Australia bundled out Sri Lanka for 212 but endured a top order wobble of their own before reaching 98/3 in reply after a frenetic, spin-dominated day one of the opening Test in Galle on Wednesday.
Sunil Gavaskar wants KL Rahul to open in place of an out-of-form Prithvi Shaw
Hardik Pandya's leadership skills and India's overall World Cup preparedness will be under focus
'I'll definitely talk to the likes of Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns to get a gauge of (the Pakistani bowlers') skills and the way they go about their games'.
Shaun Marsh's name crops up as Australia look for right opening combo.
Jofra Archer's first five-wicket haul in Test cricket put England in command on a weather-affected opening day of the third Ashes Test at Headingley on Thursday as they bowled Australia out for 179.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at Lord's on Sunday
India's batting megastars will be desperate to clear the cobwebs from their head in pursuit of a second successive World Test Championship final berth as they take on Australia in the series-deciding fourth Test in Ahmedabad from Thursday.
Images from Day 2 of the Pink-ball first Test between Australia and India, in Adelaide, on Friday.
Left-arm spinner Nauman claimed a career-best 6-107 on a flat track where bowlers struggled for success.
Rohit Sharma has overtaken captain Virat Kohli to become the top-ranked Test batsman from India.
Australia, on their first tour of Pakistan in 24 years, finished day three 205 behind but scored freely after resuming on five for no loss.
Ponting, a former World Cup-winning Australia skipper, responded to a variety of questions during an interactive session with his fans on Twitter.
Iyer's teammate pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar jumped three spots to 17th on the bowler rankings, while former captain Virat Kohli, who was rested for the Sri Lanka T20Is, fell out of the top 10 - he dropped five places to 15th.
The skies were clear of the bushfire smoke that has shrouded the city on several occasions over the last few months and has organisers prepared for delays during the match.
Australia captain Tim Paine lost a referral when third umpire Aleem Dar upheld the decision after reviewing video replays from several angles.
England fast bowler James Anderson says he enjoyed the "well-spirited" manner in which he and India captain Virat Kohli had a go at each other during the home Test series earlier this summer, describing the contest as his favourite of the many duels with the star batter.
It took nearly a year longer than Australia hoped but Nathan Lyon ended his agonising wait for a 400th Test victim in style on Saturday during a match-winning four-wicket haul that sent England crashing to a stinging Ashes defeat at the Gabba.
Plan to take off-side out of Australians was hatched in July, reveals India bowling coach Bharat Arun.
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Saini limped off the field due to groin pain and was taken for the scans.
Warner has been racing to be fit for the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Test
South Africa opener Dean Elgar was on Monday ruled out of the third Test against India as he suffered concussion after being hit by a bouncer from pacer Umesh Yadav.
Warner swapped the superstar's face with his and posted a funny video on Instagram.
Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne is looking forward to the return of David Warner for the third Test against India in Sydney as he believes the the hosts will benefit not just from his batting but also the 'terrific energy' he will bring to the field.
It was his late father's dream to see Siraj play for the country in Tests and finally the dream was fulfilled on Saturday at the MCG.
'If you look at Australia's batting line-up, it is far better than last time.'
While Kohli has slipped to 10th on the ICC rankings, the Indian great continues to hold a remarkable Test batting record. He has scored 27 Test centuries and 28 half-centuries and currently has a Test batting average of just under 50.
'Yes, their team has now improved with the return of the experienced David Warner, Steve Smith and the likes of Marnus (Labuschagne), who has really done well for them in recent times. But last time too, their team was good but we played really some really good cricket to win. Looking forward to the challenge once again, it's going to be a great contest.'
Peter Handscomb was earlier this month left out of Australia's preliminary 26-man squad for their provisional white ball tour of England in September.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja could do with a break, which will allow India to try out new players in the Caribbean.
A complete list of players, who failed to attract any bid in the IPL 2021
With two days left, and Australia still 386 runs adrift of their score, India will fancy their chances of winning their first-ever Test series Down Under.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the first Test against Australia?
Khawaja to battle Head for openers' spot as Australia name squad for first two Tests.
Paine said Pucovski would open the batting if he was selected for the match
'He's shaping up all right at the moment so fingers crossed he'll be right'
After picking two wickets earlier, Bumrah capped an eventful day by facing 11 balls as the nightwatchman, ducking cleverly and blocking confidently to end with his wicket intact at stumps on Day 2.
The Australian government on Wednesday granted travel exemptions for Aaron Finch and his men, Cricket Australia (CA) said while announcing a 21-member squad for the team's first international tour since the coronavirus outbreak began.
The left-handed batsman now has 497 points in the all-rounder rankings, while second-placed Jason Holder has 459 points.
