Aussies look to overturn decade of disappointment against India

Over the past decade, Australia's men's cricket team has won three World Cups (two ODI and a T20), a World Test Championship, twice defended the Ashes they reclaimed in 2017-18 and been ascendant in bilateral campaigns across all formats against most comers.

The glaring exception to that gilded resumé since the home summer of 2014-15 is a Test series triumph over India who have emerged victorious in the past four multi-match meetings between the teams.

Australia's only tangible success over that time was the one-off World Test Championship final in London last year, but the reality remains a majority of their current dressing room has yet to celebrate lifting the perpetual Border-Gavaskar Trophy,

For an outfit that has experienced so much winning, it seems remarkable that long-term members Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Alex Carey – as well as newcomer Nathan McSweeney – have never celebrated a Test series win against their most competitive rival.

Perhaps the most noteworthy element among that cohort is that skipper Cummins – who oversaw last year's Test Championship-World Cup double against India – has been involved in just three victories from his 13 Test appearances against the same opponent.

As members of the team that triumphed in the home campaigns of 2010-11 and again in 2014-15, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc are the only current players to have known that feeling more than once.

Having taken over from injured Michael Clarke after the first Test a decade ago, Steve Smith can add the fact he was trophy-winning skipper against India to his impressive CV.

Mitchell Marsh had begun his Test career in the UAE immediately prior to the 2014-15 India tour and took part in the first two Tests at Adelaide and Brisbane.

And Josh Hazlewood made his debut in the latter of those games, and still harbours painful memories of his initiation.

"I still remember my first series when we did win two-nil," Hazlewood said today following Australia's main training session ahead of Friday's series opener at Perth Stadium.

"I played three of those matches and they were really flat wickets, and I bowled (almost) 50 overs in all those games.

"I just remember being really sore and tired at the end of that series, and I was like 'geez, we earned that two-nil'.

"That was tough.

"I think it's going to be nothing different here."

So arduous was Hazlewood's inaugural outing in a Baggy Green Cap amid the sapping humidity of Brisbane's second Test of that summer, he succumbed to full body cramps and was forced from the field late on day one as Australia deployed eight bowlers.

A key reason for that painful workload, and a pivotal factor in India's 2-1 triumphs in Australia in preceding four-Test campaigns of 2018-19 and 2020-21, was top-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara.

The obdurate Indian faced an unsurpassed total of 3,609 deliveries (more than 600 overs) sent down by Australia's bowlers over the past decade.

As a result, Hazlewood was greatly relieved Pujara – who last month scored 234 for Saurashtra against Chhattisgarh in India's domestic Ranji Trophy competition – will only be involved as a commentator during this summer's Tests.

"I'm pretty happy that Puj (Pujara) isn't here," Hazlewood said today.

"He's one that bats time and you really earn his wicket every time, and has done really well in Australia on all his tours.

"There's always young fresh guys coming into the Indian team, and they're under so much pressure to perform with so many guys nipping at their heels all the time.

"Whoever they pick in that eleven, they're unbelievable players."

Indeed, India's team for this five-Test NRMA Insurance series has undergone even more radical change than their hosts.

Former skipper Virat Kohli, current captain Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and KL Rahul the only members of the current touring party to have experienced a series loss to Australia.

The fact Rohit will miss at least the opening match at Perth, and fellow top-order batter Shubman Gill has been ruled out with a thumb fracture, means the India top-order will be less recognisable than Australia had foreseen.

It is expected Kohli, recalled opener Rahul and star of the 2020-21 triumph, keeper Rishabh Pant, will be joined by Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and reserve keeper Dhruv Jurel – none of whom have previously played against Australia – in a revamped XI.

"There's a few little unknowns in the batting order I guess," Hazlewood said.

"So we've had to go through a few players there in the bowlers' meeting, and I guess we find out on Friday who's playing.

'Any time you disrupt the top six it's a bit of an issue, but I think the amount of talent in the Indian squad is quite unbelievable.

"The depth is phenomenal, better than any other country in the world really so whoever comes in has earned their stripes and no doubt will do well.

"We've played a lot against India, particularly the senior players like Virat.

"He's done well here in the past, so we've learned from that and will have some plans but it doesn't often stray away from top of off, so we'll stick to that as best as we can in these conditions if there's a little bit there for us."

From Hazlewood's perspective, starting the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign at Perth Stadium - where Australia are unbeaten in four Test starts including their only win of the 2018-19 summer – is ideal.

Stadium curator Isaac McDonald today foreshadowed a pitch with traditional pace and bounce but unlikely to exhibit the extreme cracking seen in last year's match against Pakistan due to Perth's damp and overcast weather of recent days.

And while their recent Test record in Australia is the envy of all touring teams, India's sole triumph in Perth since their first visit in 1977 came in 2008 at the WACA Ground.

It's a small but pertinent factor that will boost Australia's belief they can reverse a decade of disappointment since they last lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2014-15.

"I know there's a lot of guys in the shed that have never beaten India in a Test series," Hazlewood said.

"Obviously we've beaten them in a World Test Championship (final) in England, but there's only a couple of us from that series we won 2-0 way back in 2014.

"So everyone's really determined.

"If you win a series against India in any part of the world you know you've earned it, so it's definitely right up there.

"This is one we need to tick off as a group."

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: November 22-26: Perth Stadium, 1.20pm AEDT

Second Test: December 6-10: Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (D/N)

Third Test: December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane, 11.20am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed