The people on the front lines of fighting the Ebola epidemic are Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

Team India, set for a gruelling tour of Australia, looked in top gear as they practiced diligently during a nets session on the eve of the first Test in Adelaide on Monday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be put through the wringer when the four-Test series starts in Adelaide.

However, the former Australia captain, admitted that a good start by the Indian batsmen might pose a threat to Australia.

India's Shiva Keshavan registered a respectable 25th place finish on his maiden entry into the Luge World Cup finals at the Olympic Sliding Center in Lake Placid in New York, on Saturday.

As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.

Indian luger Shiva Keshavan came up with a personal best timing of 53.125 seconds to finish the Nations Cup race in 15th place, his best-ever showing, at Lake Placid, New York.

Touched by India's support in the aftermath of Phillip Hughes's death, Cricket Australia Director and former pacer Michael Kasprowicz has praised the visitors for being considerate in accepting the changed series schedule following the tragedy.

Meanwhile, Australia skipper Michael Clarke, who was entangled in a war of words with Cricket Australia over his availability, is still a doubtful starter for the first Test following question marks over his fitness.

Adelaide, which was due to host the second Test from December 12-16, will now host the series opener from December 9-13, in what is sure to be a highly emotional occasion.

The Indian pace attack is getting much attention Down Under, with Varun Aaron being singled out for special praise by Australian cricketers. They feel the youngster's biggest assets - pace and bounce - have troubled the visitors on previous tours Down Under.

India's stand-in-captain Virat Kohli is facing baptism by fire in the first Test against Australia in Brisbane next month, but former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin feels the result of this one match should not be the basis for passing a judgement on his leadership skills.

Title holders India are not among the front-runners to win the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, feels former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming.

A doctor from Sierra Leone, who was being treated at a US hospital for Ebola, died on Monday. This is the second death in the country due to the deadly virus which has killed thousands of people in West Africa.

With the series already in pocket, the Indian team management has decided to rest senior batsman Suresh Raina for the fifth and final ODI in Ranchi on Sunday.

Having decimated the opposition with clinical precision in all four matches, India will be aiming to complete a clean sweep when they take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Ranchi on Sunday.

Unchallenged by Sri Lanka so far, India would look to keep the foot on the pedal in their pursuit for a series whitewash when the two teams face off in the fourth and penultimate cricket One-dayer at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

A New York doctor, the first person in the city to be diagnosed with Ebola, was released from hospital today after fully recovering from the virus, as Mayor Bill de Blasio declared that the city is now Ebola-free.

An American doctor who became the first person in New York city to be diagnosed with Ebola, is free from the virus and will be discharged from hospital on Tuesday, officials said.

An elated Ambati Rayudu on Thursday said his maiden hundred in international cricket, which helped India crush Sri Lanka in the second One-Day International, will certainly be a "special one" as it took a long time to come.

India are using the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka as preparation for next year's World Cup and home team's captain Virat Kohli says recent performances of the pace bowlers, especially Umesh Yadav, has given him a lot of hope going into the mega-event.

Pleased with his fast bowlers show in the 169-runs win over Sri Lanka, skipper Virat Kohi said that it augurs well for the tours to Australia and New Zealand.

The San Antonio Spurs raised their championship banner then elevated their game when it mattered to edge the Dallas Mavericks 101-100 in a season-opening win on Tuesday.

Slamming the frequent team changes, former India skipper Ajay Jadeja said that captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the team selectors are not on the same page with regard team selection.

Virat Kohli says his fighting fifty last week in the Delhi One-day international against the West Indies was the kind of knock he needed to overcome the first lean patch of his otherwise prolific career.

A health care worker from the United States of America has been diagnosed with Ebola after treating a patient who died of the deadly disease last week, sending officials scrambling to find the "breach in protocol" that resulted in her infection - the first case contracted on American soil.

All eyes were on Virat Kohli during the team's two-and-half-hour training session on the eve of the second One-Day International between India and the West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, on Friday.

"The BCCI is not bothered about their internal issues. But as far as we are concerned the match is on," Board secretary Sanjay Patel said.

The series against the West Indies is India's only chance to iron out flaws before embarking on the tough tour of Australia. Hence, skipper Mahendra Singh hinted that the hosts will try out a few things in the home rubber against the Caribbeans, starting in Kochi on Wednesday.

Former India cricketer and the national team director, Ravi Shastri said it would be his endeavour to get left-handed batsman Suresh Raina back in the Test side in Mumbai on Monday.

The all-powerful working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India retained former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri as Director of the Indian cricket team till next year's ICC World Cup while deciding to hold its Annual General Meeting in Chennai on November 20.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India is all set to retain the support staff members comprising of Sanjay Bangar, R Sridhar and Bharat Arun, who came in as temporary replacements for Trevor Penny and Joe Dawes.

India's assistant cricket coach Sanjay Bangar feels competence, not nationality, should be the sole criteria while judging a coach and criticism should never be based on whether the person is an Indian or not.

Former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer wants Duncan Fletcher axed as the Indian team's chief coach, and the appointment of Ravi Shastri and Dilip Vengsarkar to guide the team after the 3-1 drubbing Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men received in the five-Test series in England.

Former batsman V V S Laxman believes tinkering with Team India's support staff is not a viable option and newly-appointed team director Ravi Shastri and coach Duncan Fletcher should stay till the 2015 World Cup.

His report will decide Duncan Fletcher's future as India's cricket coach and Ravi Shastri, who served as Team Director during the just-concluded limited overs series against England, has put his weight behind the under-fire Zimbabwean.

What are your thoughts on Shastri continuing as Team Director till the World Cup? Should the BCCI retain him?

Under-fire India coach Duncan Fletcher's fate is expected to be decided by the Board of Control for Cricket in India after it receives team director Ravi Shastri's report on the England tour.

Days after cricketing legend Ian Botham called for IPL to be scrapped, former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has now said it is not the T20 tournament but the Indian cricket board wielding enormous power that is detrimental to the game.

The Welsh cities of Newport and Cardiff have been invaded by 10,000 police personnel as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit takes over. Starting on Thursday, a terrorist's shopping list of targets will arrive in Wales with NATO leaders and some 60 other leaders of partner nations arriving in the small peaceful country.