On a record 19-match unbeaten streak, India would seek extension of their incredible dominance at home when they clash against an “aggressive” Australia in the four-Test series, beginning in Pune on Thursday.
The series against the Steve Smith-led side is the fourth and last home series of the 2016-17 season for India, who have conjured up emphatic victories over New Zealand (3-0), England (4-0) and Bangladesh (one-off Test).
India are going into the rubber, seeking their seventh successive series win going back to the three-Test away series against Sri Lanka in 2015.
Virat, Ashwin, Jadeja: India’s Consistent Performers
There are several factors in India's stupendous run, chief among those being captain Virat Kohli's phenomenal run with the bat. The young captain has truly led from the front by notching up four double hundreds. In the last 13 Tests, he has scored 1,457 runs, averaging at over 80.
The other major factor has been the excellent bowling by spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, also the top two bowlers in the ICC rankings.
Off-spinner Ashwin has grabbed 78 wickets in 13 games during the same period with 8 five-fors at an average of just over 24 while left-armer Jadeja has scalped 49 wickets in 10 Tests at just under 25.
In addition to Jayant Yadav, India also have the option of giving Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who replaced injured Amit Mishra, a Test debut.
In addition to these three players' consistent performance, the support from batsmen such as opener Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara and from other bowlers has been invaluable.
The lower-order batting has often helped the team come out of tricky situations and score big.
History on India’s Side
At home, India have not tasted defeat since drawing the fourth and final Test of the 2012-13 series against England.
During this period they have played 20 Tests, won 17 and drawn three. Their win-loss record over the last 20 Tests, both home and away, is 15-1.
Australia have not won a Test – let alone a series – in India since 2008 and were whitewashed 4-0 on their last visit in 2012-13.
Warner, Smith to Lead Australia
Australian batting will revolve mainly around opener and vice-captain David Warner and captain Smith.
Despite the twin failures of young Matt Renshaw in the warm-up game in Mumbai, he is expected to partner Warner at the top of the order with Shaun Marsh and captain Smith to follow in that order.
In bowling, left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood could cause trouble for India if they can extract bounce out of the track with back-up seam support from Mitchell Marsh.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who was dealt with severely by Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer and Karnataka off-break bowler Krishnappa Gowtham, in the warm-up game, will be the man the visitors would depend on to do the bulk of the bowling during the day along with left arm Stephen O'Keefe. They are also crucial to the visitors' hopes.
Teams
India: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Hardik Pandya.
Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade.
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