Few things other than prawns travel worse than the Indian Test team.
On Tuesday it launches its four-Test campaign for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the verdant Adelaide Oval.
The current squad will be looking to achieve something that each of its predecessors could not – a series win on Australian soil.
This encounter marks the 11th between the two countries in Australia, and the host has won all bar three of the previous series with the remainder drawn.
Touring Indian teams have won just five of the 40 Tests played with Australia, celebrating victory 26 times. The closest India have come to a series win in the past 20 years was in the summer of 2003-04 when it levelled the four Tests at one-all.
The tourists’ prospects were greatly bolstered that summer with neither Glenn McGrath nor Shane Warne taking any part.
The last visit in 2011-12 resulted in a 4-0 whitewash, despite the touring party including names like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman. Is there much prospect of this current Indian squad performing any better?
While Test matches are not played on paper it is nonetheless worthwhile reflecting on the statistics of the current Indian side.
The batting contains some exciting talents but the big question that hangs over them is whether they can replicate their performances on the docile Indian pitches in Australia.
There is no denying the ability of stand-in skipper Virat Kohli. We saw it first-hand on the last tour when he peeled off a classy 116 in the fourth Test at Adelaide. However, four years hence he has failed to fully deliver in long-form cricket.
While boasting an ODI average of 52.6 after 146 matches that have included 21 centuries, his 29-Test career average sits at a disappointing 39.4. He is coming off a woeful tour of England where he averaged just 13.4 across the five Tests.
If ever a man did not need the added burden of captaincy it is Kohli.
Like most of his top-order companions the difference between his average both home and away makes for troubling reading if you are an Indian fan. At home Kohli averages 51, yet on the road that number drops alarmingly to 33.
Opener Murali Vijay has played 27 Tests with a home soil average of 52 as opposed to a travelling mark of 28. Cheteshwar Pujara has scored six centuries in his 24 Tests but there is a chasm of Grand Canyon proportions between his home-and-away averages – 75 versus 28.
Shikhar Dhawan burst onto the scene against Australia last year with a dashing 187 on debut at Mohali. To date the classy left-hander has played 10 Tests for a home average of 81 and an away average of 29.
Rohit Sharma – who recently blasted a world record ODI score of 264 – has played just seven Tests but you would hope that his early form is not a precursor of things to come. His two home matches have seen him average 288 while his five on the road have averaged 22.
Regular captain MS Dhoni will miss the opening Test as he recovers from a broken thumb, however when he does return he will do so with a seven-Test average in Australia of a mere 18.7, having scored one fifty in 14 previous innings.
For India to have any real prospect this summer its batsmen must step up.
In their favour is that the re-scheduled series now starts in Adelaide on a drop-in pitch and not on the more pace conducive Gabba deck. The tourists will unleash on Australia the quickest bowling armoury it has yet brought Down Under.
The pace trio for Adelaide will be Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Varun Aaron. Sharma is somewhat of an enigma. At his best he can be an out-and-out match winner but sadly the gap between his best and worst performances has been far too great.
The 26-year-old is the undisputed leader of the attack this time around with 58 Tests and 178 wickets under his belt. Ishant’s career average of 36.7 does not, however, instil great confidence that he will lead by example in this series.
His seven previous Tests in Australia yielded only 11 wickets at an average of 73.5. If he does not dramatically reduce that mark during this series India will be in for considerable pain.
His two support acts are both raw at Test level.
Shami has played nine Tests since debuting in Kolkata against the West Indies a year ago. His first two Tests against the Windies produced 11 wickets at 16.5 but his subsequent seven Tests on the road against South Africa, New Zealand and England have produced 21 wickets at 46.7.
He possesses genuine pace but not in the same league as Aaron who has been clocked at 153km/h in first-class ranks in India. Recurrent back injuries have cruelled him of late, hence he will play just his fourth Test at Adelaide despite having debuted in November 2011.
If everything falls into place for him he could be the x-factor that India so desperately needs.
The side’s most consistent quick, Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 28 wickets at 30.2 in 11 Tests – will miss the first two Tests with an ankle injury. Off-spinning all-rounder Ravi Ashwin can expect plenty of overs this summer if his quicks cannot curtail Australia’s batting.
He is a more than useful bowler – 107 wickets at 28.6 from 21 matches – however finger-spinners have often found the going tough on Australian pitches as his nine wickets in three previous Tests at 62.8 would attest.
India will take on an emotionally scarred Australian XI at Adelaide. Just how badly the death of Phillip Hughes’ will affect the team out in the middle may not be immediately apparent.
However, if the team can overcome its collective grief and play the quality of cricket it is capable of – and do so in a manner to honour their fallen teammate – it is hard to see India breaking its duck on Australian soil, or for that matter, getting close to a series win.
satish
Guest
I will be more clear this time about the context. when you won in india in 2004 , how many years had passed since your previous series win ? that's what I meant
Harish
Guest
Actually there is- an Australian team to India.
Statistic Skeptic
Guest
Harris got 7/118 in a Shield game vs NSW in Brisbane back on 16-19 Nov.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Australia still very rarely lose series at home.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Probably the tight schedules reducing the number and quality of warm-up games has a lot to do with the reduction in away series wins in recent times.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I thought before this test that Warner and Clarke would probably come out and score hundreds with this extra focus and determination pushed on by the memory of Phil Hughes. Warner is well on the way and Clarke is still in, so it's certainly a possibility. The issue may well be the come down. They may come into this test using the emotion to drive them on to great things and do really well, and then head to the Gabba absolutely emotionally exhausted and struggle to play up to their full potential. In some ways, the re-arranged series then might work for them. If they ride the power of "playing for Phil" at the one test venue most likely to suit India and then the venue they are a bit flat at is the one that suits Australia the best, and thus helps them get away with it, then it could work out a good re-arrangement for Australia after all.
Clint
Guest
Better make that 10 years since a test series win in India. http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia/engine/series/60769.html And you can nearly cut the Pakistan figure in half too...
Don Freo
Guest
You've still got half a cup to drink...it's not half empty...you've got stacks left. Marsh is in very good form with the bat. See, there's more water in the glass already. Soon they will have only lost half of the last 6 series they have played...or, better still, be on an unbeaten streak of one.
Silver Sovereign
Roar Rookie
Australia have lost 3 of the past 5 series, have players under injury clouds, no match practice and only 2 form batsmen(Smith and Warner). The Indians have at least had some practice. I certainly think it will be closer than most predict
Worlds Biggest
Guest
The Aussies must bounce back strongly after the UAE Tour. Apart from a fantastic series win in South Africa earlier in the year the Aussies have struggled mightily abroad the last couple of years. Not many teams seem to travel well these days. Good to have the cricket back on.
Sideline Comm.
Guest
If there is a coin toss you don't want to lose in Australia, it's in Adelaide. Agree it will be very close if India bat first and score fairly well.
Don Freo
Guest
This could also be the series where Aussie fans recognise Mitch Marsh will be a genuine top order batsman...not just an all rounder. The story of the series.
satish
Guest
Batting is our strength. our batting had accomplished a lot of good things abroad, though they have fail on certain occasions.Even now the potential is there. Traditionally we have lacked fast bowlers who average under 30 for an overseas series.
Don Freo
Guest
It is just as likely that freshness will work in their favour.
satish
Guest
aren't you forgetting your record in the SC? when you won in india last time, it was 30 years. When you last won in Pakistan, again it was more than 30 years. its just alien conditions. only the strongest experienced team can win in alien conditions or even be competitive. lack of great fast bowlers is the difference between us. we started winning overseas in the last decade only after lots of experience and failures. its another cycle now with a new bunch of guys.
Don
Roar Rookie
You make a good point with Harris Tim. I can't see him playing 4 tests so close together with such limited preparation. Sure he has has a couple of games but before than he had done no bowling at all for about 6 months. We also need to nurse him through this Summer and keep him fit for the return bout with England away. He is critical to winning the Ashes over there. I'd be tempted to rest him for the Gabba test and trot him back out on Boxing Day. The Gabba will aid most fast bowlers and would provide a chance to give another quick a go. If the new bowler does well and Siddle struggles in Adelaide and Brisbane, then you know who to drop for Melbourne to make way for Harris. And let me add, I am not an advocate for the "player management" that hapened under Mickey Arthur. I just think Harris may need to be told in advance what we want to do with him or he will bowl himself into the ground. Tough as he is, we need him for another year.
Davo
Guest
Actually the Australian cricket team travel pretty badly too! Still, India to lose 4-nil. They don't care about the tests, they are here to acclimatise for the World Cup. Pretty smart strategy. Kohli estimated net worth in 2014 are $15M USD (according to Forbes); and Dhoni is $120M USD. I simply don't think that tests overseas matter. But to win the World Cup, back to back? That would boost the players' bank accounts through the roof!
Monday's Expert
Guest
" Few things other than prawns travel worse than the Indian Test team." - Hehehehe, thanks for the chuckle Glenn.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
It's hard to disagree but I'll give it a crack in the hope of an exciting series. India's bats will have to fight like never before. Road Warriors they aint, although they don't mind batting on a road. I prefer Big Umesh to join Ishant ( bowl too short! ) Sharma and Aaron. No one likes quick bowling delivered well. Ashwin has a big job. As above Australia have some positively ancient players, injury clouds and form issues. Intrigued to see how Mitch Marsh will go at six. Big ask of him. If he plays all 4 I'll be amazed but good luck all the same. Australia collapsed in a heap several times last summer to be save by old Brad. India have to find away through quickly but I expect them to take wickets consistantly. Whether their bats can be competive is the big question mark.
Brian
Guest
momentum will be key. If india win the toss bat first and score big it will be close. Otherwise australia will bat first score big put the pressure on and win 3-0 or 4-0.