Umesh Yadav gave a brilliant exhibition of reverse swing bowling before Mitchell Starc's rearguard half-century helped Australia reach a competitive 256 for nine.
Shaun Marsh is in a battle with his brother Mitchell and hard-hitting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for the middle order position for the forthcoming four-Test series in India.
Australia captain Steve Smith said the players drafted in for the third-Test victory over South Africa had energised the team and contributed to a "good start" to the new era of Test cricket in the country.
Resolute rearguard action by Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh helped Australia escape with a remarkable draw against India on the final day of the third Test in Ranchi on Monday.
The Indian duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday became the first set of spinners to be jointly ranked number one in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers.
Cowan says Australia needed to do more to look after the mental health of young players tossed out of the top level
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney, on Friday.
It will be difficult for Australia's besmirched cricketers to reclaim their reputations when the dust settles on the ball-tampering scandal but the episode is nonetheless a chance for the team to reclaim some of its lost principles and values, feels former batsman Michael Hussey.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia in Dharamsala, on Sunday.
Australia have defied expectations with their fight in India but with all to play for in the final Test in Dharamsala, Steve Smith's team would not leave happy with a drawn series, according to former wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist.
'With more matches, I began realising what to do and what not. I slowly realised my strength and weaknesses. Now I have a better idea' 'At times it's very difficult to bowl against him (Steve Smith). You bowl with a particular plan but sometimes he changes his stance, shuffles from leg-stump to off, opening up, sort of affects your plan'
India 'A' bowlers were largely ineffective, allowing Steve Smith and senior batsman Shaun Marsh to strike comfortable hundreds as Australia started their Test tour in impressive fashion in the three-day warm-up game in Mumbai on Friday.
Australian spinner Steve O'Keefe believes it would be a daunting task to tame Virat Kohli and his men in the upcoming Test series in India but insisted that they are not infallible and might find the going difficult on turning wickets.
Australia recalled wicketkeeper Tim Paine for the first time in seven years in a selection bombshell while dropping opening batsman Matt Renshaw in a surprising Ashes squad for the series against England.
South Africa's Temba Bavuma was left stranded on 95 not out as they tightened their grip over scandal-hit Australia after reducing the hapless visitors to 110 for six at the close on the second day of the fourth and final Test on Saturday.
The overnight batsmen each survived a review to power India to 435 for six at lunch in response to Australia's 451 after a wicketless session played out under an overcast sky.
Captain Steve Smith frustrated England with a fighting half-century and pushed Australia to 165 for four at the close of a see-sawing day two, rescuing the hosts after a top order collapse in the series-opening Ashes Test in Brisbane on Friday.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed career-best figures of eight for 50 to help Australia bundle out India for 189 on the first day of the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says England's only hope of winning a Test in the upcoming Ashes series is the day/night match in Adelaide and has predicted a 4-0 victory for the hosts.
Australia captain Steve Smith was delighted with the way his side rebounded from a series defeat to South Africa to sweep Pakistan 3-0 on Saturday but warned their next Test campaign in India would present a challenge on a whole different level.
Australia cruised to a seven-wicket consolation victory in the day-night third Test on Sunday after dismissing South Africa for 250 and knocking off the 127 runs for victory for the loss of three wickets before dinner on day four. - Scorecard: There was a minor scare when, with 63 runs still required, Dave Warner was run-out for 47 and Usman Khawaja dismissed for a duck inside one over but there was never any real doubt that Australia would avoid a first ever 3-0 sweep on home soil.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis silenced the boos of the Adelaide crowd with a defiant century before declaring on 259 for nine and giving his bowlers a crack at Australia in the final hour of the opening day of the day-night third Test on Thursday.
The disgraced Australian duo of Steve Smith and David Warner is not just staring at an ouster from IPL but is also also facing the prospect of missing the India series later this year, as speculations over a length ban for ball tampering gained credence.
After Australia's spinners took 17 wickets to out-bowl their Indian counterparts in Pune, the hosts will now be less confident of having a major advantage should they decide to produce turning tracks for the remainder of the series.
Left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe picked up a career-best six for 35 to help Australia take command of the first Test against India after 15 wickets fell on a bowler-dominated second day of the contest in Pune on Friday.
Penpix of players in Australia's Ashes squad.
Australia will start as favourites to reclaim the Ashes over the next seven weeks if only because of their home advantage but picking the winners in cricket's oldest Test rivalry has become a fool's game in recent years
The Indian batsmen have been outwitted by Australian spinners in the ongoing Test series but Cheteshwar Pujara insists that there is "nothing wrong" with their batting line-up.
'Smith needs to show a lot of faith and patience with his spinners and get the field right, with a nice balance of attacking and defending' 'This tour of India has been a big focus for Cricket Australia for some time now and the preparation has been meticulous'
Indian batsmen frittered away the initial advantage before reaching 248 for six against a disciplined Australia to leave the fourth and final cricket Test evenly poised, in Dharamsala, on Sunday.
When India lost the Wellington Test by 10 wickets, was it the worst defeat for Virat Kohli's team? Rajneesh Gupta has the answers.
Shreyas Iyer stroked his way to an unbeaten half-century in an otherwise unimpressive batting display by India 'A' in reply to Australia's first-innings total of 469 for seven declared on the second day of the three-day practice game in Mumbai.
Indian bowlers were thwarted by Australia's perseverance as Steve Smith's men survived a battle of nerves on Monday to force a draw in the third cricket Test in Ranchi and keep the series alive.
James Sutherland said Darren Lehmann has not resigned and will continue to coach the Australia men's team
Ravichandran Ashwin's 25th five-wicket haul was the cornerstone of India's remarkable turnaround as the hosts defeated Australia by 75 runs in the second cricket Test to level the four-match series.
Nathan Lyon walked into the record books with career-best figures of 8 for 50 as India suffered another batting debacle.
The 22-year-old Kuldeep, who replaced injured skipper Viart Kohli, returned figures of four for 68 in 23 overs after Australia decided to bat and made a resounding start.
The day belonged to Smith, who has now scored six Test hundreds against India in the last seven appearances and in the process also completed 5000 runs in Test cricket.
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