Steven Smith

The tourists had embarrassed India in the first match, cruising to a 10-wicket win with unbeaten centuries from David Warner and Aaron Finch.

India posted a more challenging total of 340-6 on Friday, featuring 96 from Shikhar Dhawan, 80 from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli's 78, to give Australia a tricky chase and they fell short on 304 all out to set up a series decider in Bengaluru on Sunday.

At 220-3 with more than 12 overs remaining, Australia were firmly in the hunt, but India's bowlers got on top and the tourists did not recover from losing Steve Smith, whose 98 was the fulcrum of their innings.

Smith played on to give Kuldeep Yadav his second victim in the 38th over after dismissing Alex Carey to bring up 100 ODI career wickets.

Warner had earlier been dismissed for just 15, flicking at a length ball from Mohammed Shami (3-77) outside off stump and caught spectacularly above his head by Manish Pandey at cover.

Finch fell for 33 and Marnus Labuschagne made 46 in his first ODI knock, but Australia's hopes of a late flurry were savaged by Shami yorking Ashton Turner and Pat Cummins with the first two deliveries of the 44th over before Navdeep Saini and Jasprit Bumrah mopped up the tail.

Dhawan and Rohit Sharma had earlier put on a run-a-ball 81 for India's first wicket, before the latter fell for 42, pegged lbw by leg-spinner Adam Zampa.

Dhawan and Kohli kept the runs flowing, with their stand of 103 eventually broken when Dhawan, four short of an 18th ODI century and looking to reach three figures with one blow, was caught at fine leg by Mitchell Starc off Kane Richardson.

India had collapsed from 134 for one to 255 all out in Mumbai, but this time it would be a different story.

The classy Kohli scored at just over a run a ball before becoming the second of three victims for Zampa (3-50), before Rahul injected late pace into the scoring by plundering his 80 from 52 balls, clearing the ropes three times before being run out in the final over.

A blow for India on an otherwise positive day came with Dhawan taking a blow to the ribs when batting that prevented him from fielding.

Australia begin a four-match tour of India in Nagpur on Thursday, as they bid to win three successive men's Test series for the first time since doing so between November 2015 and February 2016.

The tourists are under no illusions as to the size of the task awaiting them in India, with their hosts only losing one of their last 15 Tests on home soil against Australia (W11 D3).

Having helped Australia to a crushing 4-0 series win over old rivals England in the last Ashes series in 2021-22, Smith believes a successful tour of India would beat that achievement.

"I think if we could win in India, that'd be bigger than an Ashes series," Smith told cricket.com.au.

"It's a difficult place to win a Test match, let alone a series, so if we were able to topple that mountain, it would be huge."

Team-mate David Warner echoed Smith's thoughts, saying: "Being a part of that last Ashes was fantastic, but to go to India and beat India is the toughest challenge in Test cricket for us.

"I'm really looking forward to the tour, it's always a hard graft and one thing I'm looking forward to is applying myself against the best spinners in the world."

While India have claimed victory in six of their last eight red-ball series against Australia, the tourists enter Thursday's first contest in excellent form, topping the world Test rankings and boasting a collective batting average of 46 since the start of 2022, the best of any team in that time.

Captain Pat Cummins also believes a series win in India would rank among the team's finest achievements, adding: "Winning a series in India is like an away Ashes series, but even more rare.

"I think that really is a career highlight, an era-defining series, if you can win one over there. So that's our opportunity and we can't wait.

It offers an ideal precursor for this year's World Cup, hosted by India in October and November, with both nations eager to rip the title off 2019 winners England.

Australia have assembled a strong squad for the tune-up series, where Steve Smith will lead the tourists as skipper, with Pat Cummins remaining at home following the death of his mother last week.

David Warner returns from the fractured elbow that prematurely ended his Test series, while big-hitting all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell are also back following long-term ankle and leg injuries.

They are two of several all-rounders in the squad as Australia search for the best mix for their World Cup side, with Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott and Ashton Agar in contention.

"We've gone in with a structure with eight batters to bat a little bit deeper, we've tried that," said Australia coach Andrew McDonald.

"There'll be a mix of combinations as we lead into the World Cup. A lot of all-rounders [have been] picked in the squad and they can all play in the one team, so we've got to answer a few of those questions."

India captain Rohit Sharma will miss the opening ODI at Wankhede Stadium due to family reasons, with Hardik Pandya to lead the side in his absence, while Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the series with a back injury.

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will also be absent due to a long-term back injury.

It is difficult to establish any form lines given the disjointed nature of ODIs, but India have won their last seven matches against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, while the tourists have won nine of their last 10 (L1), including their last six on the bounce, having secured a 3-0 win against England in their last ODI series.

India's imposing home ODI record

India are always a difficult assignment at home, having won their last seven home multi-game bilateral ODI series, along with 13 of their last 14.

However, Australia are the side responsible for that one defeat, winning 3-2 in March 2019 in India where Usman Khawaja was Player of the Series.

Warner not a spent force

Warner may be in the twilight of his international career, with speculation about his future in the Test side, but he is not a spent force in white-ball cricket and is targeting this year's 50-over World Cup.

The 36-year-old is one century away from 20 ODI hundreds, with only Ricky Ponting (29) boasting more for Australia. The left-handed opener has scored 50 or more in six of his past eight ODIs against India.

From 85-2 in their second innings last time out, Australia crumbled to 113 all out, and India rolled to a six-wicket win that allowed them to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The best Australia can do is draw the series, and stand-in captain Smith wants to see more resilience from the batters, including himself among those that fluffed their lines last time out.

In fact, he was the lowest scorer of all Australia's specialist batters last time out, with nought followed by nine, and Smith being pinned lbw by Ravichandran Ashwin when sweeping was the trigger for the tourists' implosion.

Smith said on Tuesday: "I don't think there's been too many times I've walked off the field and I've gone, 'What the hell am I doing?'."

He was left "bedazzled" and "pretty angry" with his own blunder, adding: "It wasn't my finest moment.

"We probably just rushed things a little bit, and it's something we'll talk about. We don't have to play at such a high tempo and risky tempo."

Smith, who says Australia must "learn to adapt a little bit better", has not managed a half-century in his last five Test innings in India, his longest such barren stretch in the country.

He has never gone six successive Test innings in any country without making at least a fifty, so he has one last chance to avoid this being the first time.

India's 2-0 series lead means they have won their last three men's Tests against Australia, having also tasted victory in Brisbane in January 2021. Their longest winning streak in Tests against Australia is four matches.

Australia are without regular skipper Pat Cummins, who has returned home for personal reasons, but Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc are poised to return from injury.

The tussle in Indore could see Virat Kohli become just the fifth man to reach 4,000 runs in Tests played in India, as he stands 77 runs short of that milestone.

India captain Rohit Sharma will aim to close out a series victory at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, and there is the tantalising prospect of these teams meeting again in the World Test Championship final at the Oval in June.

That is in the back of minds for now, but will come to the forefront soon enough, possibly if India secure the series before the fourth match at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.

The prospect of India asking for a green pitch for that game, rather than the spinner-friendly surfaces they have been playing on so far, has been teased already.

Rohit wants India to be smart about their preparation for a likely trip to London, and while they would not be able exactly replicate English conditions, a green pitch would at least to some extent simulate what likely awaits them.

The India skipper said it was "definitely a possibility", adding: "If we do what we do here and we get the result we want, we might kick off doing something different in Ahmedabad."

He pointed to India and Australia having plenty of prior experience of performing in England that could stand them in good stead.

"It's not going to be alien conditions as such for both teams," Rohit said, "so it will be a good contest between the teams, whoever the two teams are."

Australia were 475-4 at stumps after play was interrupted by light rain at drinks in the final session with Khawaja unbeaten on 195* alongside Matt Renshaw (5*).

The hosts were utterly dominant, beating the Proteas into submission, with only two wickets falling across 84 overs bowled for the day. However, the issue of time remaining in the Test looms large after more delays on day two, with grim weather forecast for Sydney in the coming days.

Khawaja had resumed alongside Smith with Australia 148-2 after only 47 overs were bowled on day one due to a combination of bad light and rain.

After an early rain delay, the 36-year-old left-handed opening batsman led from the front, bringing up his 13th Test century late in the opening session with two off Kagiso Rabada.

Khawaja celebrated his third straight SCG hundred with an air-punch and a little jig. Smith brought up his half-century shortly after.

South Africa skipper Dean Elgar demonstrably discarded the old ball when the Proteas took the new ball shortly before lunch, but it led to few opportunities for the tourists.

Smith went on to bring up his 30th Test century, surpassing the great Sir Donald Bradman, pulled to the backward square leg boundary from Anrich Nortje to reach triple figures.

But the vice-captain was dismissed caught and behind by Keshav Maharaj for 104 in the next over, ending their 209-run third-wicket stand. That marked the pair's 10th century partnership from 33 innings.

Travis Head kept the game moving with aggressive stroke play, blasting eight fours and one six before being caught by sub fielder Rassie van der Dussen at deep square off the tiring Rabada.

Renshaw, who tested positive to COVID on day one and had to keep his distance from team-mates, batted late in the day before stumps was called.

Patient Khawaja bats through

Khawaja finished the day unbeaten on 195, having faced 368 deliveries with 19 fours and one six, batting through the opening two days, albeit amid numerous delays. The Queenslander's 195* is his highest Test score and he will be chasing a maiden Test double hundred on Friday.

Maharaj breaks duck

Proteas left-arm orthodox spinner Maharaj had endured a lean series prior to claiming Smith's wicket, which was his first in the three Tests. That dismissal ended Maharaj's dire record of 0-247 from 66.5 overs in the series.

Draws in the first two Tests set up a winner-take-all contest in Lahore, where the surface appears to have plenty in it for the bowlers to ensure a result this time around.

Shaheen's blistering start suggested as much, as the Pakistan seamer removed David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne in the space of three deliveries to leave Australia reeling on 8-2.

But Khawaja, born in Pakistan, once again excelled with the bat, he and Steve Smith leading the Australia response to help them fight back to reach 232-5 at stumps. Khawaja was denied a second century of the series, as a stunning one-handed catch at slip from Babar Azam saw him out for 91.

Bowlers have consistently had to work hard for wickets in an attritional series but when Shaheen had Warner (7) trapped lbw and Labuschagne edged a poor shot behind to fall for a duck, Pakistan had hope of blitzing their way through a frequently steadfast Australia batting order.

Any such prospect was extinguished by the partnership of Khawaja and Smith (59), the latter recording his third successive half-century as they put on 138 for the third wicket.

But Naseem had Smith trapped in front to end his hopes of converting his fifty into a hundred and Khawaja was then denied three figures by Sajid Khan and the brilliance of Babar.

An excellent length delivery from Naseem removed Travis Head for 26, though Cameron Green and Alex Carey's unbroken partnership of 26 from 42 balls gave Australia reason for hope at the close.

Khawaja shows his class again

After falling three short of a hometown century at Rawalpindi in the opener, Khawaja - having hit a brilliant 160 in the second Test - again fell in the 90s here, but his consistency since returning to Test set-up in January has been remarkable. He has now scored at least 90 in five of his last eight innings.

Smith closing on 8,000

Smith did not review the delivery that ended his innings, but there must have been a great deal of temptation to do so given his dismissal left him just seven runs shy of 8,000 in the longest format.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul scored a rapid 80 and had three dismissals behind the stumps as India scored a 36-run victory, defending a total of 340-6 by bowling out Australia for 304.

Rahul moved from number three to five in the batting order, with captain Kohli nudging up to three, as India adjusted their line-up after a 10-wicket thumping in the opening game of the series.

Kohli said: "I think it's very important to figure out what is the best team you can put on the park and when someone's batting as well as KL was batting today, it's very difficult to leave someone like that out.

"Batting at number five and batting like that for the team, this is probably the best he's played at international level according to me. That knock showed maturity and class.

"We know exactly what we're doing in the changing room. On the outside there's a lot of panic that we don't really focus on."

Kohli made 78, sharing a 103-run partnership for the second wicket with Shikhar Dhawan, whose 96 helped anchor the innings.

"Back to three was good for the team so I'm happy from that point of view that it helped the team," Kohli said.

Paying tribute to Dhawan, Kohli added: "In ODI cricket, he's been one of our most consistent performers. When he plays well it's a good sign for the team. I'm very happy that he scored runs as well. It always augurs well when Rohit [Sharma] and Shikhar both score runs."

Australia's ODI skipper Aaron Finch accepted his side had allowed India to put too many runs on the board.

"Yes, probably, but they played very well," Finch said.

"The whole way through the innings, we were probably one wicket shy of where we really needed to be to contain them at the back end and on an outfield like this with a good wicket and world-class players it can be hard to stop no matter what attack you've got."

Steve Smith's 98 kept Australia in touch, and Marnus Labuschagne made 46 in his first ODI innings, but Australia folded in the closing overs.

Ahead of the series decider in Bengaluru, Finch sent a message to his team, saying: "You just have to make sure that when you get in, you capitalise and you go really big.

"That's probably the area where we were slightly off tonight with the bat, just one wicket too many down as the run rate kept going up."

Not since Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke plundered double tons against India in January 2012 had any pair of batters made 200-plus scores in the same innings of a Test match.

This first Test saw Australia follow up their opening-day dominance with more commanding batting to reach 598-4 on Thursday, before West Indies rallied to reach 74-0 at stumps, with debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul closing in on a half-century.

Labuschagne had been 154no overnight, and Smith was with him on 59, and they went on to post 204 and 200no respectively, sharing in a third-wicket stand of 251 runs. It was a second Test double century for Labuschagne, and a fourth for Smith.

Australia declared when Travis Head was dismissed on 99, edging the 95th ball of his innings into his stumps to give West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite a second wicket, ending a 196-run alliance with Smith.

In reply, Chanderpaul, son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, powered to 47no as Brathwaite battled to 18no, offering hope the tourists may be able to show sufficient defiance to still take something from this match, the first of two in the series.

Smith joins Bradman

Smith's century, which became a double, was his 29th ton in Tests, moving him level with the great Don Bradman on the all-time list. He and Bradman share fourth place among Australia century-makers, behind Ricky Ponting (41), Steve Waugh (32) and Matthew Hayden (30).

Chanderpaul a chip off the old block

Facing the full assault of Australia's pace attack, Chanderpaul did not always look comfortable against Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, but he found a way to survive to the close.

Dad Shivnarine made 11,867 Test runs for West Indies, so Tagenarine is just 11,820 behind now. More relevantly, perhaps, Shivnarine made 62 in his first Test innings, against England in Georgetown in 1994. After this strong start, West Indies will hope his son can go significantly past that score on Friday.

India levelled the four-Test series at 1-1 after completing an eight-wicket victory in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Australia's best score of the series so far came at the MCG, making 200 in the second innings of the loss.

Labuschagne, who is the second leading run-scorer in the series with 129 at 32.25, said India's bowlers deserved credit.

"You don't want to give any excuses or any other reasons for why we're not scoring runs," he told a news conference.

"They've been very good, they've bowled very well and been real consistent so for us it's just making sure we find a way. There's only been four innings so far in this series, some people have only batted three, so for us it's just making sure we keep finding ways to score runs.

"It doesn't have to be pretty, but we've just got to keep grinding and keep finding a way and if we do get in we've got to make sure we get those big scores."

Smith has struggled to begin the series, scoring just 10 runs while being dismissed three times.

But Labuschagne backed the right-hander's quality as Australia prepare for the third Test, which will start in Sydney on Thursday.

"You don't average above 60 after 80-odd games and … he's shown he's so consistent, even from the start of his career to now, he just keeps putting the runs on the board," he said.

"Call it what you want to call it, but not long ago he got two hundreds off 60-odd balls in one-dayers.

"He's not short of runs, maybe he has played a lot of white-ball cricket and he probably hasn't had as much time against the red ball as he would've liked, but that's the reality of cricket and this COVID situation so we've just to keep finding ways, keep hitting lots of balls at training and finding ways to get runs when we get out there."

Labuschagne scored his fourth century in his past seven innings as Australia controlled the opening day of the third Test at the SCG.

The right-hander made an unbeaten 130, striking 12 fours and a six as the hosts – who are looking for a series sweep – reached 283-3 at stumps after deciding to bat first.

Steve Smith (63) and David Warner (45) made decent contributions, while Colin de Grandhomme (2-63) managed two breakthroughs on a difficult day for New Zealand.

The tough day started before a ball was bowled as the Black Caps made five changes, with Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner out through illness and Tim Southee not picked.

Losing the toss only added to their woes, but De Grandhomme did manage to land an early blow.

Joe Burns (18) edged a delivery that moved away slightly and Ross Taylor took a simple catch at first slip.

But it was an otherwise comfortable opening session for Warner and Labuschagne as Australia got to lunch at 95-1.

Needing another wicket, New Zealand found it shortly after the break, Warner pulling Neil Wagner (1-48) to De Grandhomme at leg gully.

The Black Caps managed to slow Australia's scoring, with Smith needing 39 balls to get off the mark.

Labuschagne brought up his fourth Test century during the final session with a four down leg off De Grandhomme before New Zealand wasted a review for lbw against him off Will Somerville (0-52).

De Grandhomme managed to get Smith with the second new ball – the star batsman edging to Taylor – before Matthew Wade (22) and Labuschagne got to stumps with Australia in a commanding position.

Smith was questioned after footage showed him standing at the crease and shaping up as if he was batting, including marking a guard, as India survived for a draw on the final day of the third Test in Sydney.

His actions at the crease forced India's Rishabh Pant to retake his own guard before play resumed, with the moment becoming a hot topic on Twitter.

But Langer hit out at the talk about Smith, who was sacked as Australia captain and banned for 12 months following the ball-tampering scandal during the tour of South Africa in 2018.

"I literally cannot believe some of the rubbish I read about Steve Smith, absolute load of rubbish," he told a news conference on Wednesday.

"If anyone knows Steve Smith, he's a bit quirky. We've all laughed about it for the last couple of years and I've spoken about it privately about how he's a bit quirky. What Steve Smith does at the crease, he does it probably most games, he's just thinking about the game.

"Anyone who suggests for one millisecond he was trying to do something untoward, way out of line, absolutely out of line. On that wicket, it was that flat, and it was like concrete, you need 15-inch spikes to make an indent on the crease and he went nowhere near the crease.

"I thought that was absolutely ludicrous and again in the last couple of years since he's been back, he has been exemplary on and off the field, he has let his bat do the talking, he was abused like I've never seen anything through England and he just kept smiling and letting his bat do the talking, give me a break, give me a break."

Australia captain Tim Paine, meanwhile, apologised on Tuesday for his behaviour during the third Test, including sledging Ravichandran Ashwin.

Langer backed Paine and said the 36-year-old would remain captain for the foreseeable future.

"You have no idea how much faith I've got in Tim Paine. He didn't have his best day, no doubt about that, but after three years, he has hardly put a hair out of place, he has been outstanding as the Australian captain, everything he does," he said.

"He had a frustrating day. We've got to cut him some slack surely. But having said that when you set a standard as high as he does and as we do, we understand we're going to get criticised when we fall below that, it's not what we're about.

"But Tim Paine, outstanding leader and will continue to be for some time to come yet. He has my 100 per cent support."

The series is locked at 1-1 ahead of the fourth Test starting in Brisbane on Friday.

The tourists added 66 runs to their day-one total at the start of the action on Saturday before Sri Lanka began what looked to be a fairly daunting reply to 364.

Set against the backdrop of mass anti-government protests amid an economic crisis in the country, with demonstrations reaching the stadium in Galle, anyone would have forgiven Sri Lanka for being distracted.

But they were locked-in throughout on what was an impressive day for them all round on the pitch.

Steve Smith picked up where he left off on day one to ultimately finish on 145 not out, but after Alex Carey (28) was dismissed, Australian batsmen dropped like flies as they put on just 35 runs for their last four wickets partly thanks to Prabath Jayasuriya's (6-118) tremendous six-for on debut.

Sri Lanka's innings started poorly, with Pathum Nissanka sent packing for six by Mitchell Starc (1-28) in the ninth over to leave them 12-1.

Dimuth Karunaratne (86) was then almost run out on 18 and also had a lucky escape just before tea when nearly finding the clutches of Mitchell Swepson (1-31).

But there were otherwise few scares for Sri Lanka as Australia's attack faded in the face of Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis (84 not out).

That was until Swepson's return, as he slammed a delivery into Karunaratne's pads to snare him leg before.

Mendis continued to elude Australia, however, providing a steadying a presence as Sri Lanka reached the close in good shape.

Jayasuriya has a day to remember

On his Test debut, Jayasuriya produced a memorable showing with the ball. His performance undoubtedly proved key in preventing Australia reaching 400.

His figures are the second best by a Sri Lankan bowler on a Test debut, with only Praveen Jayawickrama (6-92) against Bangladesh in 2021 doing better.

Mendis, Karunaratne frustrate Australia

Mendis and Karunaratne may not have put on runs at a devastating rate, but that is not always what is required in Test cricket. They were playing the long game and it worked.

Australia's attack did not provide Sri Lanka with the opportunities to quickly build a big total, but their second-wicket stand kept the hosts on track and they head into day three in a good position thanks to the pair.

Morris was eventually signed by Rajasthan Royals - who he played for in 2015 - following a bidding war that saw four teams battling it out to secure the services of the South African all-rounder. 

His final price finished up at 16.25crore, which equates to around £1.6million, putting him ahead of Yuvraj Singh (16cr) on the list of biggest auction purchases in the global Twenty20 tournament.

"I'm super-stoked, super-humbled to be joining Rajasthan again," Morris said in a video message posted by his new team on Twitter.

"I had an unbelievably good time, and a good season, one of the better times in my cricket career, with Rajasthan in 2015, so I'm unbelievably happy, unbelievably excited.

"We have a very good squad, so joining up with Rajasthan is a very cool experience."

Royal Challengers Bangalore were big spenders in their bid to secure a maiden title this year, getting New Zealand paceman Kyle Jamieson for 14.25cr (£1.5m) having already signed Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (14cr - £1.4m) for a fraction less than that earlier in proceedings. 

Jhye Richardson also collected a huge deal, snapped up for the same price as compatriot Maxwell by Punjab Kings, who added another Australian paceman to their roster in Riley Meredith, who has yet to play international cricket in any format. 

Having been released by Rajasthan Royals at the start of this year, Steve Smith is now a member of the Delhi Capitals, along with India fast bowler Umesh Yadav and Englishman Sam Billings. 

Moeen Ali saw a considerable rise from his base price, the England all-rounder eventually going for a final sum of £700,000 to Chennai Super Kings. 

While a premium was paid for pace bowling during the auction, the market was a little less frantic for batsmen. 

Dawid Malan – who sits top of the International Cricket Council's batting rankings in the shortest format – will play for Punjab Kings, but English openers Alex Hales and Jason Roy both went unsold. 

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is heading back to the Kolkata Knight Riders for 3.2crore (£315,000), while Krishnappa Gowtham went for 9.25crore (£900,000) to the Super Kings, making him the most expensive uncapped India player ever.

As for Mumbai Indians, the main additions by the two-time defending champions came to their bowling attack as they added Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. 

The 14th edition of the IPL is scheduled to begin during April and run into May. Last year's delayed tournament was staged in the United Arab Emirates due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Indians retained their title in Dubai last year with a victory over Delhi Capitals, taking their record tally of IPL triumphs to a five.

Rohit Sharma's side will be the team to beat in a competition that will be played in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, having been staged overseas in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore look the most likely sides to prevent Mumbai from becoming the first franchise to win three consecutive IPL titles.

We pick out some of the things to look out for in what promises to be a mouthwatering extravaganza of cricket, which starts on Friday in a country that will stage the T20 World Cup later this year.

INDIANS PRIMED FOR THREE IN A ROW

The champions start the defence of their title with a blockbuster showdown against RCB in the first game of the tournament at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Mumbai will have to wait for Quinton de Kock's arrival as he is on duty with South Africa, so skipper Rohit will be expected to set the tone at the top of the order.

The India opener is the fourth-highest run-scorer in IPL history with 5,230 at an average of 31.31 and, although the 2020 edition was not one of his best, he struck a rapid 68 in the final. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav played significant hands with the bat in Mumbai's 2020 success.

Trent Boult was man of the match in that win over Delhi after taking 3-30 and the New Zealand seamer will have a big part to play with the ball along with Jasprit Bumrah.

STAND-IN SKIPPER PANT CAN LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Delhi's first IPL final proved to be painful in November, but they will fancy their chances of going one better under the captaincy of Rishabh Pant.

The addition of Steve Smith, who was released by Rajasthan Royals, is a major tonic, while Umesh Yadav and Sam Billings are among their other new recruits.

Kagiso Rabada was the leading wicket-taker in last year's tournament with 30 at 18.26 and Delhi will need him to fire again along with fellow Proteas quick Anrich Nortje.

Ravichandran Ashwin should be on a high from his Test exploits for India against England, while the in-form Pant can thrive as skipper with Shreyas Iyer ruled out due to a shoulder injury.

MORRIS UNDER PRESSURE TO JUSTIFY PRICE TAG

Chris Morris became the most expensive signing in IPL history when he was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for 16.25crore (around £1.6million).

That staggering fee put the South Africa all-rounder ahead of Yuvraj Singh (16cr) as the biggest ever auction acquisition.

Morris was 20th on the list of the leading wicket-takers last year when featuring for RCB and only batted five times, with a top score of 25 not out.

ROY TO REUNITE WITH BAIRSTOW

England batsman Roy went unsold at auction but was drafted in by Sunrisers Hyderabad last week after Mitchell Marsh withdrew for personal reasons.

Sunrisers coach Trevor Bayliss was clearly excited by the prospect of Roy and Jonny Bairstow forming a pairing that has served England so well.

Roy may have to wait for his opportunity or Sunrisers could tinker with the order, as captain David Warner and Bairstow have formed a dangerous opening pairing.

Labuschagne finished day one at the SCG unbeaten on 130 as the hosts, who already have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, reached 283-3.

It was Labuschagne's fourth ton of the Australian summer, having reached three figures in back-to-back Tests versus Pakistan, and prolonged an extended purple patch.

After entering the Ashes as Test cricket's first concussion substitute when Jofra Archer struck Smith at Lord's, the 25-year-old scored four consecutive fifties to cement his place in the Australia side.

"I haven't had time to sit down and think about how the whole year has unfolded, it's been pretty special," he said, before referencing the stuttering start that followed his Test debut against Pakistan in October 2018.

"This time last year I was sitting here and there was a lot of questions. I'm thankful for the opportunity and scoring runs is always nice. I never take it for granted though, because it can turn very quickly.

"I'm definitely not comfortable. You grow in confidence facing the same opposition – you get used to bowler, you get used to their actions."

Smith, who played a supporting hand with 63, finds himself in the unusual position of not being his side's heaviest runs scorer, although Labuschagne believes he has a long way to go before he reaches the same levels as the former captain.

"I wouldn't be drawing any comparisons to Steve yet," he said. "He's played 73 Tests and averages 63. He's been doing it for a long time and his consistency is amazing.

"Today he showed it again. We do spend a bit of time together and I do enjoy batting with him – watching him go about it and how he figures out different plans.

"It is nice. Once we're both in we talk about different things out there. Nothing changes, I still love batting with him."

Indeed, Labuschagne enjoys batting with Smith so much that he was largely unaware of his team-mate taking 39 deliveries to get off the mark – the latter's duel with left-arm paceman Neil Wagner continuing in absorbing fashion.

"I actually had no idea he was on zero until the 38th ball. I actually thought we were rotating the strike quite well, which is quite funny," Labuschagne chuckled.

"I wondered what all the carry on was and he was like, 'I'm on zero'."

The final Test of Australia's home season is taking place against the backdrop of bushfires ravaging the country and Labuschagne paid tribute to the firefighters trying to tackle the situation

"If all we did today was create a distraction of a bit of enjoyment for people in these tough times then that's a win for us," he added.

"But the focus should be on the firies [firefighters] and what they're doing for the community. That's the most important thing at this moment in time."

Stump cameras showed Smith apparently scuffing up Rishabh Pant's guard in between deliveries as the India wicketkeeper struck a brilliant counter-attacking 97 in Sydney, helping the visitors to a draw in the third Test.

Smith was forced to stand down as Australia skipper and served a ban for his part in the 2018 ball tampering scandal.

His successor Tim Paine also found himself at the centre of controversy after a foul-mouthed exchange with Ravichandran Ashwin, which compounded a dreadful display behind the stumps.

Speaking ahead of England's Test series in Sri Lanka, Woakes looked to remain above the fray when it came to Smith - perhaps mindful of having just entered an Ashes year.

"I'm sure people have got their opinions on it. It's not the first time that I've seen something like that happen," he said.

"The fact it's such a big series, a big player in a big moment probably means it's been blown up a little bit.

"There's only one person who knows whether he was doing it to affect the opposition batsman or not and that's Steve himself.

"You can look at it a few different ways. You can say he was shadow batting, doing what he'd normally do and it's a bit of a habit. Or you could say that he was trying to distract Rishabh. It's one of those things."

Asked whether Australia had been shown to be "up to old tricks again", a smiling Woakes replied: "It's hard for me to say, watching from a million miles away, that he was doing it to get into the Indian batsmen's minds.

"Potentially, but as I said, there's only one person who knows exactly what he was trying to do.

"I know Tim Paine came out and backed him as you'd expect him to do. That's all I can say on the matter."

Woakes was forced to quarantine for the first week of England's tour after travelling to the airport with team-mate Moeen Ali, who subsequently tested positive for coronavirus.

Despite establishing himself as an increasingly pivotal member of Joe Root's side, the 31-year-old acknowledges Thursday's first Test might come too soon for him.

"I'm certainly up against it in terms of time," Woakes said, having revealed his fitness regime over the past week amounted to workouts with fit bands and a medicine ball on his hotel balcony.

"I only had my first bowl yesterday. The other guys have been bowling for nearly a week. The chances of me playing are probably quite slim."

Nevertheless, some unexpected rainfall in Galle might persuade Root to call upon Woakes' mastery of seam and swing on a surface still expected to take plenty of turn.

"The pitch, as you'd expect, does look quite dry. But it has rained quite a bit here in the last few days and the pitch earlier this morning was a bit tacky and spikes went into the surface," he added.

"Whether that plays a part, I don't know."

Australia opener Usman Khawaja delivered another classy century on Thursday, remarkably his fourth of the calendar year, as Australia posted 227-3 declared to set Pakistan a target of 351 for victory in the third and final Test.

The tourists would have wanted to make inroads into their opponents' top order before the close, but instead Pakistan reached 73 without loss from the 27 overs they faced after Australia's post-tea declaration.

It means Pakistan require a further 278 runs for victory and Australia need 10 wickets on day five at the Gaddafi Stadium, where something surely has to give.

Australia's men are unbeaten in their last seven Tests (W4 D3), and Pakistan have not lost any of their last five (W3 D2).

The Australians have been beaten only once by Pakistan in the last nine Tests between the sides, yet Pakistan have just a single defeat in their last 12 Tests at this ground, and that was against Sri Lanka all the way back in March 2002.

After draws in Rawalpindi and Karachi, this match looks ripe to produce a victory for one of the teams, but it could easily go either way.

Australia were 11-0 at the start of play and reached 96 without any loss when Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled David Warner for 51 with a sensationally good delivery. Khawaja kept going and anchored the innings with 104 not out, Marnus Labuschagne weighing in with 36 and Steve Smith passing 8,000 career Test runs in making 17.

Captain Pat Cummins declared early in the late-afternoon session, once the lead passed 350, but Abdullah Shafique (27 not out) and Imam-ul-Haq (42 not out) helped Pakistan to the close without any damage.

Shafique used up a life moments before the close when he edged spinner Labuschagne past the left hand of Smith at first slip, potentially a highly costly miss by the fielder.

Khawaja does it again

Khawaja, who was born in Pakistan, did not play a Test between matches against England in August 2019 and January of this year. It is testament to Australia's resources that they could afford to leave out a batter of his quality. The 35-year-old made 91 in the first innings of this match and surpassed that second time around.

He now has 751 runs in five Tests this year, far and away the most of anyone in Tests. Shafique is second on that list, with 397 runs and counting.

Record for Smith, but dropped catch sours his day

Australia would have ended the day on a high if Smith had clung on to the sharp chance from the penultimate delivery of the day. Shafique drove aggressively at Labuschagne, who drew the edge but saw the ball race away to the boundary rather than stick in Smith's claw.

Smith earlier reached his runs landmark in his 151st Test innings, the fewest of any batsman to have reached 8,000 Test runs.

A remarkable collapse from one side or the other is now required on Tuesday to deliver a winner, with the batsmen continuing to dominate in the opener of a three-match series.

Australia resumed 205 back on Pakistan's first innings' 476-4 declared and steadily closed that gap over the course of the day.

Steve Smith spent much of Monday at the crease, albeit he added only 54 more runs to reach 78 from 196 balls.

Indeed, Australia seemed happy to wear out the Pakistan bowlers ahead of a second Test that is likely to have a greater say in the outcome of the series, largely limiting their errors having had eight wickets in hand in their first innings at the start of play.

Marnus Labuschagne (90) put on 108 for the third wicket with Smith but was denied a third Test century against Pakistan by excellent bowling and equally good fielding, caught at slip by Abdullah Shafique off Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Travis Head did not last long in Labuschagne's place, but Cameron Green stuck around and picked up the pace slightly after tea before paying the price for his ambition with a top edge off an attempted sweep to go for 48.

Smith gloved behind attempting a similar shot and Naseem Shah beautifully bowled Alex Carey (19), yet Pakistan's improved bowling late in the day failed to breathe life into the Test.

Green leaves runs out there

Labuschagne was undone by excellent play from Pakistan, but Green really had only himself to blame, getting too much on his shot from a relatively uncomplicated Nauman Ali delivery and giving Iftikhar Ahmed a simple catch.

As the bowlers toiled on a tough pitch, this was an opportunity missed for Green, who with a little more care could have followed his first fifty in his previous Test against England with a first outside of Australia.

Little to separate sides again

Australia have been away from Pakistan for over 23 years, but you would not know it looking at the outcome of this match. Ten of the previous 17 Tests between the sides in Pakistan have ended in draws – and this match will surely make it 11 in 18.

Cummins’ side are on a roll since losing against tournament hosts India and their opponents on Thursday, winning their remaining seven group-stage matches to storm into yet another semi-final.

South Africa might have prevailed in Lucknow and in an ODI series between the teams in September, but Australia have significantly more experience than the Proteas in the knockouts of a major tournament.

Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were part of the 2015 trophy-winning campaign as well as the T20 World Cup triumph two years ago.

The Australia captain said: “What helps us is we’ve got a lot of guys that have been in this situation before that have won one-day World Cup, T20 World Cup, various other tournaments in big moments.

“You can draw on that in the middle of the contest. Obviously you start from scratch every time you play. They’re a team we’ve played quite a lot and know quite well.

“But this week it’s probably going to be quite different to say the South African series that we just played against them a couple of months ago.”

Australia memorably knocked out South Africa at the same stage in 1999 at Edgbaston, where a tied match went the way of Steve Waugh’s side because they finished higher in the group stage on net run-rate.

The finale is one of the most replayed of all-time as Allan Donald was chaotically run out, despite South Africa still having two balls in which to get the solitary run they needed for victory.

Cummins said: “It’s kind of folklore, isn’t it? I’ve seen that replay heaps of times, you hear the stories.”

Australia have steadily grown in confidence in India, emboldened by Maxwell’s rescue act against Afghanistan as his 201 not out secured a dramatic win and was widely hailed as the best ODI knock ever.

Marsh ensured a seventh straight victory with an unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh, so Australia will head into their Eden Gardens showdown with plenty of optimism.

Cummins added: “As a team you grow an extra leg because you feel like you can win a match from anywhere and having someone like Maxi in your team is just a complete luxury. He’s a superstar, he’s a freak.”

Smith's 131 and 54 from Marnus Labuschagne provided the highlights of Australia's innings after Aaron Finch elected to bat first, but India restricted their opponents to 286-9.

India were hampered by the loss of Shikhar Dhawan for their reply, the opener's shoulder injury casting his participation in the upcoming tour of New Zealand into doubt.

However, once Smith's resistance ended amid a flurry of late wickets, Rohit (119) and Kohli (89) guided their side to an emphatic win, completed with 15 balls to spare.

Dhawan had to leave the field early in Australia's innings and he was duly sent for an x-ray on his left shoulder, which he hurt while diving in the field.

By that stage India already had their tails up, with Mohammed Shami (4-63) having drawn David Warner (3) into a reckless shot outside off that yielded an edge behind to KL Rahul.

India had their second wicket soon after – a mix-up between Smith and Finch resulting in the latter being run out for 19.

Smith, with support from Labuschagne, made up for his mistake, the duo both working their way to half-centuries and propelling Australia to 173-2 midway through the 32nd over.

Ravindra Jadeja claimed the breakthrough wicket, though, with Kohli taking an excellent catch low to his right to dismiss Labuschagne, and the promoted Mitchell Starc fell to the same bowler three balls later.

From looking well poised, Australia were now on the back foot and, though Alex Carey (35) offered a decent cameo, the emphasis was all on Smith.

The 30-year-old – who had surpassed 4,000 ODI runs in the 34th over – brought up his ninth one-day hundred with a crisp single, and then let rip, hitting four boundaries before succumbing to Shami.

However, Australia were unable to get up to 300 as Shami also removed Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa at the death.

Despite being shorn of the injured Dhawan, India swiftly got into their stride in reply, Rohit looking in superb touch either side of the loss of Rahul (19) to Ashton Agar in the 13th over.

Rohit, who made 209 from 158 balls against Australia in Bengaluru seven years ago, set about targeting Ashton Agar and Labuschagne – who he hit for a huge six – as captain Kohli also clicked into gear.

A single to third man off Josh Hazlewood took Rohit to another glorious hundred, his eighth against Australia, and his sixth maximum brought up the century partnership before he finally fell to Zampa.

At that point, India needed just 81 from 13.2 overs and Shreyas Iyer (44 not out) quickly settled in alongside Kohli to make victory certain, despite the captain falling to Hazlewood with 13 still required.