After their humiliating debacle at home against New Zealand, India will aim to turn the tide as they take on Australia in the five Test series for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, starting in Perth from Friday.
Despite their recent struggles, India will take a lot of encouragement from their superb record against Australia, with four straight series victory against them, including two Down Under.
It has been nearly a decade since India last lost a Test series to the Aussies, with their last defeat against them coming in 2014-2015.
India's series whitewash at home against New Zealand was a major blow. Batting was a major letdown for the Indians against the Kiwis and once again their batters' resolve will be tested on a lively pitch at the Optus stadium in Perth.
Ahead of the series, the visitors suffered a double blow with Captain Rohit Sharma missing the series opener after he stayed back in India following the birth of his second child, while Shubman Gill suffered a fracture to his thumb during a practice game.
A desperate India have resorted to push K L Rahul as the opener in Rohit's absence, but the right-hander will face a lot of scrutiny after his recent poor showing with the bat.
With scores of 0 and 12 in the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand and 4 and 10 for India A against Australia A recently, Rahul doesn't inspire much confidence going into the series. He would look for some support from his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose attacking could unsettle the Australian pace attack.
Abhimanyu Easwaran was picked as the back-up opener but India have preferred to go in with Rahul's experience.
India are set to spring another surprise as Devdutt Padikkal, who was not part of the original 18-member Test squad for Australia, is set to replace Gill at No 3. The left-hander hit a half-century (88) in the first unofficial Test for India A, but hasn't done much in his three other knocks in Australia.
India's hopes will rest majorly on their batting stalwart Virat Kohli, who loves playing in Australia. He boasts of a stellar record in Australia, having scored 1,352 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 54, with six hundred and four fifties.
However, he comes into the Australia series with a below-par showing at home. This year, he has averaged only 22.72 across six Tests, and in the three games against New Zealand, he could manage only 93 runs.
With 118 Tests under his belt, Kohli will play a pivotal role with the bat as India aim for a historic third straight series triumph Down Under.
Rishabh Pant is also another big match-winner for India. Not many will forget his batting heroics from India's series triumph during their last tour of Australia.
Pant was the rare bright spot for India in their disastrous showing against New Zealand, with three fifties in six innings in the series. The left-hander can be destructive once he gets going and enjoys batting in conditions like Australia, where the ball comes on to the bat.
India are set for another bold move as Dhruv Jurel could pip Sarfaraz Khan to the No. 6 slot. Jurel, picked as the second wicket-keeper, came into the reckoning after his two fifties in the unofficial Test against Australia A in a low-scoring match at MCG.
He looked quite assured with the bat in the intra-squad match at Perth. The right-hander was taken through his paces by the coaching staff, and was made to work on his catching skills at silly point and in the slips in what could be a clear indication of his inclusion in the Perth Test.
Sarfaraz Khan smashed a brilliant 150 in Bengaluru Test against New Zealand but after that his form took a big dip with just 21 runs in five innings.
India's bowling hopes will rest on Skipper Jasprit Bumrah, who will have to burden the responsibility in Mohammed Shami's absence. He could share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj, who exceeded all expectations in his debut series during the previous tour of Australia in 2020-2021, picking up a five wicket haul to bowl India to victory in Brisbane.
Prasidh Krishna, who troubled most of the Indian batters in the intra-squad with the extra bounce, is set to take the third seamer's slot ahead of Akash Deep.
Among the spinners, India are likely to start with Ravichandran Ashwin to counter the left-handers in the Australian line-up including Travis Head, Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey, while he also enjoys a good record against Steve Smith.
The Perth pitch offers good bounce which could make Ashwin a dangerous proposition if the ball starts turning. It remains to be seen if India pick Ashwin or go with Ravindra Jadeja, who has been the preferred choice as the spinner in overseas Tests in recent years.
They could also include seam bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy who did a lot of bowling in the nets at the WACA stadium, while he is quite capable with the bat lower down the order.
Speedster Harshit Rana is another youngster who impressed with his good performances with the ball during the nets in Perth. Not to forget that he is also quite handy with the bat, having scored a century and two fifties in 10 first class matches played so far and also in T20 cricket.
It could all come down to a toss up between the three all-rounders Jadeja, Reddy and Rana.
Australia's big strength no doubt is their batting. Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are part of a power-packed batting line-up with the likes of Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey to follow. But all eyes will be on young Nathan McSweeney, who will open the batting in his debut in the Perth Test.
The bowling is also quite formidable led by Captain Pat Cummins, with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood also capable of running through batting line-ups if the conditions are helpful.
Nathan Lyon will be a big threat with the ball for the Indians, who collapsed at home against spin. He boasts of a superb record in Perth, with 27 wickets from four Tests, including two five-wicket hauls.
The last time India played at the venue in the 2018-2019 series, Lyon was the match-winner with eight wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul. His success could also prompt India towards including the experienced Ashwin, who is playing his fifth series Down Under.
The senior spinner has played 10 Tests in the previous trips to Australia, picking up 39 wickets at an average of 42.
Australia are playing Test cricket after nearly eight months, their last series being against New Zealand in February-March. This lengthy break could leave them a bit rusty at the start of the series, offering India a potential edge.
The head-to-head record between the two teams is closely contested. Australia hold a narrow lead with 12 series wins to India's 11, while five series have ended in draws.
India defied all expectations on their last two tours of Australia to make history, and a third consecutive triumph looks achievable if they display the same resolve and unity.
Probable India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, K L Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja/Nitish Kumar Reddy/Harshit Rana.
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