India

A crowd of 86,174 – a record for a women's cricket match – witnessed the tournament hosts dominate throughout at the famous MCG.

Australia posted 184-4 after opting to bat first, Mooney top-scoring with an unbeaten 78 from 54 deliveries.

However, it was opening partner Healy who stole the show, capitalising on an early life - she was dropped by Shafali Verma in the first over - to hit the fastest half-century in an ICC final.

Watched by husband Mitchell Starc, who was given permission to leave Australia's tour of South Africa early to be at the game, Healy needed just 39 balls to smash 75.

The right-hander hit seven fours and five sixes - including three in a row during an over from Shikha Pandey - before she was eventually caught at long on, ending a first-wicket stand worth 115 with Mooney.

Chasing such a daunting target, India stumbled out of the blocks. The big-hitting Verma fell to the third ball of their reply, caught behind by wicketkeeper Healy off the bowling of Megan Schutt.

Taniya Bhatia had to retire hurt due to concussion before Jemimah Rodrigues was caught at mid on, leaving the score at 8-2 at the end of the second over.

Deepti Sharma was the only player to provide any real resistance with 33, Schutt finishing with figures of 4-18 as India were bowled out for 99 with five balls remaining.

Despite the absences of Tayla Vlaeminck and Ellyse Perry, who both suffered injuries in the group stage, Australia were crowned T20 champions for a fifth time, albeit this is their first title on home soil.

Swepson, who did not feature in a crushing innings-and-132-run defeat in the first Test in Nagpur, has decided to fly home as his wife is due to give birth.

Left-arm tweaker Kuhnemann could make his Test debut at the age of 26 when the tourists set about trying to level the four-match series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.

The 26-year-old, who made his ODI bow against Sri Lanka last June, has only played 13 first-class matches for Queensland but may get the nod in Delhi.

He said after playing for Queensland against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield: "I was just lucky enough that my passport was in my bag.

"I watched every day [of the first Test] just being such a fan. These series are so good to watch. Todd Murphy was exceptional and sort of watched how [Ravindra] Jadeja bowled. So just really excited to get over there.

"I was fortunate enough to stay with the Test guys and bowl to them in the nets in Sri Lanka so that's still pretty fresh in my memory. I learned heaps just being over there for a couple of months. If I got the opportunity I'd like to think I'd be okay."

India all-rounder Jadeja was named player of the match after taking 5-47 in the first innings and 2-34 as Australia were skittled out for only 91 on day three of a one-sided first Test, while he also made 70 with the bat.

The performance of spinner Murphy, who claimed 7-124 on debut, was one huge positive in a dismal start to the tourists' bid to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

After Pat Cummins (4-29) and a brilliant fielding display saw India dismissed for 244 in response to Australia's first-innings 338, the hosts reached 103-2 at stumps – a lead of 197 runs.

Cheteshwar Pujara (50) led India's batting effort, but they lost 49-6 to finish their innings as the SCG pitch began to show signs of uneven bounce.

Making matters worse for the tourists, Rishabh Pant (left elbow) and Ravindra Jadeja (left thumb) were taken for scans after suffering blows while batting.

Marnus Labuschagne (47) and Steve Smith (29), who led Australia's first-innings batting effort, were unbeaten at stumps as the hosts put themselves in position to take a 2-1 series lead.

It came after some wonderful fielding and a fine bowling display by Cummins reduced India.

Cummins had Ajinkya Rahane (22) playing on for the first breakthrough of day three before Josh Hazlewood (2-43) stepped up in the field.

The Australia paceman moved to his right at mid-off before quickly unleashing a throw while diving to run out Hanuma Vihari (4).

Pant responded for India but he struggled after a blow to his elbow and was caught at first slip by David Warner off Hazlewood.

Cummins had the dangerous Pujara caught behind, while Ravichandran Ashwin (10) was run out and Labuschagne produced a wonderful direct hit to also run out Jasprit Bumrah (0).

Jadeja (28 not out) played some nice shots and India were boosted by a couple of quick wickets to begin Australia's innings.

Mohammed Siraj (1-20) had Will Pucovski (10) caught behind and Warner (13) was trapped lbw by Ashwin (1-28), but Smith and Labuschagne steadied the innings to ensure Australia stayed in control.

CA revealed the fixtures for Australia's men's and women's teams on Thursday and the schedule is packed despite fears that matches may have to be cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The men's team, who have not played since March when a one-day international series against New Zealand was cancelled after just one game, are due to first face Zimbabwe in three ODIs, beginning on August 9 at a venue yet to be determined.

After playing three T20s against West Indies and then India, Australia will host Afghanistan in a one-off Test in Perth that starts on November 21 before taking on Virat Kohli's team again in four Tests and three ODIs.

Their home season will conclude with a four-match ODI series against New Zealand in January and February.

The Australia women's team are set to return to action in September with a T20 series against New Zealand, who they will then meet in three ODIs prior to another series in that format against India in January.

The headline series for the men's team is undoubtedly the four-Test dual with Kohli's India, which will take place in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

In announcing the fixtures, CA CEO Kevin Roberts conceded the final schedule may have to be tweaked depending on the spread of the coronavirus over the coming weeks and months.

"While acknowledging the difficulty in navigating a global pandemic, we are nonetheless encouraged by the progress Australia is making in combatting the coronavirus and the positive impact that is having on our ability to host an exciting summer of cricket in 2020-21," Roberts said.

"We know that circumstances or events beyond our control could mean that the final schedule potentially may look different to the one released today, but we'll be doing everything we can to get as much international cricket in as possible this summer. We will communicate any changes to the schedule if or when they are required. 

"We are engaged in ongoing discussions with federal and state governments, our venues and the touring nations to continually understand and monitor the situation in front of us, which is evolving every day. We'll continue to act in accordance with public health advice and government protocols to ensure the safety of the public, players and support staff."

India won the most recent Test series in Australia in 2018-19, the first time they had emerged victorious in that format Down Under.

Green is poised to earn his maiden Baggy Green cap, according to head coach Justin Langer, but the promising 21-year-old must first come through Cricket Australia's (CA) concussion protocol.

He was diagnosed with a mild concussion after being struck by a straight drive by Jasprit Bumrah while bowling during Australia A's match against India at the SCG last week.

The Western Australian will train with the Australia squad on Tuesday and Wednesday before the medical team make their final assessment ahead of Thursday's series opener in Adelaide.

The four-Test series begins at Adelaide Oval and Langer has no doubt the in-form youngster is ready to make his Test bow.

"If he's passed fit he'll definitely play," Langer said on Tuesday, with Australia already missing David Warner (adductor), Will Pucovski (concussion) and Sean Abbott (calf).

Khawaja was forced to remain in Brisbane after not receiving a visa in time to make his scheduled flight last week, before two delayed flights further frustrated his bid to reach India. 

The batter was eventually forced to race through Delhi Airport to make the final leg of his journey to Bangalore, where he met up with his Australia team-mates ahead of the four-Test tour.

"I went Usain Bolt trying to make my connection," Khawaja told cricket.com.au. "I somehow got on that flight – the last flight of the whole night – and got here. 

"From the time I left Melbourne to here it was 24 hours. That's just life, you just have to deal with it. It's no biggie, I'm here now and ready to go."

While the delay meant Khawaja only managed a single training session before Australia departed for Nagpur ahead of the first Test starting on Thursday, he does not believe it will have an impact when the series gets under way.

He also shrugged off David Warner's claim of being "exhausted" ahead of the tour, saying: "Trying to get on seven different flights to get to India, then get here – we're all tired, we're all fatigued.

"That's just part and parcel of being a cricketer. Once you're on the field, it's just game on. It's the same with Davey.

"I've scored runs a lot of times when I have been tired and fatigued, you just have to find a way sometimes. I'm sure Davey will find a way."

India have only lost one of their last 15 men's Tests at home to Australia, while their current run of three successive series triumphs against the Aussies is the longest in their history.

However, Australia have only lost one of their last 10 Test series (W7 D2), and they could rack up three consecutive series wins for the first time since February 2016.

Warner was on Saturday ruled out of the ongoing second Test against India in Delhi with concussion, with Matthew Renshaw taking his place.

The veteran batter was later revealed to have sustained a fractured elbow.

Both issues arose during the first day of play on Friday, when Warner made 15 from a 44-ball knock in which he was struck on the elbow and helmet.

The latter blow left the 36-year-old with concussion, while the first inflicted a hairline fracture to his left elbow.

Warner did not return for fielding duties on day one and was ruled out on day two.

He is a major doubt for the third Test, which begins in Indore on March 1.

Australia made 263 in their first innings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

The relentless Indian spin cycle has left England a ragged shadow of the team that coasted to a 227-run win in the first Test, and it was fitting the series should end with Axar and Ravichandran Ashwin running amok, taking five wickets each.

The third Test was a two-day shock to the tourists' senses, while England headed into day three of this latest match in Ahmedabad knowing it would take something special to stave off one final heavy beating.

Test newcomer Axar and Ashwin have tortured the England batsmen in this series, and they were again the destroyers in a total of 135 all out, Axar with 5-48 and Ashwin taking 5-47 to nail down the win by an innings and 25 runs.

From 294-7 overnight in their first innings, leading by 89 runs, India scuppered English hopes of a quick burst through the tail as Washington Sundar and Axar led them to 365, at which point England finally took the three wickets they had been craving.

Axar made a useful 43 before he was run out, while Sundar was left frustratingly unbeaten on 96 as he ran out of partners, with the last three wickets going down in the space of five balls. Ben Stokes removed Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj to post figures of 4-89.

India looked to have effectively batted England out of the match by building their 160-run lead, given the brittle nature of the tourists' top order, and so it proved.

Those expecting an immediate England batting calamity were duly not disappointed, with Ashwin having Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow caught at first slip and leg slip respectively. That put England on 10-2, with Bairstow making his third duck in four innings in this series and a sixth in his last nine Test innings against India.

Dom Sibley was unlucky when a sweep shot off Axar struck short-leg fielder Shubman Gill on the knee, looping up for Rishabh Pant. Stokes was caught by captain Virat Kohli at leg slip, Axar again the bowler.

Captain Joe Root (30) and Ollie Pope (15) showed a touch more aptitude against the spinners, but Pope was stumped after coming forward to meet an Axar delivery that turned past the bat, and two balls later the skipper was pinned in front by Ashwin.

Dan Lawrence and Ben Foakes took England past the 100 mark before a sharp low catch at slip by Ajinkya Rahane saw Foakes perish for 13 to Axar, whose fifth wicket of the innings arrived when Dom Bess mistimed a heavy-duty sweep and edged behind to Pant.

In a lost cause, all that was left for England was for Lawrence to chase a second Test half-century, and a pair of lusty blows to the boundary off consecutive balls from Axar made his intentions clear. Lawrence got to 50 with a single, but his was the last wicket to fall, a resigned hoik at Ashwin resulting in the ball beating the bat and clattering middle and off stump, the cue for India to celebrate.

Axar makes startling Test impact

With 27 wickets in his first three Tests, Axar has made a breathtaking start at this level, with the left-arm spinner bamboozling England's batsmen time and again. Fellow Indian Narendra Hirwani holds the record for the most wickets in the first three outings of a Test career, having taken 31 in 1988, including 16 on his debut against West Indies. Unlike Hirwani, who was 19 years old when he broke into the team, Axar has been around the block several times in his career, playing 49 limited-overs games for India. Now the 27-year-old has a foothold in the Test team, watching his progress will be fascinating. The World Test Championship final now awaits India, with New Zealand to be their opponents.

Dismal trip for England batsmen

There are question marks over a number of players after this series. Sibley began with 87 but then had seven successive failures and averaged 16.75, while Pope, Crawley and Rory Burns all averaged less than 20. Bairstow's dismal effort with the bat meant he averaged just 7.00.

The spinner followed up his 84 from India's innings victory in the first match of the series, this time making 74 in a rearguard action as the hosts fought back from 139-7 to post 262 all out.

That meant Australia held a one-run first-innings lead, with Nathan Lyon taking 5-67, and the tourists reached 61-1 at the close batting for a second time at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

India began the day on 21-0 but soon began to unravel. KL Rahul (17), captain Rohit Sharma (32) and Cheteshwar Pujara (0) departed in the space of three overs, with India sliding from 46-0 to 54-3 as Lyon gobbled up each wicket, bowling Rohit and getting two lbw verdicts.

Shreyas Iyer (4) soon followed, and although Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja added 59 for the fifth wicket, when the latter was dismissed lbw for 26 by Todd Murphy it heralded another collapse. Kohli became the fourth lbw victim of the innings when he fell to Matthew Kuhnemann for 44, and Srikar Bharat (6) did not hang about, leaving Axar and Ravichandran Ashwin with the task of salvaging something.

They proved up to the job, adding 114 for the fourth wicket before Ashwin (37) fell to Pat Cummins with the new ball, a loose delivery down the leg side flicked to Matt Renshaw at square leg. Axar was then caught brilliantly by Cummins off Murphy, ending hopes of a maiden Test century.

Australia, ultimately relieved to avoid a first-innings deficit in this latest instalment of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, then saw Travis Head's 39no help them overcome the early loss of Usman Khawaja (6) before the close.

David Warner will miss the rest of the game due to concussion, and has also suffered a hairline elbow fracture, it was announced earlier in the day.

Lyon closes in

Lyon took his Baggy Green career haul to 496 wickets, putting him on the brink of becoming the sixth Australia bowler to reach 500 at international level. A long-format specialist, some 466 of Lyon's scalps have come in Tests.

With the breakthrough wicket of Rahul, Lyon became the second Australia player to reach 100 wickets in all formats against India, after Brett Lee, who took 111 wickets. This haul also took him to 100 wickets in Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches.

Axar keeps hosts in touch

Axar's innings was a terrific concoction, as he struck three sixes and nine fours before going after another powerful shot and perishing to an exemplary catch from Cummins. He went wicket-less during 12 overs with the ball in Australia's first innings, but this was another reminder he is in the team as a bowling all-rounder.

He made a modest 249 runs in his first 13 Test innings, but has plundered 158 from his last two knocks.

The day-night contest at the newly named Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was viewed in the build-up as a chance for the seam bowlers to take centre stage, with the four-match series between the teams delicately poised at 1-1.

However, it was India's spinners who once again dominated proceedings, Axar Patel claiming career-best figures of 6-38 to continue his outstanding start in Test cricket. Ravichandran Ashwin - one of the star performers for India as they won the second Test in Chennai - offered superb support, taking 3-26. 

Johnny Bairstow was the first of several players to be undone by deliveries that failed to turn at all, though, as his return to the team saw him trapped lbw for a duck, leaving the tourists at 27-2 after opting to bat first. 

Zak Crawley (53) countered impressively, playing some glorious shots off the front foot in particular as he and Joe Root added 47, only for England to then suffer a stunning collapse, their final eight wickets going down for just 38 runs.

Ashwin had Root lbw for 17 – despite the England captain attempting to get a reprieve through a review – before Crawley's fluent half-century came to an end when he fell in similar fashion to Axar. 

Ollie Pope (1) and Ben Stokes (6) both perished with the score stuck on 81, England's batsmen left bamboozled once more on a turning surface to leave a long tail exposed. 

Axar claimed three of the final four wickets to go down, wrapping up the innings when Ben Foakes was bowled for 12. England had lasted just 48.2 overs, posting their lowest first-innings score in India. 

Following a superb century in the previous match, the in-form Rohit Sharma led India's reply with an unbeaten 57 that included nine fours.

Fellow opener Shubman Gill found it tougher going as he made only 11, while Cheteshwar Pujara departed for a four-ball duck to Jack Leach. The left-arm spinner also struck late to give his team renewed hope, Kohli chopping on for 27, but the hosts undoubtedly were the happier team at stumps.

Super start continues for Axar 

Axar is the first Indian spinner to take a five-wicket haul in a day-night Test, while only the sixth slow bowler to do so in such fixtures with the pink ball. 

Having missed the series opener through injury - a game England won convincingly - he has now taken 13 wickets in the series at an average of 10.61, stunning numbers for a player who has had to wait patiently for his chance in the format. 

Zak back, but England topple quickly 

With Crawley and Root together, England appeared to have overcome two early setbacks to reach 74-2 just prior to the first break in proceedings on Wednesday. The former justified the decision to pick him over Rory Burns, hitting 10 fours to at times silence the 40,000-strong crowd present. 

Yet the right-hander was not alone in falling into the trap of playing for spin that was simply not there, hit on the front pad by a delivery from Axar that instead of turning went straight on.

Axar played a massive part in India's 3-1 Test series victory over England earlier this year, taking 27 wickets at an average of 10.59 in three matches.

The 27-year-old has now gone into isolation, having contracted COVID-19 after arriving at the Capitals' team hotel.

"Delhi Capitals all-rounder Axar Patel has tested positive for COVID-19. He had checked into the team hotel in Mumbai on March 28, 2021, with a negative report. His report from the second COVID test, came positive," Delhi announced in a statement on Saturday.

"He is currently in isolation at a designated medical care facility. The Delhi Capitals medical team is in constant touch with Axar and ensuring his safety and well-being. We wish him a speedy recovery."

The Capitals face Chennai Super Kings in their first match of the tournament at the Wankhede Stadium next Saturday.

India kept England well short of their victory target of 482 at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, with Axar (5-60) generating plenty of spin to help skittle the tourists for 164 and seal a record 317-run success.

Axar claimed the scalps of opener Dom Sibley and nightwatchman Jack Leach to reduce the tourists to 53-3 on day three and they lost another four wickets in the first session on day four.

The writing was on the wall when Joe Root (33) fell to Axar after lunch, with India managing to seal the victory despite Moeen Ali's 18-ball 43.

England's hopes of hanging on for a draw to retain their series lead took a significant blow when Dan Lawrence (26) stepped out to meet Ravichandran Ashwin and was stumped by Rishabh Pant.

Ashwin (3-53) took his third and final wicket of the innings when he drew an inside edge from Ben Stokes (8 off 51 balls) that looped off his pad and into the grasp of a diving Virat Kohli at slip.

Ishant Sharma ran in from deep midwicket to remove Olly Pope (12) off Axar and lunch was taken after Ben Foakes (2) launched Kuldeep Yadav (2-25) to Axar at midwicket.

England returned on 116-7 but five balls into the second session they lost Root, who had been dropped on 32 before lunch, when the captain gloved Axar to Ajinkya Rahane at slip.

Moeen responding by smashing Kuldeep for his first six of the innings and he added another three in a row off Axar after the India spinner trapped Olly Stone lbw.

There was still time for Moeen to add another six off Ashwin, but he was soon stumped by Pant after charging Kuldeep, completing a comfortable win for the hosts.

The only sour note for India was that Shubman Gill went for a scan instead of fielding after taking a blow to the left forearm on day three.

MOEEN MAKES HIS CASE

After sitting out the first Test, Moeen ensured his return to the longest format after an 18-month absence was not a damp squib.

He racked up five sixes and three fours in an incredible late flurry that showed his ability to be explosive against spin ahead of the third Test in Ahmedabad.

ASHWIN V STOKES

Stokes fell to Ashwin in the second innings of the first Test and the India off-spinner had his number again as he had a first-innings five-for in the second match.

Ashwin tormented Stokes again on Tuesday and will feel confident of continuing to contain England's star all-rounder for the rest of the series.

Broad has been ruled out of the remainder of the five-match series after suffering a torn calf in training on Tuesday, while Anderson is expected to miss out with a quad injury.

Saqib Mahmood was called up to the squad on Wednesday and could make his debut in the absence of England's vastly experienced seam duo, with Moeen Ali poised to return in the longest format.

Bairstow cited the ODI series against Pakistan, which England won despite having to name a totally new squad at the eleventh hour following a coronavirus outbreak, as an example that other players can step in and take their chance.

“It would be a big loss [if both Anderson and Broad miss out], naturally, because they've got over a thousand Test wickets between them," said Bairstow.

"I don’t think it's too much of a destabiliser to be honest. I think with the nature of professional sport there is going to be injuries at times, there is going to be illness, it can happen overnight and you've got to be adaptable within the group.

"It's potentially a loss but with that comes an opportunity for other people. When we've seen that previously in the summer, in the Pakistan series, there were opportunities that arose for other people coming in and they rose to those challenges."

India also suffered an injury blow, with seamer Shardul Thakur missing due to a hamstring problem.

Ravichandran Ashwin could come into the team as a second spinner, while Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav are pushing for recalls.

The first Test ended in a draw after the final day was washed out at Trent Bridge, with the tourists chasing 209 to win. Both sides were docked two points in the ICC World Test Championship points for slow-over rates in Nottingham.

ROOT BACK ABOVE KOHLI BUT IN NEED OF SUPPORT

Joe Root's exploits in the opening Test moved him above India captain Virat Kohli into fourth in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

Root came to the rescue with a masterful 109 in the second innings after the England skipper top scored with 64 in his side's 183 all out in the first innings.

England's top three of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley are under pressure, with Haseeb Hameed waiting for his chance to step in.

KOHLI: MOEEN A DANGER MAN

All-rounder Moeen is poised to switch from The Hundred to the Test arena after he was called up this week.

Moeen claimed match figures of 8-226 when he returned to the Test stage against India in Chennai six months ago and Kohli is well aware of his quality.

Kohli said: "We are wary of his skills. He's obviously a very talented cricketer, brings consistency with the ball and as a middle-order or lower-order batsman. Especially in Test cricket, he can change the momentum of the game with the bat. 

"He's in great form right now, he's batting really well and with the ball he is always someone that the team has banked on, so we will have to be at our best going up against Moeen."

KEY OPTA FACTS

- England have lost just two of their 18 Tests against India at Lord's, winning 12 and drawing two. The last India win at the famous venue came in 2014. 
- England have failed to register a win in their past six Test matches (D2, L4), their longest winless run since 2017-2018, when they failed to register a win in eight matches (D2 L6).
- Root (8,887) is 14 away from becoming the second-highest run-scorer for England in Test history (Graham Gooch – 8,900). Root is the only player to score over 1,000 runs since the beginning of 2021 in the longest format.
- Ravichandran Ashwin (413) is five away from becoming the third-highest Test wicket-taker for India, with Harbhajan Singh on 417.

Miraz (100 not out) and Mohammad Mahmudullah (77) combined for a crucial stand of 148 as hosts Bangladesh dug themselves out of a hole to recover from 69-6 and set India a target of 272 that they came so close to achieving in unlikely circumstances.

Rohit, despite coming off injured during the Bangladesh innings and requiring an x-ray on his thumb, came out to bat at number nine despite being in visible pain while the tourists' hopes were looking slim.

But he smashed five maximums as part of a rapid 51no from 28 balls to give his side a chance.

Needing 12 from the final two balls, Rohit hit the required six on the penultimate ball but could not repeat his feat with the final delivery of the day as Bangladesh clung on to delight a packed home crowd at Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Miraz and Mahmudullah steadied the ship after a dreadful start for Bangladesh, before Nasum Ahmed (18no) kept the charge going with two fours and a six to help the home side to a competitive total at 271-7.

India were also slow to get going with the bat, Virat Kohli (5) opening in Rohit's initial absence, as he and Shikhar Dhawan (8) were dismissed with just 13 on the board, though Shreyas Iyer got India back on track with 82 runs in a key 102-ball knock.

Axar Patel (56) provided some big shots and vital support, but when Miraz removed Iyer lbw to halt the productive duo's partnership at 107, India's hopes then looked bleak when Axar was swiftly dismissed soon after by the impressive Ebadot Hossain (3-45).

It looked like game over when Mahmudullah bowled a maiden to a struggling Rohit to leave India needing 40 runs from the last two overs.

But Rohit came agonisingly close to securing victory in a dramatic conclusion, rapidly firing three sixes and two fours to leave India needing a six from the final ball, but bowler Mustafizur Rahman (1-43) held his nerve as Bangladesh claimed an unassailable 2-0 series lead ahead of the final match on Saturday.

Rohit shines for India

Despite a thumb injury that was clearly hindering him, Rohit was superb for India as he somehow got them back in the hunt from what looked like an impossible equation at 213-8 in the 46th over.

Rohit confirmed after the match that he would miss the third encounter due to the injury, after KL Rahul skippered India while his issue was assessed for most of the Bangladesh innings.

Marvellous Miraz

Miraz played a crucial role in both halves of the win for Bangladesh, breaking the three-figure mark for the first time at ODI level – his century coming from just 83 balls, with 12 boundaries that included four maximums.

He is only the second batter to score an ODI century after coming in at number eight or lower, after Simi Singh.

The all-rounder was also key with the ball, taking the key wickets of KL Rahul and Iyer while also taking the catch that removed Dhawan early on.

Batting first, Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma both hit unbeaten centuries as India posted a total of 283-1 before bundling out the Proteas for 148. 

India's ultra-aggressive approach under head coach Gautam Gambhir has taken T20I cricket by storm, with the team scoring their third 250-plus score in the format on Friday - the most by any team. 

"Our plan was very clear. The last time we came here, we played the same brand of cricket as well and we wanted to continue that," said Suryakumar after the commanding victory. 

"We wanted to follow those good habits. We didn't think about the results and it happened automatically." 

Their 283-1 was also the fifth-highest total in men's T20I history and India's second-highest total after the 297-6 that they scored at home against Bangladesh only last month.

With his unbeaten 109 from 56 balls, Samson became the first batter to register three hundreds in a calendar year in T20Is, while Tilak's 120 from 47 balls was his second hundred in as many matches. 

Clearly expecting more of the lavish turn that saw them blown away on their previous visit in 2021, the tourists have picked all three of their specialist slow bowlers in Hyderabad and will also utilise Joe Root’s off-breaks as an additional option.

With captain Ben Stokes unable to bowl after knee surgery, they have settled on Mark Wood as the solitary pace bowler, meaning record wicket-taker James Anderson sits out.

England are placing a lot of trust in Wood’s fitness, with their fastest bowler bullish about his fitness despite a history of injury problems.

England last named a trio of frontline spinners in their 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in 2018, when Leach was the junior man to the more established pair of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, but Stokes was on hand then as an all-rounder.

They have not restricted themselves to just one seamer in recent memory, but their commitment to doing things differently in the ‘Bazball’ era remains unchecked.

Within the camp they do not see this as a rogue move, instead viewing it as a willingness to react to conditions.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s bold or brave, it’s just me and Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) looking at the wicket and picking the XI that we think will give us the best chance,” Stokes said.

“You have always got to think that the ball is going to turn in India, but you don’t want to go in with any pre-conceived ideas. We have to adapt to whatever we have presented in front of us, with bat and ball.

“It’s just being true to yourself, making selections and decisions. It comes easier as I’ve done more of this… If I think the decision is best for the team, then it’s probably the right one.

“India are an absolute beast in their home conditions, there’s no doubt about that. But that presents us with an opportunity. This team loves opportunities. We take opportunity head on and we run towards it – we don’t back away from from anything.”

Hartley comes into the reckoning despite a slim red-ball record with Lancashire. He has played 82 T20s compared to just 20 first-class games but was identified several months ago for his height, lively speed through the air and skiddy trajectory.

All of those are factors England feel are better suited to a Test match in India than a regulation county championship pitch, but the 24-year-old remains an unknown quantity.

“It’s very exciting for Tom to make his Test debut,” said Stokes.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him out there and captaining him. He’s been very impressive in the build-up in Abu Dhabi. He bowls at a very difficult pace to be able to handle out here and he’s someone who gets a lot of natural variation. In India, that is sometimes the hardest thing to face.”

Ahmed wins his second cap 13 months after becoming England’s youngest ever men’s Test cricketer in Karachi – an occasion that saw him claim a five-wicket haul in the second innings.

Despite going it alone, Wood has been told not to expect to carry a huge workload. Instead, he has been asked to use his express speed to make big contributions in brief cameos.

“What Woody brings with his high pace makes him a real impact bowler,” said Stokes.

“He’s a weapon we can use in short, sharp spells. We’ve already said that to him – bowl as fast as you can in short periods. There’s no worries about thinking about long spells. That’s how I envision using Woody before we’ve bowled a ball.”

Stokes will wait to see how his body reacts to a demanding 35-minute spell of fast bowling in training on Wednesday before deciding if he will send down any overs in the fourth Test, starting on Friday in Ranchi.

He has not bowled competitively since early July and initially had no plans to do so in this series after surgery in November to have stitches in his meniscus and a bone spur removed from his left knee.

Indeed, Stokes had made a “pinky promise” with England’s physiotherapist Ben Davies not to bowl in India but that looks increasingly likely to change with his side 2-1 down in the five-match series.

“Whatever way we decide to go, (if) I feel I am capable of bowling, I will bowl,” said the England captain, who added he would buy Davies a beer if he broke his vow.

“I think there is a possible chance but I will just have to wait and see how everything is.

“I wanted to get a long spell in to see how everything coped whilst doing it then see how I pull up. It is all good at the moment. That is the longest I have bowled in six months.

“Before I went and had the surgery I was told 12-13 weeks before I could start bowling. I am two weeks ahead of that and I am quite far ahead, but there are things I have to think about other than my knee.”

Stokes returning to bowl allows England to have two seamers in their XI and select three frontline spinners in Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir, as well as the part-time offerings of Joe Root.

The playing surface in the Jharkhand capital 48 hours out from the first day of the penultimate match has cracks running down one side of the cut strip, which a bemused Stokes admitted he has never encountered before in India.

The evidence points to a wicket which will offer lavish spin but there may be some variable bounce as well which could aid the quicks as England look to bounce back from a heavy defeat in Rajkot.

“It just looked interesting,” said Stokes, echoing the observation England vice-captain Ollie Pope made a couple of hours earlier.

“If you looked down one side of opposite ends it just looked different to what I am used to seeing, especially out in India.

“It looked green and grassy up in the changing rooms but then you go out there it looked different, very dark and crumbly and quite a few cracks in it.”

One or both of James Anderson and Mark Wood could make way after their heavy workloads in Rajkot, which might mean a first appearance of the series for Ollie Robinson, who has not played competitively since the third Ashes Test last July.

Robinson, who averages 22.21 in 19 Tests, can move the new ball both ways, while his use of reverse swing on the predominantly lifeless pitches of Pakistan last winter caught the eye.

“He’s got unbelievable skills to be a successful bowler anywhere in the world,” Stokes said.

“He has worked incredibly hard while he has been out here. Not playing the first three Tests can be tough and disappointing but I’ve told him he has been a great example of doing the right things and waiting your turn if it comes.”

England’s attacking methods came in for some flak after a 434-run loss last time out but Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum are resisting calls from some ex-players to tinker with their approach.

“You get plaudits when it goes well and a bit of s*** when it doesn’t,” added Stokes, when asked if he was surprised by some of the criticism. “It’s part of it, I’ve been around long enough to know that but we crack on.”

Ex-England seamer Harmison, a former Durham team-mate and close friend of Stokes, believes that arriving in India just three days before the start of a five-match series is a recipe for disaster.

He claimed the tourists would “deserve to get beat 5-0” without spending longer acclimatising to conditions, drawing a curt response from the England captain.

Stokes replied to a video of Harmison’s comments, saying: “Good job we’re going to Abu Dhabi for a training camp before we go to India for even more training before that 1st test then isn’t it.”

England, who lost 3-1 in their previous Indian tour on spinning pitches, do not have any warm-up fixtures scheduled but hope to tune up for the series opener on January 25 with a week-long workout in the United Arab Emirates.

Harmison suggested that approach was insufficient, telling talkSPORT: “If England go in three days before they deserve to get beat 5-0, they really do.

“I’m an old man, that’s what they’ll say…times have changed, but preparation hasn’t changed. I love this new approach, I love Ben Stokes and (head coach) Brendon McCullum. But I’m sorry, going three days before…you’d never do that for an Ashes series.

“You’d never go to Australia three days before the Gabba, so why go three days before Hyderabad? For me it stinks, it absolutely stinks.”

Stokes, meanwhile, is racing to be fully fit for the first Test.

He underwent surgery on his longstanding left knee injury at the end of November and has been chronicling his rehabilitation with a sequence of videos on Instagram.

England are not expecting him to feature as a bowler but even having him available to bat pain-free would represent an improvement on recent times.

Posting from the gym on Wednesday, he wrote: “massive progress for the week”, “muscle symmetry coming back” and “finally able to get into the flexion needed for a spin on the bike, for something normally so easy it was very pleasing to be able to do [it] today”

Stokes is set to become the 16th Englishman to three figures on Thursday a little over a decade on from his Adelaide debut, where he memorably had a testy exchange with Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

That combative nature has been a constant in a career of stratospheric highs and crushing lows, but he is naturally averse to celebrating personal milestones, as evidenced most acutely at Headingley in 2019.

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On that occasion, Stokes barely acknowledged his hundred and only celebrated after hauling England to a famous victory and he stayed true to type when asked to talk up his 100th Test match.

“I guess it’s a sign of longevity,” he said, almost apologetically. “It’s just a number. Every Test is just as important as the next one. Then there’s the next one, which will be 101 – it’s just one more.

“I don’t want it to sound like I’m not thankful for the opportunities I’ve had. There will be a time when I can (reflect on what he has achieved) a bit more.

“But milestones and stuff like that – it’s not done until it’s done.

“While I’m still playing and wanting to achieve a lot, driving the team, giving individuals what I think is the best platform for them to be successful is where all my thoughts are at the moment.”

Another character trait that has been evident in Stokes the captain is his eagerness to roll the dice and risk defeat in pursuit of victory, largely paying off with six of the former and 14 of the latter.

He is therefore highly unlikely to find himself in the same situation Sir Alastair Cook did in England’s last visit to the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in November 2016, when the tourists received some criticism for declaring too late and setting India 310 to win in a minimum of 49 overs.

With this series deadlocked at 1-1, the temptation could be to avoid defeat at all costs after losing last time out but Stokes was having none of it.

“I don’t get that much pleasure out of a draw,” Stokes said. “I’d much rather lose trying to win. But not winning doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Everything is just aimed towards what can we do.

“Losing always sucks but we’ve lost all (six) games trying to win them. We’ll never go to the grave not knowing if we could have done something a bit different.”

Stokes’ immediate thoughts are on whether to stick with James Anderson and a trio of callow spinners or reintroduce Mark Wood and go with two specialist fast bowlers for the first time on this tour of India.

While Wood was wicketless in the win at Hyderabad and made way for Anderson in the Visakhapatnam defeat, his express pace offers an extra dimension on a pitch renowned for being batter-friendly.

“If we were to go with two seamers the reasons why we would look at Jimmy and Woody would be I just like to have a point of difference,” Stokes said. “And India is never a three-seamer option.”

Even though Jack Leach is out of the last three Tests, Stokes will stick to his pledge not to bowl in this series following surgery on a longstanding left knee injury 11 weeks ago.

Stokes, who last bowled competitively in July last year, sent down three overs in training on Tuesday morning at what he estimated was about 70 per cent intensity.

“It’s little and often now,” the 32-year-old said. “We don’t have a plan with where I go with my intensity. It’s just how I feel at the time, but also not getting too far ahead. It was another step forward.

“But I’ve pinky promised my physio I won’t be loosening up to bowl even if everything is feeling well because that would just be a risk that’s not worth it.”

England have troubled India but Stokes is facing up to his first series defeat as captain, with Rohit Sharma’s side holding a 3-1 lead heading into the final Test, starting on Thursday in Dharamsala.

Past England teams might have already let their thoughts drift towards the flight home after a long tour but Stokes was adamant this iteration are hungry to finish the series on a positive note.

Indeed, one of the major differences he sees in his side since their last assignment – a 2-2 draw against Australia – is their readiness to do what is necessary to get into the team and keep the spot.

“The individuals and the team have massively evolved on this tour,” he said. “Progression doesn’t always show itself with the results. It doesn’t mean that we’ve gone backwards.

“I think the way in which everyone committed to becoming a better version of themselves from when we last played was quite obvious; everyone’s fitter, everyone was – I don’t want to say more desire – but it was just a really different feel around how we operated from the summer before.

“When you know that you’re part of something special, you want to work your nuts off to keep your place in the team.

“We’ve been on so many India tours, you know what it’s like when you get to an end of a long one that sometimes you start thinking about the end of the game, whereas honestly, I don’t think that anyone is thinking like that because every opportunity we feel at the moment is special to play for England.”

Before training at the picturesque HPCA Stadium on Wednesday, some England players are set to travel around 10km north and visit the Dalai Lama at his home in McLeod Ganj, although Stokes is unlikely to be among the contingent.

He will instead contemplate changes to his line-up and whether to include an extra seamer in the cooler mountain conditions, with James Anderson and Ollie Robinson fit after minor thigh and back troubles.

Stokes, though, insisted the XI would not be predicated on him returning to bowling for the first time since last July and doing so following left knee surgery last November would merely be a “bonus”.

Shoaib Bashir had a cut on his spinning finger tended to at Tuesday’s practice after a mammoth 70-over stint in Ranchi. This type of injury is common for spinners who experience an increase in workload, as evidenced by Moeen Ali’s struggles with the same issue last summer, but Stokes played down any worries.

“He’s probably bowled more in the last two months than he has ever,” Stokes said. “He was fine, he was just starting to feel it but I don’t think there’s any concern there.

“I put that down to him probably bowling more balls here in two months than he has for however long he’s been playing cricket for to be honest.”

Jonny Bairstow keeps his spot in the side despite a quiet series with the bat and will play his 100th Test, a dozen years on from his debut at Lord’s against the West Indies.

“I’m super excited for him and he’s been quite chipper the last couple of days,” Stokes said.

“I’ve been there for a lot of his career. Age-group cricket, I played against him and with him. Obviously we went on to play loads of cricket for England together.

“He’s one of England’s finest all-format batters, he’s done some unbelievable things with the red ball and the white ball.”

Asked about his white-ball intentions this year, Stokes confirmed he would be available for selection for the T20 World Cup in June after inspiring England to glory in the 2022 final in Australia.

“I’ve not even thought about that but I’m available,” he added. “Whether or not I’m in the plans for that is a different thing. But I still want to be part of that team going forward.”