There is something to be said for making the most of home advantage—few international teams do not do it—though India will be wary of their own travails against the turning ball when the first of four Tests against Cummins’s men gets underway today. In Rohit Sharma’s maiden home Test against the Aussies in the city of his birth, India can ill afford to be below their twinkled-toed best, though their hopes have taken a bit of a beating through the absence (at least for this game) of Shreyas Iyer and (for the foreseeable future) of Rishabh Pant, two of their most felicitous players of spin.

The onus, therefore, will be more on Rohit, his deputy KL Rahul and the established duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli than ever before. The lack of Test match familiarity in the middle-order—irrespective of whether Shubman Gill or Suryakumar Yadav joins debutant wicketkeeper KS Bharat—is offset by the all-round prowess of at least three of India’s four specialist spinners, but it’s the top four that must set the tone if India are to negate the pace threat of Cummins and Scott Boland, and the class of offie Nathan Lyon, easily the undisputed ace in the Australian spin pack.

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Australia’s top order is decidedly bereft of Test experience in India, with only David Warner (not very successfully) and Smith having played here before. They have been further incapacitated by the unavailability for this game of Cameron Green, as well as speed merchants Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. They did play Tests in Sri Lanka and Pakistan last year, but have won only one series in India in the last 52 years, poor returns for a side that prides itself on its competitiveness in all conditions. 

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Rohit: Have to play on whatever wickets are provided to us

Well before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, the visiting Australians and their peers have been constantly talking about spin-friendly pitches that the Indians are expected to prepare for the four Tests, calling them doctored wickets. On Wednesday, India skipper Rohit Sharma dismissed all talk about pitches tailor-made for the Indian spinners. “Doctored wicket? I just feel that we have got to focus on the cricket that is going to be played over the next five days. Do not worry too much about the pitch,” he said in the pre-game press conference.