The two top-ranked Test teams in the world face off as Australia’s hotly anticipated four-Test tour of India begins this Thursday.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is up for grabs, as is a place in the World Test Championship final in June – with Australia needing only to avoid a series whitewash to confirm their spot.
For Australia, a red-ball team in red-hot form, the tour is a chance to claim a series victory on Indian soil for the first time since Adam Gilchrist’s men in 2004. It would also fill Pat Cummins’ side with confidence ahead of their Ashes Tour of England in June-July.
But there’s set to be plenty of twists and turns (we’re not just talking about the pitches!) along the way. Three of the four venues weren’t used last time Australia travelled to India for a Test tour (2017) – and as always, spin is likely to be heavily favoured across the four grounds.
Nonetheless, only one of eight Fox Cricket experts we surveyed believe India will come out on top on their home soil, with three tipping a 2-2 series draw, three tipping a 2-1 Aussie series win, and one predicting a stunning 3-1 Australian demolition.
But there’s plenty of split opinions from our experts over who will top the charts in terms of runs, wickets – and which player will pick up the player of the series award.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Watch Australia’s Tour of India. Every Test & ODI live & ad-break free during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
MORE NEWS
‘Prepare turners’: India to tweak pitch ‘to our advantage’ as FOUR spinners looms
35 years of history against spin prodigy’s debut as skipper says ‘all offers on the table’
‘Frustrating’ setback gives Aussies intriguing selection conundrum ahead of India Test
Tormentor ‘already in Aussie heads’; Kohli’s ominous reset as heir ‘comes of age’
FIXTURES
February 9-13: First Test, Nagpur, 3pm AEDT
February 17-21: Second Test, Delhi, 3pm AEDT
March 1-5: Third Test, Dharamsala, 3pm AEDT
March 9-13: Fourth Test, Ahmedabad, 3pm AEDT
The venues came as something of a surprise when first announced, given Dharamsala is the only one of the four venues that Australia also played at in the last tour back in 2017. It’s also the venue Australia’s seamers will be most eagerly looking forward to visiting – while Steve Smith also hands fond memories, after bagging a ton here in that 2017 tour.
Australia last visited Nagpur back in 2008, when Aussie Jason Krejza wrote his name into the history books with 12 wickets on debut (although he did concede a world record 358 runs on the way). Australia has won in Nagpur – in the famous 2004 series – but that came at the old Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium, which was replaced in 2008 by a much more spin-friendly pitch.
After Nagpur is Delhi, where Nathan Lyon picked up 7-94 in the first innings back in 2013. But that tour is one the Aussies will mostly hope to forget, after a disastrous 4-0 whitewash. In fact, the Australians haven’t won in Delhi in 64 long years (when Richie Benaud’s side battered the hosts by an innings).
The incredibly picturesque Dharamsala is third on the schedule, before the teams travel to Ahmedabad and the Narendra Modi Stadium for the finale.
Australia has never played at the massive and recently-renovated stadium, which has hosted just two Tests so far – with 37 of India’s 40 wickets in those matches coming via spin.
The ground hosted a staggering 101,566 fans for the 2022 IPL Final but has a stated capacity of 132,000. A world record could well be broken if the series goes down to the wire.
SESSION TIMES (AEDT)
It’s prime time viewing for Aussie fans, with play between 3pm and 10pm AEDT, or 12pm to 7pm for WA fans.
Coin toss (day one): 2.30pm
First session: 3pm-5pm
Lunch: 5pm-5.40pm
Second session: 5.40pm-7.40pm
Tea: 7.40pm-8pm
Third session: 8pm-10pm
HOW TO WATCH
Watch every ball live on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports – with Kayo also providing coverage in Hindi this series!
Watch Australia’s Tour of India. Every Test & ODI live & ad-break free during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
SQUADS
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
India squad (first two Tests): Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
Will Hazlewood be fit for India Test? | 03:30
FOX SPORTS’ PREDICTIONS
Allan Border
Series result: Australia 2-1
Most runs: Steve Smith
Most wickets: Kuldeep Yadav
Player of the series: Steve Smith
Mark Howard
Series result: 2-2
Most runs: Steve Smith
Most wickets: Ravichandran Ashwin
Player of the series: Steve Smith
Adam Gilchrist
Series result: Australia 2-1
Most runs: Usman Khawaja
Most wickets: Pat Cummins
Player of the series: Pat Cummins
Kerry O’Keeffe
Series result: Australia 2-1
Most runs: Cheteshwar Pujara
Most wickets: Nathan Lyon
Player of the series: Nathan Lyon
Mark Waugh
Series result: 2-2
Most runs: Virat Kohli
Most wickets: Nathan Lyon
Player of the series: Virat Kohli
Green a chance of playing 1st test | 02:44
Michael Hussey
Series result: 2-2
Most runs: KL Rahul
Most wickets: Nathan Lyon
Player of the series: KL Rahul
Isa Guha
Series result: India 2-1
Most runs: Steve Smith
Most wickets: Axar Patel
Player of the series: Virat Kohli
Ian Smith
Series result: Australia 3-1
Most runs: Steve Smith
Most wickets: Nathan Lyon
Player of the series: Steve Smith
