'At every venue, how many runs they get in the first innings, will be crucial.'
In other developments in cricket, England opener Rory Burns has been rendered a doubtful starter for the tour of Sri Lanka.
'India captain Rohit Sharma pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.'
India claimed the top spot in the World Test Championship standings
Josh Hazlewood finished with a nine-wicket match haul as world champions Australia crushed a depleted West Indies by 10 wickets.
India qualified for the World Test Championship final after New Zealand edged Sri Lanka by two wickets off the final ball in a dramatic finish to the first Test in Christchurch on Monday.
Ahead of the WTC final between India and Australia, Ricky Ponting picked Australia's playing XI.
Australia and India control their own destiny as they edge towards the conclusion of the competition
Ravichandran Ashwin tore through Australia in their second innings to set up a comprehensive victory for India by an innings and 132 runs inside three days of the spin-dominated opening Test.
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said he was pleased to confirm two iconic venues for the next two cycles.
We had to fight really hard to reverse momentum, says Kane Williamson
Shastri posted a photo of himself having a conversation with batsman Shubman Gill on Twitter
The stage will also be set for Virat Kohli to score his first Test hundred since November 2019.
India-England will lock horns in a pink-ball Test, beginning February 24 at the Motera Stadium.
Gambhir added that it will be interesting to see the kind of wicket the teams get as both sides are capable of outclassing each other on the field.
Indian players are gearing up themselves at the Holkar Cricket Stadium for the pink ball Test match against Bangladesh.
Home captain Williamson also praised the "special effort from" team man Wagner.
Ashwin has been a regular member of the Indian side in the longest format of the game but the spinner last represented played an international limited-overs match back in 2017. His last T20I game came against West Indies in July 2017 while his last ODI match was against the same side in June 2017.
Kohli wants to focus on the things which the hosts can control like playing good cricket in the upcoming games.
England to host New Zealand for two Tests in June.
Australia (296 points from 3 series) toppled India (360 points from 4 series) in the standings after the revision with a percentage of 82.22 compared to the latter's 75 per cent.
Steve Smith was handed a one-year ban from international cricket in 2018 for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa.
As per the existing format, a team is supposed to play six series in the WTC, three home and three away but they are not scheduled alternatively.
The change in WTC rule, prompted by the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed Australia (82.22%) to leapfrog India (75) to the top of the standings
The second Test pitch led to some sort of criticism from former players like Michael Vaughan and Mark Waugh and the duo termed the pitch as "substandard".
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between India and England, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai.
Double centurion Agarwal, meanwhile, climbed to the 11th spot after his player-of-the-match effort of 243 in India's only innings. The 28-year-old has reached 691 rating points after scoring 858 runs in his first eight Tests.
Before the two teams face off in a much-anticipated four-Test series starting on December 17, Australia A are scheduled to play two three-day tour games against India A, which features Test specialists.
Not just the 40 points, India will also be eyeing a 3-0 whitewash in the Gandhi-Mandela series.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances