India were 98 for 2 at close of play on the fourth day of the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday, still 308 runs behind Australia and a full day's batting away from saving the match.
Steve Smith scored Australia's first century of the series to drive the hosts to 338 all out but India stood firm with 96 for two to leave the third Test in the balance at the end of the second day in Sydney on Friday.
'He is a really exciting talent and probably the guy I am looking forward to seeing the most this summer. I have seen the Aussies a lot and I have seen a lot of the Kiwis, but I am really excited to see him'
Smith has managed just 10 runs in the first two matches, while Labuschagne could not capitalise on the starts
Paine was given out purely based on a Snicko spike as there was no mark on Hot Spot, which is the correct protocol.
Josh Hazlewood took five for eight as Australia romped to an emphatic victory by eight wickets inside three days in the first Test at Adelaide Oval on Saturday after skittling India for 36, their lowest innings score in 88 years of Test cricket.
Mohammed Siraj is a beautiful story that can always invoke an entire gamut of emotions -- sadness for the tragedies he has endured, thrill for the way he is attaining mastery over his craft and joy for his success at the highest level.
Cummins said there is always a sense of excitement when they approach a pink ball Test.
Hazlewood to miss out again as Australia announce unchanged playing XI for final Test
Batting great Rahul Dravid feels with 'impactful' Steve Smith and David Warner back in their ranks this time around, India will face stiff challenge in their Test tour of Australia later this year. The disgraced duo of Smith and Warner missed India's historic away Test series win over Australia in 2018 because of their one-year bans for their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering episode in South Africa.
Babar Azam fell one run short of his maiden century as Pakistan set Australia a mammoth victory target of 538 on day three of the second and final Test.
Cummins hopes the conditions this time would be in Australia's favour, saying they would need to get the likes of Pujara out of his comfort zone to stop India.
India captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma maintained their supremacy at the top of the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, occupying the first and second spots respectively in the latest list released on Wednesday.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said that IPL final will be held in Mumbai and not Ahmedabad.
Smith's tally of 774 runs from seven innings with a Bradmanesque 110-plus average in a bowler-dominated series illustrates how he single-handedly carried Australia's run-scoring burden.
Australia opener Matt Renshaw is a doubt for the series-opening Test against Pakistan after suffering a head injury in a tour match in Dubai.
Former captains, including Ian Chappell and Michael Clarke, have called for the inclusion of young opener Will Pucovski in Australia's team for the upcoming four-Test series against India.
Labuschagne is expected to bat at number three, with Smith to return to his favoured number four slot.
From a lower order batsman to one of Australia's prolific Test run-getters, Marnus Labuschange has carved his spot in the Australian line-up. The highest run-scorer in a calendar year in Test cricket in 2019, 'mind-blowing' Labuschange is now looking to break into the one-day team for the tour of India.
England face a rejuvenated Australian team who have turned day-night cricket into a competitive advantage, winning all eight of their Tests under lights dating back to the format's 2015 debut.
India's pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been sidelined with injury fell to sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings, Starc up to career-best fifth spot.
Kohli is now five points clear after Smith's knock of 36 in the Adelaide Test
India skipper Virat Kohli was pushed to the fifth spot by his English counterpart Joe Root, who rose two rungs to third in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen, even as Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin moved up in the bowlers' chart.
However, Clarke said it was the negative mindset that pegged Australia back.
'Whatever he does, it will be the right thing because he knows what lies ahead'
Rohit Sharma was four not out, with Shubman Gill yet to score, after the injury-decimated tourists bowled Australia out for 294 in their second innings.
Dashing opening batsman David Warner won his third Allan Border Medal, while Ellyse Perry claimed her second Belinda Clark Award at the Australian Cricket Awards, in Melbourne, on Monday.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India, at the Gabba, on Monday.
Pujara's slowest Test half-century, a painstaking 50 off 176 balls handed Australia control of the match in which they now have overall lead of 197 runs.
Former ICC elite panel umpire Daryl Harper has suggested a ban on the contentious umpire's call in the Decision Review System (DRS), saying that after over a decade there are still "deficiencies in either the communication or the understanding" of the concept.
Australia were 133 for six at stumps on Day 3 of the second Test against India in their second innings, a lead of two runs, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Usman Khawaja batted bravely for nearly nine hours to make 141 and help Australia salvage a draw in the first Test against Pakistan, in Dubai, on Thursday.
Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas claimed three quick wickets as Australia hobbled their way to 136-3 on Wednesday, chasing a mammoth target of 462 in the first Test in Dubai.
'They have got so much talent. And in the last 10 years when they have not been playing home Test matches (for security reasons), they have done a remarkable job to be as competitive as they have and continue to bring on the level of talented players they have.'
A series win in Australia will certainly put Kohli on a higher pedestal even though the quality of the home team's batting line-up suffered adversely due to the bans of former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.
'To stick to your guns when all the cricketing greats, coaches and textbooks say you are wrong -- that takes real courage. And now everyone is watching him bat in amazement, and trying to learn from him. The textbooks on batting technique may need to be rewritten'
Images from Day 5 of the fourth Ashes Test, at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Quarantine restrictions might hamper the Indian team's preparations for next month's ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand but bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar feel that the players' abundant experience will be enough to counter that challenge.
India captain Virat Kohli will end the year at the top of the ICC Test ranking chart for batsmen but five-day specialist Cheteshwar Pujara slipped a place to fifth. With 928 points, Kohli is way ahead of second-placed Australian maestro Steve Smith (911) and New Zealand's inspirational skipper Kane Williamson (822), while Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, who has amassed 1,085 runs in 11 Tests this year, improved a place to grab the fourth spot.
Superb centuries from Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell lifted Australia to a dramatic three-wicket victory over England on Wednesday as the visitors clinched the one-day international series 2-1.
