They have looked more comfortable setting targets than chasing one though, and they will expect more penetration from their bowlers against a resurgent Australia.
Steve Smith scored an unbeaten 85 to guide Australia to 339/5 as England wasted favourable bowling conditions on the first day of the second Ashes Test.
Spin great Ravichandran Ashwin says New Zealand, despite the absence of the long-serving pace duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who have quit playing the 50-over format, will pose a challenge to India.
Usman Khawaja smashed the first century by an Australia batter in the current series against India to steer the tourists to 255/4 after the opening day of the fourth and final Test.
Steve Smith was struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer in the first innings at Lords and was replaced by 'concussion sub' Marnus Labuschagne for the second innings.
India will be hoping to repeat their success of two years ago when they registered their first-ever Test series win in Australia, while the hosts would be keen to avenge that loss.
Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith struck half-centuries as Australia beat Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling finish to the rain-affected first One-Day International on Tuesday for a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Ravichandran Ashwin tore through Australia in their second innings to set up a comprehensive victory for India by an innings and 132 runs inside three days of the spin-dominated opening Test.
Rohit is on a paternity break and will miss the series-opener. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is captaining the Indian team in his absence.
Pakistan's experienced wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed laid out the team's plans to ruin Australia's star batter David Warner's farewell Test series.
Ravi Shastri, who knows a thing or two about winning Test rubbers in Australia, on Thursday asked India skipper Rohit Sharma
Ravichandran Ashwin has maintained the top spot among bowlers
Matthew Short has also been called up as an extra batter while Travis Head recovers from a fracture to his left hand.
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon finally clinched his long-awaited 400th Test wicket on Saturday when he dismissed Dawid Malan in his second over on the morning of Day 4 of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.
Images from Day 3 of the second Ashes between England and Australia at Lord's.
ICC rejected Khawaja's application to have a sticker showing a black dove holding an olive branch on his bat and shoes during the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan.
At the end of the first day of play, it is the home side that is firmly in control, and India that is now reduced to chasing the game.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between Australia and India in Perth on Sunday.
The Australians still managed to score at a fair pace and will resume on Monday on 77-4 with Mitch Marsh, who was 27 not out, and Travis Head, unbeaten on 17, looking to cut deeper into their 279-run victory target.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has smashed 655 runs in four Tests against England with two fifties and as many centuries.
Images from Day 1 of the 'Pink-ball' second Test between Australia and India in Adelaide on Friday.
Images from the second ODI between England and Australia, at Old Trafford in Manchester, on Sunday
Steve Smith and fast bowler Mitchell Starc have been ruled out of the white-ball series in South Africa through injuries.
'Bazball' refers to the risk-taking style of play adopted by the England team under Test coach Brendon McCullum.
Images from Day 4 of the first Test between Australia and India in Perth on Monday.
Top order batsman Usman Khawaja has been omitted from Australia's annual list of 20 elite, contracted players in 2020 after falling out of favour with selectors midway through last year's Ashes. The 33-year-old lefthander has not played for the Test side since being dropped after the third match against England in Leeds last August.
From a bowler's paradise on Day 1 to a batting haven on Day 2, the Perth pitch has defied expectations.
Australia's mouthwatering clash with India sees the two behemoths of the modern game go head-to-head in five tests over six weeks with the tourists eyeing a third straight series triumph Down Under.
Giving the 'social challenge' a new twist, the International Cricket Council called Australian batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne a duplicate of his team-mate Steve Smith. ICC used three different photos of Steve Smith indicating different profile pictures for Linkedin, Facebook, and Instagram. However, they replaced his Twitter picture with a duplicate account and used Labuschagne's photo to denote it, terming it as 'duplicate account'.
Australia's Marnus Labuschange struck another half century to pile on the runs and the misery over New Zealand on Day 3 of the day-night Test in Perth on Saturday. Earlier, Starc picked a five-wicket haul.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Australia have named the following 17-man squad for the five-Test Ashes series against England, which begins at Edgbaston on Aug. 1.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand in Perth on Friday
Australia were 126/3 at stumps on Day 1 of the 4th Ashes Test against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Images from Day 2 of the third Test between Australia and India, at the SCG, on Friday.
'A year ago, if you told me we were coming here I would have been very confident, they were struggling a fair bit, the batting looked like they weren't really sure how to go about it.'
'(Bumrah) is so unique, and that's with any of the bowlers, really. Every (batter) picks up different cues and goes about it in a different way.'
Akash Deep reveals how Virat Kohli offered him one of his bats -- a bat that scripted a rare happy memory during India's otherwise devastating tour of Australia.
Jadeja took 5 for 47 on his international comeback with the prized scalps of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith
Images from Day 4 of the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Monday.
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