Brisbane, Nov 24: Australia beat Pakistan by an innings and five runs in the first Test in Brisbane to go 1-0 up in the two match series on Sunday.
After trailing the hosts by 340 runs on the first innings, Pakistan were bowled out for 335 late on the fourth day.
Babar Azam made 104 and Mohammad Rizwan 95 for the visitors, while Josh Hazlewood took 4-63 to be the pick of the Australian bowlers.
The second Test begins in Adelaide on November 29.
Melbourne, Feb 26: On a high after two easy victories on the trot, including one against defending champion Australia, the Indian women's cricket team will aim to inch closer to a semifinal berth when it takes on New Zealand in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup here on Thursday.
The Indians have hardly broke a sweat in their 17-run and 18-run wins over hosts Australia and Bangladesh in their previous two matches, and they are perched at the top of five-team Group A standings with four points from two matches.
A win against New Zealand on Thursday will take the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side on the threshold of a knock-out stage spot, to be competed among top two teams from Group A and B.
In the two matches so far, the Indian team has been impressive both in batting and bowling.
The 16-year-old sensation Shafali Verma has been the standout batter with a whirlwind 17-ball 39 against Bangladesh, following her 29 against Australia.
One-down Jemimah Rodrigues has also been among the runs with 26 and 34 in the two matches so far.
Only captain Harmanpreet, among the top order batters, has not scored big and she is due big innings.
India is also likely to be bolstered by the return of star opener Smriti Mandhana who missed the match against Bangladesh due to fever.
The middle-order has also done its bit with Deepti Sharma playing a major role against Australia with an unbeaten 49 while Veda Krishnamurthy hit a match-defining 11-ball 20 not out for a late flourish against Bangladesh.
The bowling department has been led admirably by seasoned leg-spinner Poonam Yadav -- seven wickets in the first two matches -- with pacer Shikha Pandey ably supporting her with five scalps so far.
New Zealand, though, have a better head-to-head record against India in recent years, having won the last three matches between the two sides.
Exactly a year back, they had beaten the Indian team 3-0 in a three-match T20 International home series.
India will, however, remember their massive 34-run win against New Zealand in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2018 in the West Indies. Harmanpreet had struck a memorable 103 to lead her side to victory.
New Zealand have some top-class players in their ranks in the form of captain and all-rounder Sophie Devine and top-order batswoman Suzie Bates while pacer Lea Tahuhu and leg-spinner Amelia Kerr will lead the bowling department.
They will go into this match on a high after an easy seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Devine had led her side from the front with an unbeaten 75 off 55 balls at the top of the order in that win.
The Teams:
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Richa Ghosh, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar.
New Zealand: Sophie Devine (capt), Rosemary Mair, Amelia Kerr, Suzie Bates, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Katey Martin (wk), Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Rachel Priest, Lea Tahuhu.
Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.
Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.
It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition.
BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.
Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.
On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.
"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.
Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.
Aurangabad, Jan 23: An FIR has been registered against three people including former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin for allegedly duping a travel agent, Mohammad Shadab, of more than Rs 20 lakh.
However, Mohammad Azharuddin has refuted allegations and said: "I strongly rubbish the false FIR filed against me in Aurangabad. I am consulting my legal team and would be taking action as necessary."
Azharuddin's personal assistant Mujeeb lives in Augurangabad and has good relations with the travel agency of Shadab.
The travel agent alleged that Mujeeb asked him to book some flight tickets but did not pay the amount.
The police have booked the three under Section 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
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