All you need to know: India v Australia Test match

It is a contest almost 40 years in the making as India host Australia in a one-off Test at Wankhede Stadium in the first leg of a multi-format series.

The Test will be followed by three ODIs and three T20Is, with all games to be played across two venues in Mumbai.

Match facts   

Who: India v Australia 

What: A one-off Test match 

When: 21 December – 24 December 2023 

Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 

How to watch in Australia: Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports 

Live scores: Match Centre 

Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live app, the Scoop Podcast   

Session times: First session: 9.30am-11.30am (3pm-5pm AEDT) | Second session: 12.10pm-2.10pm (5.40pm-7.40pm) | Third session: 2.30pm-4.30pm (8pm-10pm)

The Squads 

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar

The red-ball encounter marks Alyssa Healy's first assignment as full-time Australian captain following Meg Lanning's retirement from international cricket. She leads a strong 15-player squad for the Test leg of the tour, but of those only 13 are in contention for selection for the match at the Wankhede. Heather Graham was a late arrival in India and looks to be setting herself for the white-ball legs, while Megan Schutt only touched down on December 20. Lauren Cheatle is the sole uncapped player among those vying for a spot in the Test XI.

India are full of confidence following a crushing 347-run win over England in their first Test on home soil since 2014. Jemimah Rodrigues was among those to shine in her red-ball debut.

Local knowledge

No player from either team has ever played a Test at the Wankhede. Australia have not played a Test match in India since 1984, but India have very recent intel, having met England at nearby DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai just days ago.

Much like DY, conditions at the Wankhede are expected to be increasingly spin-friendly as the pitch deteriorates across the scheduled four days.

Recent form

This is an extremely rare instance in women's Tests where both teams go into the game having won their previous match in the format. In fact, it is the just the second time this is happened across almost 90 years of women's Test cricket, and the first time both of those victories have occurred in the same year as the upcoming match.

India will be buoyant following their crushing victory over England last week, a win that came in just two days and one session.

Australia meanwhile claimed an 88-run win over England in the sole Ashes Test at Trent Bridge back in June.

Alyssa Healy's team got a taste of the conditions at Wankhede on Sunday when they met a Mumbai XI in a 50-over-a-side red-ball practice match. 

The injury ward

Healy is on track to lead Australia on Thursday as she continues her recovery from the freak dog bite to her index finger that ended her Weber WBBL|09 season in October. The Australian skipper hit an unbeaten fifty in the warm-up game at the Wankhede and while she did not keep in the fixture, with Beth Mooney instead taking the gloves, it was a cautionary measure as part of Healy's staged return to full fitness.

India have an injury cloud hanging over top-order batter Shubha Satheesh, who reportedly sustained a hairline fracture to a finger on her left hand during the Test against England. 

Satheesh was outstanding on debut in the first innings at DY Patil, hitting 69, but did not bat in the second innings after sustaining the injury in the field. 

Last time they met 

October 2021 was the most recent Test between these two nations, when India toured Australia in the midst of various COVID bubbles and lockdowns. The only Test of that series was a day-night affair played at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast. India could claim to have held the ascendancy for much of that game, but heavy rain across the opening two days meant it ended in a draw.

That match in itself was notable as the first Test between the nations in 15 years.

Head-to-head in Tests

Overall: Australia 4 wins, India 0 wins, 10 draws 

The playing conditions

Unlike the five-day Ashes Test in Nottingham, this match will be staged across four days, as has historically been the norm for women's red-ball internationals. 

This means there will be a minimum of 100 overs bowled per day, rather than the 90 that is standard in a five-day Test.

A women-sized SG brand of ball will be used and the Decision Review System will be available.

The multi-format tour

Australia and India will go head-to-head across one Test, three ODIs and three T20Is - but unlike the last multi-format tour of Australia in 2021, it will NOT be points-based and the teams are not playing for the ‘India/Australia series trophy’.

Australia had claimed the first-ever multi-format series between the rivals 11-5 on home soil in October 2021.

CommBank tour of India

December 21-24: Test match, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

December 28: First ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

December 30: Second ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

January 2: Third ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

January 5: First T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

January 7: Second T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

January 9: Third T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar