India managed to keep the five-Test series level at 1-1 heading into the Boxing day Test in Melbourne, the fragility of their top order remains a major concern for the tourists.
Siraj, who bowled 185.3 overs in five Tests, ended with 23 wickets and his nine-for in the final Test at the Oval earned India a memorable series levelling six-run win over England.
Under Kohli's captaincy, India became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia, besides recording some memorable wins elsewhere.
Can Shubman Gill and his men rewrite the script once more? The answer begins unrolling on July 23.
Indian cricket fans celebrate historic win over Australia on Tuesday.
Elgar said he had told his side to play with courage and to push themselves to the limit, as South Africa go in search of a fourth consecutive series win on Australian soil.
From Rajkot's maidans to cricket's grandest arenas, Cheteshwar Pujara carved a niche as the bedrock of India's Test side. He is one of only 14 Indians to feature in more than 100 Tests, and his innings often defined India's most memorable triumphs.
Hayden shared his views on how to dismiss the Australian batters at Gabba.
Gavaskar emphasised that India shouldn't focus too far ahead on the target and should plan the chase according to the hours. He added that skipper Rohit Sharma's role in providing a solid start will be key.
Australia levelled the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-1 with a 10-wicket win in the day-night Test after losing the first Test at Perth by 295 runs.
Rishabh Pant on Tuesday surpassed the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni to become the fastest Indian wicket-keeper-batsman to reach the 1,000-run mark in Test cricket during the final Test against Australia at the Gabba on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.
Australia captain Pat Cummins is all but ruled out of the Champions Trophy while fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood is also a doubt for the tournament.
India now has 430 points while New Zealand, holding the second spot, has 420 points on the table.
Captain Rohit Sharma rates the seven-wicket victory in the Cape Town Test as one of India's 'best victories'.
With the second Test set to start on Wednesday, here is a quick fact check on how both teams stand at the Gabba.
Marnus Labuschagne believes India's memorable fourth innings run chase at the Gabba from 2021 is of little relevance heading into the final day of a gripping Boxing Day Test.
The Caribbean side will back themselves to spoil James Anderson's farewell Test after breaching Australia's fortress, The Gabba, earlier this year.
Australia have got a good record at Brisbane while India are yet to win a Test at the Gabba.
'It's no secret that during the Ashes we relied too heavily on Steve so the rest of our top seven are really keen to score a lot of runs'
West Indies pace sensation Shamar Joseph, who single-handedly won a Test against Australia last month, was on Saturday roped in by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for the upcoming IPL season as replacement for England's Mark Wood.
CWI also handed 25-year-old Barbados fast bowler Chemar Holder a franchise contract.
'Going into Brisbane, India need a tight strategy for Travis Head and they need to get Akash Deep in and maybe Ravindra Jadeja for Ashwin.'
Labuschagne said Australia were expecting a little more help from the fifth day pitch but credited India for hanging on for a remarkable draw.
'And I think Pat really hit that home. Let's be calm. Let's go do the basics really well and when our chance comes let's be ruthless.'
Pant said the win against Australia in the fourth Test is one of the biggest moments of his life.
'He pursued it, practised hard at it and continued to look for new things as his career progressed, to keep up with the times.'
Ajinkya Rahane's India have a mountain to climb, even if a draw would be enough to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy two years after their breakthrough 2-1 win in the 2018/19 series in Australia.
'It does not matter even if you are the world's best, because if you have tired legs, obviously you cannot execute your plans as well you would want to. So, it's great learning for workload management for all of us,' said India's fielding coach R Sridhar.
Can this Indian side, which has shown character and courage after the debacle in the first Test at Adelaide, stun the Aussies at their favourite hunting ground?
England paceman James Anderson raised concerns about potentially 'dangerous' short-pitched bowling at the tourists' tail-enders during the first Ashes Test, but his captain Joe Root said the lower order would just need to learn to 'deal with it'.
For Shastri, India's recent successes in Test cricket have often been defined by the stubbornness and resilience of the tail-enders.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins believes that the 2018-19 Test series loss to India was more hurtful than the 2020-21 debacle under his captaincy as the home team was simply outplayed in that engagement.
'There will be a lot of spice to the contest -- there is a reason India is the only team other than England against whom Australia is keen to play a five Test series.' 'I'll watch, as I suspect most fans will -- but this one time, I'll watch with considerable trepidation and, from a fan's point of view, with the hope that the team finds its feet and that right quick,' notes the distinguished cricket commentator Prem Panicker.
Despite the overcast conditions seemingly favouring the bowlers, the decision proved to be a gamble that didn't pay off immediately.
Ravi Shastri, who knows a thing or two about winning Test rubbers in Australia, on Thursday asked India skipper Rohit Sharma
Nikhil Chopra said that India must execute the plans they make during the upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in order to win the series.
Shubman Gill says the need to put up a big first innings total has been the talking point among his team's batters
Travis Head was a notable absentee in Australia's net session on Monday
'We were not thinking about a series win because we were just bowled out for 36.' 'The mood in the dressing room was a bit down. Ravi Bhai organised a team dinner. He arranged for karaoke, he started singing. He sang old Hindi songs. Everybody joined in.'
'I think the way he goes about his aggressive nature and his work ethic would make him very enjoyable to play with.'
