Ponting impressed by Khawaja

Usman Khawaja has been backed to shine at the highest level by the man who he will replace in Australia's side for the fifth Ashes Test.

Pakistan-born batsman Khawaja will become the first Muslim to play Test cricket for Australia when he makes his debut against England in Sydney.

The 24-year-old, who is the leading scorer in Sheffield Shield cricket this year, will take the place of injured skipper Ricky Ponting, who has been ruled out due to complications over his broken little finger.

Ponting, however, believes Khawaja has the technique to prosper at number three in the order - even if it may only be for just the one game.

"Everything I've seen of Usman, I've been very impressed with what he's been able to do. His first-class record is very, very good,"Ponting said.

"Technically, he looks as good as any of the young blokes we've got around Australia, probably better.

"You need to have that really solid technique if you want to stand up at number three at Test level."

Very strong

Australia opener Simon Katich has always been impressed by his New South Wales team-mate having seen his potential from a young age.

"I have been raving about him for some time and I have always thought technically he is one of the best young batsmen going around,"Katich said."He has a lot of time, he is very stylish and great to watch.

"He is very good off the back foot which is a good sign for a batsman from Sydney and he is very strong against the short stuff and is a very good all-round player."

Khawaja - who emigrated with his family from Pakistan when he was just three years old - admits he faces a tall order replacing Ponting at No.3, even if Australia's injured leader has endured a lean time of it during the series.

"He is a legendary cricketer and a legendary bloke,"he said."Me taking Ricky's spot? I highly doubt that.

"I'm not here to fill Ricky Ponting's shoes, I'm going to go out there and try and do the best I can,"he said.

"To replace 12,000 runs is a big feat and I still haven't scored any."

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KP hails current set-up

Former captain Kevin Pietersen has admitted that England would not have been able to retain the Ashes if the previous regime was still in charge today.

The star batsman was replaced as skipper at the beginning of 2009 after a rift with then coach Peter Moores, who was also removed from his role.

Their departures left the way clear for Andrew Strauss to take over the captaincy and Andy Flower to become coach of the side.

The Strauss-Flower partnership is viewed as the key element in England's improvement over the past two years, which has seen the side regain the Ashes in 2009 before retaining them in Australia for the first time in 24 years.

"You know what ... I have never said this before ... I lost the captaincy, I got rid of the captaincy for the good of English cricket,"Pietersen said.

"We would not be here today if I had not done what I did then. There is no way in this world that we would have continued under that regime and won the Ashes again in Australia after 24 years."

Right leaders

He added:"Strauss and Andy Flower need all the plaudits for an unbelievable 18 months and an unbelievable preparation for this team, and they are the right leadership for this team.

"They are just very good at keeping us level-headed and grounded and solid."

Pietersen has also enjoyed personal success in Australia, claiming man-of-the-match honours after a double century in Adelaide and also being a significant contributor to the decisive victory in Melbourne.

But the 30-year-old says that he and the rest of the team will not get carried away with their celebrations and are fully focused on clinching outright series victory in Sydney.

"Sure, we will celebrate this win - and then we will talk about Sydney and trying to win this series 3-1,"Pietersen said.

"There was no huge parade after winning the Twenty20 World Cup in April."

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Maynard could be in limbo

Tom Maynard faces an uncertain future after Glamorgan refused to accept his resignation from the club.

Maynard declared his intention to leave the county in the aftermath of a turbulent close season which has seen them lose captain Jamie Dalrymple, president Peter Walker and Maynard's father Matthew as head coach.

The 21-year-old batsman signed a new contract at the end of the season until 2013, but has now opted to leave.

However, Glamorgan have issued a strongly-worded statement informing the other first-class counties of their contractual claims on the player.

The statement read:"Glamorgan Cricket is both surprised and disappointed to learn of Tom Maynard's decision to resign from his employment with Glamorgan Cricket.

"Over recent weeks, the club's CEO Alan Hamer has contacted all other county CEOs to clarify the club's position and will do so again over the coming days to confirm that the club still holds Tom's resignation and believes that he has unlawfully terminated his contract.

"The club have met with Tom and his advisors on three separate occasions during recent weeks following on from numerous requests from Tom for the club to grant him early release from his newly signed contract extension.

Advice

"At all times, the club have consulted with specialist employment lawyers. Based on their advice - which has also been shared with Tom's advisors - the club has always reiterated that Tom Maynard is under contract to Glamorgan Cricket until 30 September 2013.

"Unlike his old contract, his new contract, which was signed in September 2010, does not contain any early release clauses that are linked to his father's continued employment by the club.

"This new contract was reviewed, checked and approved by Matthew Maynard prior to being signed by Tom who did not raise any objections or queries.

"As such, regardless as to how Tom may feel, he cannot, nor will the club allow him to, walk away from his contractual obligations. Nor is he able to enter into discussions with other counties without the club's prior permission."

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Wickets tumble in Durban

A total of 18 wickets fell on day two of the second Test between South Africa and India in Durban, with the tourists ending on top after three chaotic sessions.

India built a lead of 166 by the time bad light brought the day to an end, despite finishing their first innings having been bowled out for only 205 in the morning as Dale Steyn claimed 6-50.

But the Proteas, who are 1-0 up in the series, then squandered the chance to take command as they were rolled over for 131 by tea with Harbhajan Singh taking 4-10 in a brilliant spell.

South Africa did manage to keep their hopes of victory alive as a string of quick wickets reduced India to 92-4 by the close.

India seemed set to rack up a considerable advantage as they reached 42 without loss, but three wickets in as many overs turned the tables.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe struck first, as Virender Sehwag was caught behind by Mark Boucher for 32 from 31 balls before Morne Morkel removed Murali Vijay for nine.

Strikes

Tsotsobe then struck for the second time to remove Rahul Dravid (two) - again caught by Boucher - and later Steyn chipped in with the prize wicket of Sachin Tendulkar (six), who edged to AB de Villiers at slip.

VVS Laxman (23 not out) and Cheteshwar Pujara (10no) put on an unbroken stand of 36 to end the day, but both sides will still have their sights set on victory.

Earlier, Harbhajan took four wickets in just 7.2 overs as South Africa were dismissed for a mere 131 by tea in their first innings at Kingsmead.

Returning bowler Zaheer Khan also claimed three wickets as the hosts were skittled inside 38 overs for their second lowest ever score at the ground.

The seamer, who missed the first Test in Centurion due to injury, showed no signs of rust as he dismissed Proteas skipper Graeme Smith for only nine after an edge behind to Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Alviro Petersen followed as Zaheer bowled the opener around his legs for 24 while Jacques Kallis (10) was the third man out with the total on 57 after being short of his ground as Sreesanth deflected a Hashim Amla drive onto the stumps.

Trouble

De Villiers (nought) and Amla, whose 33 would be the top score of the innings, were then dismissed by Sreesanth and Harbhajan respectively to take the total to 96-5.

And South Africa found themselves in deep trouble when Ashwell Prince was bowled by Zaheer (3-36) as he dragged onto his stumps after scoring only 13.

Boucher tried to steady the ship - finishing unbeaten on 16 after an hour at the crease - but the tail crumbled around him as Harbhajan skittled the lower order, with one wicket coming courtesy of Dravid's 200th catch in Test cricket.

It marked a dramatic turn around in fortunes from the early stages of the day's play, when the tourists resumed from their day one total of 183-6 and were quickly on the back foot again as Steyn completed a five-wicket haul in the fifth over of the day.

The paceman had Harbhajan (21) caught by de Villiers at third slip before claiming the valuable scalp of India captain Dhoni (35), who was caught in the deep by Petersen to hand Steyn a sixth wicket.

At the other end, Morkel was also hitting his stride and struck twice to remove Zaheer and last man out Sreesanth, both of whom fell for ducks.

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England seize control

England atoned for their heavy defeat in Perth in devastating fashion, blasting out Australia for just 98 on day one at the MCG.

James Anderson and Chris Tremlett each took four wickets as skipper Andrew Strauss' decision to ask Australia to bat paid off to perfection.

England's attack took full advantage of seamer-friendly conditions in front of a huge Boxing Day crowd, as the tourists moved closer to retaining the Ashes.

And with England's batsmen advancing to 157 without loss at the close, they look well set to claim the victory that would give them a 2-1 lead with just next week's Sydney Test to play.

It was little surprise when Strauss opted to bowl after winning the toss - his opposite number Ricky Ponting admitted he would have done the same - but Australia's collapse was little short of shocking.

The batsmen singularly failed to cope in ideal conditions for England's pace attack.

The ball moved around in the air and off the seam and the result was a full house of dismissals from edges either to wicketkeeper Matt Prior - six - or catchers in the slip and gully cordon.

Hapless Aussies

But the conditions were not completely to blame as Australia's hapless batsmen slumped to their side's lowest total against England on this ground - much to the delight of the England supporters in a huge holiday crowd.

Anderson (4-44) was the pick of an impressive bowling display, despite having no luck in his new-ball spell.

Tremlett (4-26) grabbed two of the first three wickets to fall, and Tim Bresnan - called up in place of Steven Finn - also got in on the act.

Opener Shane Watson was the first to depart after being dropped twice in his 12-ball stay.

Second slip Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen at gully both gave Watson a life off Anderson, but Tremlett quickly got England out of potential trouble with a brute of a delivery from just short of a length.

Phil Hughes never looked comfortable, falling to first-change Bresnan's seventh delivery of the series - crashing a drive on the up straight to Pietersen.

Excellent

Ponting had reached 10 when Tremlett - switched to the Southern Stand end - got another to spit and take the splice for an excellent catch high at second slip by Graeme Swann.

Ponting has made just 32 runs in his last five innings and much depended on Australia's next pair, Michael Clarke and the previously prolific Michael Hussey.

Strauss brought Anderson back just before lunch at the Members' end, and he delivered a telling blow when Hussey almost immediately edged a swinging delivery behind to make it 58-4, before rain brought an early lunch.

But England continued where they left off after the break, with the next four wickets falling for just 11 runs.

Anderson was still moving the ball superbly in the air and off the pitch and finally got the rewards he deserved as Steve Smith, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson all edged behind.

Bresnan had Brad Haddin nicking to slip when he went after a slightly wider ball.

It was only a matter of time before the last two wickets fell in similar fashion, as the hosts even failed to get into three figures.

Advantage

It was important that England hammered home their advantage by getting off to a decent start with the bat and Strauss and Alastair Cook duly obliged, although not without some alarms.

Cook took full advantage of the review procedure after being given out lbw to Hilfenhaus with the score on 70, the video replay showing a thick inside edge.

When they took the score beyond 98 it was the first time that England's openers had given their side a first innings lead against Australia since 1912. And they continued on to 157, advancing the lead to 59 by the close.

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Bangladesh v Zimbabwe

Abdur Razzak took a hat-trick as Bangladesh won the second one-day international against Zimbabwe by six wickets.

Razzak returned figures of 5-30 to back captain and fellow left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan's 4-39 as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 191 in 46.2 overs.

Bangladesh overhauled the below-par target in only 39.4 overs thanks mainly to half-centuries from Raqibul Hasan and left-hander Junaid Siddique.

The home team have now levelled the five-match series 1-1 after their surprise nine-run defeat in the opening match at the same venue a couple of days ago.

Bangladesh dominated from the beginning - which also included winning the toss - and made life difficult for the Zimbabwe batsmen, who were exposed by a lack of experience.

Shafiul Islam removed Chamu Chibhabha early on but a 40-run partnership between Brendan Taylor and Regis Chakabva raised hopes of a revival.

Hapless

Razzak and Shakib had other plans however and the two left-arm spinners wreaked havoc on the hapless Zimbabwe batsmen, who had to face spin as early as in the seventh over.

Shakib removed opener Taylor for 28, and moments later Chakabva was stumped attempting to attack a Razzak delivery, reducing Zimbabwe to 56-3.

Keith Dabengwa (30) and Tatenda Taibu (21) could not capitalise on the start they got and were claimed respectively by Shakib and Razzak and by 37 overs the visitors were reeling on 132-6.

Craig Ervine and Prosper Utseya put on 67 for the eighth wicket before Utseya became Razzak's third victim, caught at long off by Naeem Islam to leave Zimbabwe on 189-7.

With three wickets in hand and five overs to go Zimbabwe could have easily fancied another 30 runs but a late hat-trick by Razzak finished things off quickly.

Keegan Meth became Shakib's fourth victim and then Razzak, who had taken a wicket in the previous over, completed his hat-trick by snaring Ray Price (one) and Chris Mpofu lbw.

Ervine was left stranded on 42 at the end of the innings.

Bangladesh began their chase on a confident note as Tamim Iqbal and Siddique added 49 runs for the second wicket after the early loss of Imrul Kayes (10).

When it appeared as if the Tigers were cruising home without any hiccup, Tamim threw his wicket away after holing out to Mpofu off Price.

Useful

That brought Raqibul Hassan and Siddique together, and they defied Bangladesh further success and stitched a very useful partnership.

Siddique brought up his fifth 50, but a rush of blood three runs later saw him stepping out to Price only to be stumped by Taibu to leave Bangladesh on 147-3.

Raqibul took over from then on and executed some fine cover drives and lofted shots en route to his eighth half-century.

The right-hander provided some fireworks towards the end, moving to 65 off just 79 balls but fell when Bangladesh needed five runs for victory.

However, skipper Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim ensured there was no more damage as the unbeaten pair took Bangladesh home with more than 10 overs remaining.

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Queensland v England Performance XI

The England Performance Programme exploited a deteriorating pitch at Allan Border Field in Brisbane to complete a 126-run win in their four-day game against Queensland Academy.

The EPP, boosted by Adam Lyth's century, declared on 282-4 in their second innings to set the hosts 373 from 72 overs for victory.

Queensland began their pursuit strongly with Alex Kemp and Joe Burns sharing a century stand to take their side to 115 -1. However, a middle-order collapse saw them slump to defeat.

Off-spinner James Tredwell made the most of a large crack that appeared down the middle of the pitch at one end to claim four wickets, including Glen Batticciotto who was bowled by a delivery that hit the crack and grubbered onto the base of the stumps.

Lyth, who like fourth-wicket partner James Taylor came into the side for the EPP's second innings, resumed on 93 out of an overnight 170-3 on the final morning.

The opener soon went to three figures as the tourists added a rapid 112 today before declaring.

After losing Andrew Robinson early, Kemp and Burns made 53 and 49 respectively, but Michael Neser's 35 and Batticciotto's 25 were the only other scores of note.

The EPP squad are due to fly to Perth to play Retravision Warriors on December 3 and a Western Australia XI from December 7-10.

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India v Australia

Virat Kohli struck a career-best 118 as India beat Australia by five wickets with seven balls to spare in the second one-day international at Visakhapatnam.

Kohli battled through a leg injury to guide the hosts past Australia's 289-3 and into a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Stand-in Australia captain Michael Clarke had earlier returned to form as he hit his fifth ODI century, while Cameron White smashed an unbeaten 89 from just 49 balls, as the tourists took 114 from the final 10 overs.

But India - and in particular the 21-year-old Kohli - were always ahead of the chase, with important half-century contributions from Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.

With both teams opting to rest most of their star names, there were two new faces in each team.

Left-handers Shikhar Dhawan and Saurabh Tiwary made their India debuts, while Australia fielded an inexperienced bowling attack after bringing in untried duo Mitchell Starc and John Hastings.

But it was the hosts' inexperience that was exposed early in India's chase, as Dhawan was bowled for a duck by Clint McKay from the second ball of the innings.

McKay then induced an edge from Murali Vijay to leave India in trouble at 35-2, before Kohli steadied the ship in impressive fashion.

The right-hander needed a runner, but he anchored the innings, first in a stand of 137 with Yuvraj Singh.

Yuvraj had added 58 before he became McKay's third victim, bowled by a slower ball, but Kohli remained unflustered as he and new man Raina picked off Australia's young attack.

The pair combined in a quickfire 84-run stand to ensure the hosts could afford a minor slip when Kohli's memorable knock ended 34 runs short of the target.

He thrashed Hastings to James Hopes at deep mid-on, before skipper MS Dhoni was bowled first ball by the young Victorian to give Australia a glimmer of hope.

But Rainathen calmly guided his side home with an unbeaten 71 from 47 balls.

Testing

Clarke had earlier returned to form by anchoring the Australia innings with a masterful 111, before White's late fireworks.

It meant the Australians set a testing target of 289-3 - a total that had looked beyond them even when Clarke and Michael Hussey (69) built a steadying 144-run stand in the middle overs.

The pair had come together with the score on 16-2, after openers Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine fell cheaply to Ashish Nehra.

They re-built the innings patiently, before Hussey fell on 69 when he was trapped in front by a quicker Ravichandran Ashwin delivery.

That looked a crucial wicket for India as batting was beginning to become easier, but in the end it only allowed White to significantly accelerate the scoring.

The Victorian smashed a couple of straight sixes off Vinay Kumar as he dominated his stand alongside Clarke.

They took 49 from their five powerplay overs, with Clarke hitting back-to-back boundaries in the last of those before turning a single to bring up his fifth ODI century.

White completed his impressive hitting with back-to-back sixes as he plundered 22 off Vinay's final over, but his heroics were to prove in vain.

The sides meet again in the the third and final ODI at Margao on Sunday. The first match in the series was washed out.

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Sri Lanka v West Indies

Kemar Roach removed both Sri Lanka openers as the West Indies made a positive start to a shortened first day at the second Test in Colombo.

Two hours of play were lost to rain at the start of the day, while bad light in the final session meant that only 37 overs were possible once the action got underway.

And it was the tourists who took control during that period, with Roach's double strike and another wicket from skipper Darren Sammy reducing Sri Lanka to 34-3.

But Kumar Sangakkara and Thilan Samaraweera then combined for an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 50, leading the hosts to recover to 84-3 by the close of play.

Sri Lanka elected to bat on the new pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium, but did not get out into the middle until 12.30pm local time.

Breakthrough

Only 10 runs were on the board when Roach (2-24) made the breakthrough as his straightening delivery clattered into Tillakaratne Dilshan's stumps to remove the batsman for four.

Roach then dismissed the hosts' other opener, Tharanga Paranavitana (16), whose edge fell into the hands of Dwayne Bravo at second slip.

Mahela Jayawardene (two) was the third batsman to fall after facing only seven balls, as a Sammy delivery caught his inside-edge before going on to strike off-stump.

Captain Sangakkara steadied the ship by making an unbeaten 25, while Samaraweera added 26 of his own, which included two fours and a six.

Thick cloud cover then forced the players off for the day, with play scheduled to start 15 minutes early on Wednesday in an attempt to recover some of the lost time.

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Bangladesh v New Zealand

Bangladesh have wrapped-up a 4-0 one-day international series win over New Zealand following a dramatic three-run victory in Dhaka.

Pace bowler Rubel Hossain bowled Kyle Mills in the final over of the match to condemn the Black Caps to another embarrassing defeat in the five-match series.

Chasing just 175 for victory, New Zealand once again produced another inept batting display as only captain Daniel Vettori (43), Grant Elliott (59) and Mills (33) reached double figures.

Number nine Mills, who earlier claimed figures of 3-36, looked to be steering New Zealand to a remarkable victory after they had slipped to 119-7.

Yorker

But Bangladesh held their nerve at the death, Rubel arrowing a Yorker onto leg stump in the final over to seal a memorable series win.

Left-arm off-spinner Vettori and Mills had earlier grabbed three wickets apiece to reduce Bangladesh to a poultry 174 batting first.

Vettori removed opener Imrul Kayes (34) and Raqibul Hasan (six) before accounting for Mahmudullah (19) to finish with figures of 3-32.

The wicket of Kayes saw Bangladesh slip to 77-4, however a battling 55-run partnership between Shakib Al Hasan (36) and Mushfiqur Rahim (29) got the Tigers back on track.

New Zealand's reply started in abysmal fashion as Rubel knocked over aggressive opening duo Brendan McCullum and Jesse Ryder (both for 4) inside the opening three overs.

BJ Watling (1), Kane Williamson (0) and Ross Taylor (3) continued the procession of wickets as the Kiwis found themselves in major trouble at 20-5.

Nerve

Vettori and Elliott rallied with a counter-attacking 86-run stand for the sixth wicket, only for the former to fall to opposite number Shakib seven runs short of his half-century.

Elliott contined to take the fight to Bangladesh and brought up his 50 soon after, however when he and Andy McKay both fell with the score on 145, New Zealand were one wicket away from another defeat.

But Mills bludgeoned runs down the order and a dramatic victory looked on the cards when the Black Caps seamer hit a four off the first ball of the final over to put his side one blow from victory.

However Rubel held his nerve when it mattered, tailing in a deadly delivery to send Mills' leg-stump cart wheeling backwards.

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South Africa v Zimbabwe

South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 272 runs on Friday to record their biggest ever victory in one-day internationals.

AB de Villiers (109) and JP Duminy (a career-best 129) also put together a record third-wicket stand of 219 in Benoni, as the hosts sealed a 3-0 series sweep.

Chasing 400 for victory, the visitors were always struggling as Juan Theron claimed three for 18 and Albie Morkel, Johan Botha and Wayne Parnell took two wickets each.

Zimbabwe were in the end reduced to 127 all out in just 29 overs, with Tatenda Taibu top-scoring with 28.

The Proteas' win eclipses their previous best winning margin of 221 runs, set against the Netherlands in 2007, and falls not far short of New Zealand's world record, set when they beat Ireland by 290 runs two years ago.

With the series already secure, Botha and Morkel were both added to Graeme Smith's side with Charl Langeveldt and Robin Peterson making way.

Zimbabwe, meanwhile, included Hamilton Masakadza and Ian Nicolson ahead of Grant Flower and Sean Williams.

Aggressive

Smith and Hashim Amla made an aggressive start, putting on 49 runs in the first five overs before the introduction of spinner Prosper Utseya tempted the skipper down the wicket to be stumped by Taibu for 26.

Amla (24) then edged Shingirai Masakadza's delivery to the wicketkeeper to make it 59 for two, but from there on in Duminy and de Villiers dominated.

Taking their side past 100 in the 16th over, the pair put on the 100 stand in 102 balls with their own half-centuries coming in 50 and 54 balls respectively.

They then took South Africa to 199 after 30 overs, with de Villiers reaching three figures for the second time in as many matches in the 36th over.

He had faced just 91 balls and hit five fours and four sixes.

Duminy had made his ton two overs later before he lost his partner - de Villiers being caught at deep mid-wicket by Shingirai Masakadza off the bowling of brother Hamilton.

Morkel joined Duminy and the 300 was raised in the 42nd over before the latter miscued Nicolson to Keith Dabengwa.

With Colin Ingram (20) and David Miller (33 not out) also chipping in, Morkel (37) took South Africa on to an imposing 399 for six, their third highest score in 50-over cricket.

Broken

Unlike in the first two matches, Zimbabwe's opening partnership was broken early with Brendan Taylor (five) caught by Theron on the third-man fence off the bowling of Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Nine for one became 18 for two when Hamilton Masakadza (five) mistimed Morkel, also to Theron, before the same bowler dismissed Chamu Chibhabha (16) for his 50th ODI wicket - Amla taking a fine diving catch at mid-off.

Taibu and Craig Ervine put together a 47-run stand but their resistance came to an end just as soon as Botha was introduced in the 16th over.

He bowled Taibu (28) with his first ball and with the final one of the over did the same to Ervine (24).

That left Zimbabwe on 80 for five and it was subsequently downhill all the way for South Africa, with captain Elton Chigumbura (one) removed by Theron and Parnell cleaning up the tail.

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Australia v Sri Lanka

Australia brought an end to their seven-match losing streak as they thrashed Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third ODI at Brisbane.

Having already lost the three-match series, Australia headed into the encounter determined to get back to winning ways and did so in some style as their bowlers set up a comprehensive victory.

They dismissed Sri Lanka for just 115 in 32 overs, Clint McKay starring with the ball as he claimed career-best figures of 5-33, while young left-armer Mitchell Starc, in just his second game, finished with 4-27.

Australia's batsmen then picked off the total in 21.4 overs, Michael Clarke answering the recent criticism levelled at him with an unbeaten 50.

It meant the Australians, who were without rested skipper Ricky Ponting, avoided the indignity of recording the longest losing sequence in their 133-year history in international cricket.

Having not won in any format since the first Test victory over Pakistan at Lord's in July, Clarke's side headed into the encounter desperate to turn their fortunes around in what was their last competitive fixture before the Ashes opener on November 25.

Devastating spell

Having won the toss and inserted their opponents, they were soon in charge as McKay quickly reduced Sri Lanka to 14-3 in a devastating new-ball spell.

McKay could even afford to have Upul Tharanga dropped from his second ball, Steven Smith spilling a tough chance at gully, before he removed Tillakaratne Dilshan (one) and in-form skipper Kumar Sangakkara (duck) in his next over.

McKay continued his early onslaught when Mahela Jayawardene edged to Cameron White at slip.

Tharanga (28) and Chamara Silva (33) briefly steadied the ship as they became the only Sri Lankans to reach double figures.

But Shane Watson trapped Tharanga in front, before Starc grabbed his first wicket when Angelo Matthews chopped on.

Tail disintegrated

Matthews had been the hero of Sri Lanka's unlikely win in the first match in Melbourne, but without him the tail disintegrated in the face of McKay and Starc who produced impressive bounce on a track that will host the first Test with England.

The premature end to Sri Lanka's innings meant Australia had to face ten overs before the break, but they put themselves firmly on course for victory in that time as they reached 63-1.

Watson was the batsman to fall, caught by Matthews off Dilhara Fernando, for 15, but Brad Haddin and stand-in skipper Michael Clarke played aggressively as they looked to wrap up a quick win.

Haddin's impatience cost him his wicket soon after the resumption when he offered a return catch to Fernando when on 31, but Clarke - who came under fire for his captaincy in the opening match - guided his side home alongside Michael Hussey (six not out).

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Pakistan v South Africa

Centuries from Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers frustrated Pakistan on the opening day of the second Test in Abu Dhabi.

The South Africa pair added 179 for the fourth wicket after Tanvir Ahmed - making his debut just a month shy of his 32nd birthday - had removed the top order with only 33 runs on the board.

Tanvir also removed Kallis, but only after the veteran had reached 100 for the 37th time in Tests, while de Villiers also enjoyed partnerships of 56 with Ashwell Prince and 43 with Mark Boucher.

South Africa reached stumps on 311-5 - a far cry from the first half-hour when they lost Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith in quick succession.

Tanvir had Petersen caught by Misbah-ul-Haq at first slip for two and Amla had added only four when he edged a delivery into the gloves of Adnan Akmal.

Captain Graeme Smith made a watchful 10, but his despair was obvious as a loose shot saw him caught behind with the score on 33.

Fast start

Mohammad Sami, making another comeback attempt at international level, allowed Kallis get away to a fast start, shipping 32 runs off his first four overs, and the 35-year-old made it serenely to 50 before lunch with nine fours and a six off just 58 balls.

It was a similar story in the second session as he and the more watchful de Villiers built their stand, the latter passing 50 off 79 deliveries with seven boundaries.

The Pakistan attack failed to back up the explosive start from Tanvir, with frontline seamers Umar Gul and Sami remaining wicketless in 35 overs combined.

Kallis passed his landmark just before tea, the hundred coming off 35 balls with 12 fours and three maximums, but he failed to add to his 105 when in the first over after the interval Tanvir got one through his defences with an off-cutter that clipped the inside edge on the way through.

De Villiers reigned in his attacking game as he took over the position of senior partner with Prince, reaching 100 in 181 balls as the duo put on 50 in 96 balls for the fifth wicket.

Six more were added before Mohammad Hafeez had Prince caught by debutant Asad Shafiq off a long-hop for 32, but there were no further successes for Pakistan despite taking the second new ball, de Villiers moving on to 120 not out with Boucher still there on 26 at the close.

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India v New Zealand

Sachin Tendulkar closed in on a 50th Test century as India assumed control of the third and final Test against New Zealand in Nagpur.

Tendulkar was 57 not out at the end of day two as the hosts reached 292-2 in reply to the Kiwis' first innings effort of 193 all out.

India removed the last three New Zealand wickets before lunch and took little time in taking a first-innings lead thanks in the main to opener Virender Sehwag, who rattled up 74 in an opening stand of 113 with Gautam Gambhir.

Sehwag clubbed New Zealand captain Dan Vettori for six as he passed 50 before lunch with the hosts going in at 89-0.

Further success

He enjoyed further success against Vettori after the interval but his reign of terror came to an end when the spinner got his revenge, claiming a sharp return catch low down.

Gambhir (78) was then joined by Rahul Dravid and the pair looked comfortable, adding 79 for the second wicket before the former fell to the returning Tim Southee, steering one to Ross Taylor in the slips.

However Dravid, who cruised to his 60th Test half-century off 115 balls, and his old comrade Tendulkar dominated the final session.

Tendulkar eventually reached his 50 after spending an age on 49, punishing a wide delivery from Martin Guptill.

The pair took their partnership to 100 just before the close, with India in prime position to force a victory after two drawn Tests in the series so far.

Earlier, play began at 9am after time was lost on the opening day but Brendon McCullum, the Black Caps' last recognised batsman, fell inside the opening half-hour when he nicked Ishant Sharma (4-43) to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Sharma then produced a leg cutter to remove Andy McKay's off stump on his debut and although Southee slogged Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha for maximums, the latter ended his fun when he holed out to Sehwag for 38.

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