India vs Australia, 1st Test, Day 1: As it happened
Virat Kohli's Indian side brimming with confidence will aim to finally shed the poor travellers' tag when it takes on a circumspect Australia in what is being perceived as the tourists' best opportunity to win a Test series Down Under in 70 years.
Virat Kohli's Indian side brimming with confidence will aim to finally shed the poor travellers' tag when it takes on a circumspect Australia in what is being perceived as the tourists' best opportunity to win a Test series Down Under in 70 years.
India vs Australia, 1st Test: Full commentary & scorecard
While the narrative remained same during the earlier tours of South Africa (1-2) and England (1-4), Kohli and his men will like to walk the talk as India's tough cycle of away assignment ends with this four-Test series beginning at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
The series is even more important for Kohli as it would also define his legacy as a leader having already established himself as world's premier batsman.
India's past Test record in Australia is quite abysmal. In 44 Tests on Australian soil, they have only managed five wins thus far.
In 70 years and over 11 tours, only two drawn series, under Sunil Gavaskar in 1980-81 and with Sourav Ganguly in charge in 2003-04 is more a reflection of temperament of touring sides over the years rather than quality.
India vs Australia: Teams
Australia XI: Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c/wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
India's squad: Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami