All you need to know about Australia vs India Test series

With Australian cricket still reeling from the wrecking ball that was the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, India appear to have been handed a golden opportunity to secure a first Test series triumph Down Under.

Factbox on the four-Test series between Australia and India, which begins on Thursday (times in brackets GMT):

SCHEDULE

First Test:

Dec. 6-10 10:30 a.m. (0000) - Adelaide Oval

Second Test:

Dec. 14-18 10:20 a.m. (0220) - Perth Stadium

Third Test:

Dec. 26-30 10:30 a.m. (2330) - Melbourne Cricket Ground

Fourth Test:

Jan. 3-7 10:30 a.m. (2330) - Sydney Cricket Ground

AUSTRALIA

World ranking: Fifth

Captain: Tim Paine

Coach: Justin Langer

Top ranked batsman: Usman Khawaja (11)

Top ranked bowler: Pat Cummins (7)

Recent form (Opponent/Venue/Result): 

October

Pakistan Dubai Draw

Pakistan Abu Dhabi Lost by 373 runs

March/April

South Africa Durban Won by 118 runs

South Africa Port Elizabeth Lost by six wickets

South Africa Cape Town Lost by 322 runs

South Africa Johannesburg Lost by 492 runs

Squad: Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (captain), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Chris Tremain, Peter Siddle.

INDIA

World ranking: First

Captain: Virat Kohli

Coach: Ravi Shastri

Top ranked batsman: Virat Kohli (1)

Top ranked bowler: Ravindra Jadeja (5)

Recent form (Opponent/Venue/Result): 

October

West Indies Rajkot Won by an innings and 272 runs

West Indies Hyderabad Won by 10 wickets

August/September

England Birmingham Lost by 31 runs

England Lord's Lost by innings and 159 runs

England Nottingham Won by 203 runs

England Southampton Lost by 60 runs

England The Oval Lost by 118 runs

June

Afghanistan Bengaluru Won by an innings and 262 runs

Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

PREVIOUSLY

Australia v India Tests

Matches 94

Australia wins 41

India wins 26

Draws 26

Ties 1

Previous India tours of Australia (Year/Tests/Winners/Result):

1947-1948 Five Aus 4-0

1967-1968 Four Aus 4-0

1977-1978 Five Aus 3-2

1980-1981 Three Drawn 1-1

1985-1986 Three Drawn 0-0

1991-1992 Five Aus 4-0

1999-2000 Three Aus 3-0

2003-2004 Four Drawn 1-1

2007-2008 Four Aus 2-1

2011-2012 Four Aus 4-0

2014-2015 Four Aus 2-0