Team from Down Under has won two and drawn two of five Tests played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, giving it the edge
Some grounds give visiting teams a feeling of home away from home.
An example for India would be the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The Indians are yet to lose a single Test, winning one and drawing the other three that they have played there against South Africa. If results give any indications, then India sure love playing on that ground.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium here is bound to give a similar feeling to the visiting Australians.
If there's one venue in which the Aussies can boast of having a good record in these nightmarish Indian conditions for them, it is the one that will host the second Test of this series starting on Saturday.
Bengaluru has hosted five Tests between India and Australia, and it's the visitors who have a better win per cent than the hosts. Out of the five Tests here between the two nations, Australia have won, drawn two and lost the other. That solitary defeat came in the second of the two-match series in 2010.
But turn back the clock, and Australia have had only happy memories of this ground.
Their memorable journey of breaching the 'final frontier' – as Steve Waugh so famously labelled the Indian tour – in 2004 started in Bengaluru.
Riding on centuries from Michael Clarke and then captain Adam Gilchrist as well as 15 wickets from the pace trio of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz, the Aussies hammered India by 217 runs in the first Test of that four-match battle in 2004 here. Their juggernaut continued, and the Aussies won the series 2-1.
Their previous victory on this ground came in 1998, when Australia won the third match of the three-match series to reduce India's victory margin to 2-1. They've also eked out two draws here, first in 1979 and then in 2008.
Though none of the current players in this Australian squad has played Test cricket here, the rare stat of the team traditionally doing well on an Indian ground should make them smile. Add to it the fact that they're now coming to their happy hunting ground for the second Test with a crucial 1-0 lead should turn that smile into a grin.
"Yeah, that's something we have spoken about as a group," Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh said about having a good Test record in Bengaluru. "Although none of us have played (Test cricket) here, we want to continue our winning ways at this ground. Hopefully, that will be the case in six days' time," he added.
The hope for the Australians can get even stronger if they were to look at India's record on this ground since it first hosted a Test in 1974.
Out of the 21 Tests that the hosts have played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, India have won only six matches. They have suffered six defeats, and nine times have visiting teams managed to remain unscathed.
Thus, come Saturday morning, it might just be Australia feeling more at home walking out on this ground than the Indians.
TESTS IN BENGALURU
Team Played Won Lost Drawn Win%
India 21 6 6 9 29
Australia 5 2 1 2 40
India will come back hard: Marsh
Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh believes India will come back tougher after their crushing 333-run loss in the first Test in Pune. "We know India is a proud cricketing nation. This team will certainly come hard at us. We're expecting a great fight. Although we're 1-0 up, it's going to be game on," Marsh said on Thursday. The 25-year-old also reckoned Australia's victory in Pune was the best of his 20-year-old Test career. "It was probably one of the best victories I've played in my 20 Tests. (It was) Pretty emotional at the end of the game. It was fantastic," Marsh said.
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