Sourav Ganguly confirms England's full tour of India early next year

Flashback: The ODI that turned around India's fortunes in Australia

The period of Sourav Ganguly's captaincy was one where the Indian team progressively broke long-established barriers to their performance. Famous test victories in Zimbabwe, West Indies, England, Australia and Pakistan were ample proof that the Indian side was well over the dreadful 1990s when winning away from home was a distant dream. But among the string of overseas Test triumphs that Ganguly's side registered, there were also highly notable ODI triumphs. One of them came at Brisbane in January 2004 and broke a near 13-year drought for the Indian side. On January 18, India played Australia at the famous Gabba stadium having lost their previous 11 matches to the then reigning world champions on their home soil. In the tri-series, also involving a spirited Zimbabwe, that this match was a part of, they had lost the first match to Australia after putting up a tough fight. This time, the Indians benefitted from a reassuring innings by Sachin Tendulkar, the type he used to play in those days, and a hundred from VVS Laxman who was having the greatest one week of his ODI career - he scored three hundreds in four matches in this period. With Sachin's 86 and Laxman's 103*, India posted a challenging total of 303. However, this was Australia at the peak of their powers and no score looked safe against them. With Matthew Hayden deciding to play a majestic knock of 109, Indian were in danger of losing their grip on the match. But what made the difference was the resolute performance by the young and upcoming pace duo of Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji. It would be the tour of Pakistan, following this series where these two became proper stars. But in the colosseum-like arena of Gabba, they held their nerve against the imposing batting line-up of Aussies to keep the target safe. The veteran Anil Kumble also played a key part in India's victory. Though he didn't pick up a wicket, Kumble managed to turn the screws on Australia with tight bowling. But the surprise package of the match was debutante Rohan Gavaskar, that too, with the ball. At a very crucial stage in the match, when Hayden and Andrew Symonds seemed to put Australia in cruise control, Ganguly brought junior Gavaskar into the attack to bowl left-arm wrist spin, otherwise known as 'Chinaman.' Lo and behold, Symonds popped a return catch back to Rohan and he dived to his right for a brilliant take. When the match finally ended with the home team getting bowled out for 284 in 49.4 overs, India had broken another barrier - an ODI win over Australia in Australia. Sadly, they couldn't follow it up and by the end of the tri-series, the Indian side was out of steam and crumbled helplessly against the might of Australians. But for a whole generation of millenials, it was another sweet memory to lighten up their childhood.

Aus vs Ind: Shikhar Dhawan unveils team India's new but retro jersey

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has revealed the new jersey which the Indian team will wear from the series against Australia onwards. He posted a picture in the blue jersey that resembled the one Indian team had worn in the ICC World Cup in 1992. Newly signed kit sponsor Mobile Premier League and the principal sponsor Byju’s found prominent laces on the new jersey which Dhawan was seen wearing in the picture uploaded on Twitter. India is set to take on Australia in a full-fledged series comprising three ODIs, three T20Is, and four Test matches. Last time the Indian team toured down under, they gave a proper hammering to the Australian team who otherwise prove to be unbeatable at home. This time though the challenge will be different and may well be daunting for the Indian team as some of the architects of the rise of India cricket in the last few years will be missing from action due to various reasons.

Shastri reckons India’s fabulous five can beat Aussies in their own den

Indian bowling coach Ravi Shastri reckons that the pentagon of Indian pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, and Mohammed Siraj or the ‘fabulous five’ as he likes to call them, can get the better of the Australian batting line up in their own den. Admitting that Ishant Sharma’s absence will obviously impact the Indian Test team in terms of experience, but that does not mean that the present bowling lineup is any less. "His absence does make a difference to the fast-bowling department, but then we have the capacity among the young bowlers to deliver," Shastri said about Ishant to Sportstar. At the same time, he described the abilities of the rest of the five bowlers available for the Test series calling them fabulous five. The Test series begins with the first Test, a day/night affair in Adelaide. "Yadav has the experience. Saini is young and fast. Bumrah is one of the best in business. Shami is raring to go. Siraj is an exciting prospect. You put up runs on the board and watch these fast bowlers hunt the opposition. They can beat Australia in their own den," said the 58-year-old. The Indian team would be without the services of Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma in the Test series and captain Virat Kohli would also leave after the first Test. In such a situation, alongside the pandemic, the situation gets tough for the Blue Brigade and Shastri knows it. But he is sure that the Indian team will step on the gas in time. "We are prepared and let me remind you that never has cricket, or a cricket team, faced such a situation since the Second World War. We are going through the drills of staying mentally tough and approaching the series by taking one step at a time," he said.

Tim Paine still in pain on losing last Border Gavaskar Trophy against India

Australia's Test captain Tim Paine has revealed that the home Test series loss to India, suffered in 2018/19 season, still rankles with him. That series was played when the Aussie side was reeling under the absence of its two most prolific batsmen - Steve Smith and David Warner. The Indians took advantage and earned their first-ever away series win over the Australians. Speaking to a radio channel days before India commence another tour of Australia, the wicketkeeper-batsmen said that he still recalls that loss with poignancy. The Aussie skipper also didn't see the absence of Smith and Warner as a plausible excuse for that defeat. "Certainly for me, sitting back it still annoys me that we lost that Test series," Paine said in an interview with 2GB radio station. He added, "Whether we had Steve or David or not you don't want to be losing any Test matches or Test series you're involved in, so that still grinds me a little bit." However, all set to go into another four-match contest agaianst the Indian team, Paine feels his players will use that humbling experience to raise the level of their game and perform better. "I know that it drives a lot of the guys that were involved in that and I certainly know Steve and David are looking forward to coming back and showing just how good they are as well," the 35-year old stated. This time, not only would the Aussie skipper have the services of Smith and Warner, both of whom have scored heavily since their return to the Australian team, but also the prolific form of Marnus Labuschagne. Indeed, Paine is expecting his entire side to rally and produce a better collectife effort. "We're a much better all-round side. Not just adding Steve and David back into it, which is a hell of a lot of runs to add back into a side, but I think every other cricketer in that team has improved in the last 18 months as well and we've been playing some really good cricket," the incumbent skipper tsaid in his statement. While batting needs to be many nothes up in this series for the hosts compared to earlier, its the bowling also there needs rectification. The veteraln cricketer has acknowledged that its was the shambolic performance with the bat for his team that lost them the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood continue to be the leading bowlers for Australia with the new ball. But it will be Nathan Lyon whose flight and guile may prove too hot to thande slom