Australia will have their minds fixed firmly on the T20 World Cup when it comes to the decisions made in their series against India, so says Aaron Finch, who will go "back to basics" with the bat.
Finch's team will look to defend their world title on home soil in October and November, though their immediate focus is on a three-match T20I series with India.
The series starts in Mohali on Tuesday, with India aiming to snap a three-match home losing streak in the format to Australia.
Finch, meanwhile, comes into the series on the back of playing his 146th and final ODI for Australia, with the 35-year-old having confirmed his retirement from the 50-over game ahead of his side's final match against New Zealand earlier this month.
Since the beginning of 2018, no player has top scored for Australia in men's T20Is more often than Finch who has led the team's scoresheet on 13 occasions during this span. However, he has struggled for form in ODIs, only getting into double figures once from his last eight matches.
Finch has been better in T20Is, averaging 27.4 in his nine matches in 2022, though the last of those came in June.
Asked in a press conference if he would be changing his approach at the crease, Finch said: "I'll be looking to be more aggressive and take a few more risks upfront, but obviously balance that out with the normal process.
"You just have to go in really clear minded. I think the difference between T20s and ODIs is you're expected but you’re also prepared to take a decent amount of risk earlier in your innings.
"It's about being clear minded, working with what I know has worked well in the past and going back to basics in that regard of anything technical or set-up related."
Finch will not have a full-strength team to call on against India, with Mitchell Marsh, David Warner and Marcus Stoinis all left out, while Mitchell Starc is struggling with a minor injury.
As such, Finch is open to experimenting ahead of the tournament, with Steve Smith to bat at three and Tim David set for a debut.
"Every decision that we make has one eye towards the World Cup... so I think we'll be mindful of not being too narrow-minded," Finch said.
"Everything we're doing in the T20 space ties back into the World Cup and for us it's about making sure once we get there, we'll have plenty of different combinations for teams we want to play, because the last thing you want to do is have an injury derail your whole campaign because you're pigeon-holed into playing one style of cricket or one structure of team.
"There'll be a little bit of mixing and matching but with one eye towards the World Cup to make sure we're still as rounded as we can be as a squad."
Hazlewood to lead in-form Australia attack
With Starc injured, the onus will be on Josh Hazlewood to deliver for the tourists with the ball. The seamer has 46 wickets in T20Is, and if he gets four in Tuesday's game (his 31st T20I) to reach the 50 mark, will become the fourth fastest player to reach the milestone for Australia.
Australia's seam bowlers have registered a bowling strike rate of 15 in T20Is in 2022, the best such rate among all full-member sides.
Rahul, Kumar eyeing landmarks
KL Rahul was the subject of Rohit Sharma's press conference on Sunday, with the India captain insisting the opener would keep his place at the top of the order, though acknowledging Virat Kohli is an option for the role.
Rahul, who struck 62 against Afghanistan earlier this month, has defended his position, too, saying: "I am just working towards how I can better myself as an opening batter, and see how I can have the most impact for my team whenever I go out to play in the middle."
The 30-year-old is just 37 runs away from reaching 2,000 in T20Is, with only Rohit and Kohli having previously hit the milestone for India. Meanwhile, team-mate Bhuvneshwar Kumar (84) needs two more wickets to become the outright fifth-highest wicket-taker among seam bowlers in T20Is.
Paris Saint-Germain 2-3 Clermont: Messi and Ramos denied winning send-off as visitors fight back
Paris Saint-Germain failed to muster a winning send-off for Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos as they ended the Ligue 1 season by squandering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss against Clermont.
Early goals for the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe put the champions on top at Parc des Princes, before Johan Gastien, Mehdi Zeffane and Grejohn Kyei completed a stirring comeback from the visitors.
It was a damp last note for ex-LaLiga heroes Messi and Ramos, who leave Paris as two-time league champions but without having won supporters' hearts – with Messi booed ahead of kick-off.
Likewise, it may prove a dour final chapter for coach Christophe Galtier, who is widely tipped to depart despite leading PSG to a record 11th league title.
PSG, who wore shirts adorned with the name of injured team-mate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to rescue them after Kyei prodded home an early finish.
The hosts promptly seized control, with Ramos netting a farewell header from Vitinha's delivery before Mbappe doubled their lead with an excellent penalty following Alidu Seidu's foul on Achraf Hakimi.
Clermont refused to fold though, with Gastien capitalising on Marco Verratti's mistake to halve the arrears and Zeffane bundling in a leveller either side of Kyei putting a spot-kick wide in a thrilling first half.
Messi, who misfired on his farewell, spurned a chance to finish Mbappe's square ball after the restart before Kyei nosed the visitors in front with a close-range finish.
PSG continued to toil for an equaliser in the closing stages and Messi almost stole a point in the final minute of injury time, only for goalkeeper Mory Diaw to stop his direct free-kick with an acrobatic save.
RB Leipzig 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt: Nkunku and Szoboszlai strikes ensure DFB-Pokal defence
Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai scored as RB Leipzig retained the DFB-Pokal with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in Saturday's final at the Olympiastadion.
Nkunku – playing what will likely be his final game for Leipzig amid suggestions he is set to join Chelsea – beat Kevin Trapp with a deflected effort 71 minutes into a tight encounter in Berlin.
Leipzig were rarely threatened by an uninspired Eintracht team, and Marco Rose's men wrapped up the victory when Nkunku turned provider, teeing up Szoboszlai to score five minutes from time.
That meant Leipzig capped a third-placed Bundesliga finish with a second major trophy in as many seasons, while Oliver Glasner's final game in charge of Eintracht was one to forget.
Timo Werner spurned a glorious chance to put Leipzig ahead after four minutes, side-footing straight at Trapp following a lightning counter-attack.
Randal Kolo Muani hit the side netting from a tight angle and Nkunku forced Tuta into a last-ditch block at the other end, but both sides struggled to break their opponents down in a cagey first half.
Eintracht's threat grew after the interval, but Mario Gotze volleyed straight at Janis Blaswich when presented with their best sight of goal, and Glasner's side were swiftly punished.
There was a huge stroke of fortune as Nkunku struck first, the Frenchman cutting in from the left before seeing his shot take two deflections to beat the unfortunate Trapp.
Eintracht never looked like fighting back from there, though, and Leipzig put the result beyond all doubt when Szoboszlai fired into the bottom-left corner after composed play by Nkunku.
Torino 0-1 Inter: Brozovic strike sees Nerazzurri warm up for Champions League final in style
Inter warmed up for the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Torino to cap off their Serie A campaign.
The Nerazzurri head to Istanbul to face Manchester City on June 10, but the Coppa Italia winners had league business to attend to on Saturday.
Marcelo Brozovic's excellent strike proved the difference, with substitute goalkeeper Alex Cordaz making a superb save to preserve Inter's lead in the second half.
Inter will face an altogether tougher test in a week's time, but for now, Simone Inzaghi can reflect on a job well done in Serie A.
Romelu Lukaku sparked what had been an insipid first half into life when he crafted space on the edge of Torino's area and saw a low strike deflected just wide.
Stefan de Vrij headed straight at Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from the resulting corner, but Torino's goalkeeper was beaten in the 37th minute.
Given space and time on the edge around 20 yards out, Brozovic punished Torino with a fine left-footed strike that nestled in the bottom-right corner.
Brozovic turned provider shortly after the restart, only for Roberto Gagliardini to head wide from close range.
Ex-Inter forward Yann Karomah almost made an instant impact from the bench when he forced a fine save out of Samir Handanovic, who subsequently received an ovation when he made way for Cordaz in the 65th minute.
Cordaz made a stunning save soon after, reacting brilliantly to parry Antonio Sanabria's effort wide and ensure Inter ended their domestic campaign with a victory.
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