Kumar.
Winning Test matches outside the sub-continent has been an 'Achilles Heel' for the Indian teams over the years but skipper Virat Kohli made it clear that they have "nothing to prove to anyone" during the upcoming South Africa series, starting January 5.
India's bowling coach Bharath Arun made it clear on Tuesday that Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are first choices for Test matches, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are the preferred option for the limited-overs' format.
South Africa woefully struggled to get their act right in the matches gone by.
Former South African batsman Jonty Rhodes, who has plied his trade in India both as a cricketer and a coach, feels England will find it difficult to cope with the Indian conditions during the upcoming Test series.
Ricky Ponting discusses Rohit Sharma's inability to dominate Test cricket like he does in ODIs, Virat Kohli's captaincy and the Australian team's poor showing in the Test series in Sri Lanka.
'I got married to Reena secretly through court marriage, with three witnesses. My wedding with Reena was most economical. I took the Bus No 211 and bought a ticket of 50 paise. I got down at Bandra Station West, crossed the bridge, landed in the East and walked towards the highway. I crossed that highway and entered the Griha Nirman Bhavan, where there's a Marriage Registrar Office. So my wedding cost me less than Rs 10!'
Former Test batsman VVS Laxman believes the current Indian cricket team is hungry for more success and backed the hosts to triumph over Australia in the upcoming limited-over series.
India skipper Virat Kohli dropped hints that he would like to persist with K L Rahul, who seized the opportunity by scoring a hundred in the absence of the injured Murali Vijay in the second Test, in the third match of the series against the West Indies.
Liverpool had to be satisfied with a 1-1 Premier League draw at Arsenal on Saturday as their usually prolific attacking trio were well shackled by their improving hosts.
Dale Steyn will join a select group of bowlers to claim 400 wickets with the South African paceman requiring four scalps in the two-Test series against Bangladesh to reach the milestone.
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.
Stylish batsman Cheteshwar Pujara comes with the reputation of a good Test cricketer, according to former opener Virender Sehwag, who hoped that the Indian batting mainstay improves his skills in T20 cricket and gets picked by an Indian Premier League franchise in the next season.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka crashed out of the French Open in the first round losing 5-7, 5-7 to Katerina Siniakova on Monday, playing only her fifth tournament of the year after a legal battle over the custody of her son.
Still on a learning curve as India's Test skipper, Virat Kohli has divulged crucial captaincy lessons learnt in his tenure so far.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
For India, the S80 comes with three engine options a 2400cc turbocharged five-cylinder diesel, a 3200cc inline-6 petrol and the monstrous 4400cc petrol V8. The XC90 will have the same engine options as well.
Ruled out of the Test series against England, Indian batsman Rohit Sharma on Friday said he could be out for as long as three months if the doctors decide to operate on his injured thigh. "I don't know (how much time I will miss cricket) our BCCI medical team is in touch with doctors, the scans we have got till now have been sent to doctors, we are waiting for their opinion, whether to do surgery or not, if we do the surgery then how much time is needed," Rohit told reporters at a promotional event in suburban Bandra. "The picture is fully not clear. I think in one or two days the picture will be clear, whether it (surgery) is happening or not. It is an important decision if we do surgery. If I do the surgery, I cannot play for 3 to 3 and half months. We are waiting for the doctors' opinion, let's see what happens," the Mumbai player added.
The all-round ability of the current Indian cricket team excites former captain Rahul Dravid, who feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are a certainty for at least the semifinals of the World Twenty20 Championships. Dravid, who was here for the Laureus Sport for Good programme 'Magic Bus' in his capacity as a member of its World Sports Academy, said India looks to be the most "formidable" team of the tournament, the main draw of which gets underway from March 15. "I think India would make the top four, but after that, it's just a question of who has a better day in the semifinal and final... There's a good crop of players coming through. I think it's going to be an exciting 24 months for the Indian team. "I think the good thing about this Indian team and this T20 World Cup is they have good depth, they have good all-round depth at the moment," Dravid said. "Players like Hardik Pandya and Pawan Negi, it just shows that they have got sort of batting right down to No. 8, 9. They have got six or seven bowlers to call upon in Indian conditions that they can use.
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The 51-year-old legendary batsman said that it would be a difficult series for Australia as India are a very settled side and Virat Kohli's captaincy is contagious.
Royal Challengers Bangalore leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal termed his team's narrow one-run win over Kings XI Punjab as crucial.
Images from matches played on Day 7 at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park on Sunday
Unlike before when England players were not available for the lucrative Indian Premier League auctions, the scenario will be different this time feels limited overs captain Eoin Morgan.
With Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra tormenting Sri Lankan team in the first two Tests, former captain Sanath Jayasuriya feels that the newer crop of batsmen emerging from the island nation have not done proper assessment of their ability to handle quality spinners.
India captain Virat Kohli has said that he is happy that in a space of 12 months the questions about why the team is opting to win on "unfair tracks" have turned into how it is winning on "good wickets".
Australia's aim of regaining the top ranking in Test cricket has taken a major step forward following Monday's comprehensive victory over New Zealand in the opener of their two-match series, according to captain Steve Smith.
- 'Whether we've won or lost there's been that feelgood factor, everyone's feeling positive about English cricket again and it's rubbed off on the players' - 'They are going to come back hard at us, no doubt about that, so it's a question of how we respond and how we deal with that'
'We want to thank him (Costa) for what he did with this club. We wish him all the best for the future'
'We did a lot of very good things. Just couldn't quite get over the line' 'He's (Hameed) an unbelievable player, pushing me closer to retirement'
Ishant Sharma is another pacer that ranks high in the South Africa fast bowler's praise list.
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