It's been more than a decade since India lost a Test series at home - they had lost to England 1-2 in 2012.
Cheteshwar Pujara still feels the sting of last year's drubbing in New Zealand but the batsman says India will be a different proposition when the sides clash again at the neutral venue of Southampton in next month's World Test Championship final.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against New Zealand, starting on Thursday?
'To be fair to curators, they hardly got time to prepare the wicket. They had a Ranji season here and it was pretty late that it was decided the game will be shifted from Dharamsala. They did not get enough time.'
India go into the third Test of the series in Sydney starting January 7 at 0500 IST.
The last time Pujara featured in the lucrative T20 league was for Kings XI Punjab, now re-christened Punjab Kings, in 2014.
Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur in the nets.
Sheldon Jackson top-scored for Saurashtra with a 44-ball 64 as they overcame a late challenge from Kerala to win by nine runs and set up a last eight clash against Mumbai.
It remains to be seen if Rishabh Pant retains his place in the team after his shocking dismissal at a crucial stage in the second innings of the second Test.
Cheteshwar Pujara strongly believes in old adage 'form is temporary but class is permanent' and said it holds true for him and Ajinkya Rahane as their fluent half-centuries kept India in the hunt for a win in the second Test.
At stumps on Day 3, India were 125/3 in their second innings to extend their lead to 257 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara (50 not out) hitting a gutsy half-century.
'We will be quarantining for that much time.'
Australia appealed for a catch off Cheteshwar Pujara's inside edge at short leg by Matthew Wade, off the bowling of Nathan Lyon, which was turned down by umpire Wilson following which the hosts opted to take the review.
The Australians 'swept' their way to self-destruction in the face of the Indian spinners' guile in the second Test in Delhi on Sunday.
Images from Day 3 of the third Test between England and India, at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
India captain KL Rahul admitted that his team was made to really work hard by Bangladesh to register a comprehensive 188-run win in the first Test of the two-match series in Chattogram on Sunday.
India will be without captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli, who decided to skip the first of the two Tests, while batter Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will miss both matches.
Veteran England pacer James Anderson on Thursday equalled Indian spin legend Anil Kumble's tally of 619 Test wickets during the ongoing first Test against India in Nottingham.
Middle-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara threw light on the fitness of skipper Virat Kohli, who missed the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg due to back spasms, saying he is getting better.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja dominated with the ball for India while Virat Kohli ended his long wait for a Test century.
India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara hit the nets after more than three months as he resumed his cricket training along with his Saurashtra team mates in Rajkot. Captain Jaydev Unadakat, who led Saurashtra to their maiden Ranji Trophy, is also part of the training session along with his other team mates batsman Arpit Vasavada and medium pacer Prerak Mankad at Pujara's academy, located in the outskirts of Rajkot.
The BCCI is trying to work out the logistics to smoothly transfer the squad from one bio-bubble in the UAE to another in Australia where they might have to go for a two-week quarantine unless the rules are relaxed.
Opener Mayank Agarwal hit a gritty hundred to rescue India after New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel had put them in a spot of bother with three quick wickets on the weather-hit first day of the second and final Test, at the Wankhede stadium, in Mumbai, on Friday.
In recent years, India's batters have struggled against spin.
Images from Day 1 of the 2nd Test between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede in Mumbai on Friday.
New Zealand's three-pronged attack could spell trouble for India on a spiced-up track and Will Somerville, who played a gutsy knock in Kanpur, might have to sit out.
A look at Team India's nets session in Kanpur on Tuesday.
Controversial keeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who has been dropped from the Test team, will still earn Rs 1 crore in annual income after being demoted from group B to C.
Becomes first batter to face most balls against Australia in the last decade.
Paine admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by David Boon
Cheteshwar Pujara has so far played 77 Tests, scoring 5840 runs with 18 hundreds.
Rajneesh Gupta presents a detailed statistical analysis on the struggles of Rahane and Pujara since 2020.
The Indian team kicked off final preparations for the third Test against Australia with a gruelling practice session at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
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Pace bowler Prasidh Krishna has been added to India's squad for the fourth Test against England at The Oval, starting on Thursday.
'If it was up to me, Dubai would always host a one off match like this WTC game. Neutral venue, fabulous stadium, guaranteed weather, excellent training facilities and a travel hub!' KP tweeted.
Stand-in skipper KL Rahul admitted that India missed the services of Kuldeep Yadav in the second innings of the second and final Test against Bangladesh.
India's stand-in skipper KL Rahul also reserved praise for Shardul Thakur, who put an all-round performance in the game including a seven-wicket haul in the first innings.
With an eye on the gruelling Australia series that follows the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, the Indian Tests specialists including Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari have begun preparations for the pink ball Test against Australia at the ICC Academy in Dubai, from Friday evening.
