All you need to know for the Test summer

When is it?

The four-match Domain Test Series starts Thursday, December 6, in Adelaide. This summer's Adelaide Test will be a day game, played with the red ball, after India declined to play a day-night match. The series then switches to Perth before the traditional Melbourne Boxing Day festival and Sydney's New Year's Test. Entry to the ground on the fifth day of all Test matches will be via gold coin donation.

Dec 6-10: First Test, Adelaide Oval

Dec 14-18: Second Test, Perth Stadium

Dec 26-30: Third Test, MCG

Jan 3-7: Fourth Test, SCG

How to watch on TV in Australia

This Test series marks the arrival of Test cricket on Channel Seven, the first time the network has ever broadcast the five-day format, and every day of the series will be on free-to-air television with a commentary team led by Ricky Ponting.

For fans with a subscription to Foxtel, the series will be broadcast on the dedicated Fox Cricket channel, with no ads during play. It will also be available in 4K definition for those with the necessary equipment. Fox boast a commentary team featuring Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Brett Lee. 

How to stream online in Australia

For online viewers, every ball will be streamed live through cricket.com.au and the CA Live app with a Kayo subscription. Available with a 14-day free trial, a Kayo subscription will give streaming access to every men's international Test, ODI and T20 played in Australia, every BBL match, all women's internationals on home soil and all 23 televised WBBL matches. It will also give access to more than 50 sports live and on demand across 180 competitions. A monthly subscription costs $25 per month.
For full details on the live streaming options, and a comprehensive FAQ, click here.

How to listen in Australia

If you can't watch or prefer listening to the radio, live coverage of the series will be provided by ABC Grandstand, Crocmedia and the Macquarie networks. The audio will be streamed via cricket.com.au and the CA Live app, or tune in through your local station.

How to follow from India

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be broadcast live by Sony Picture Networks India for the subcontinent audience. Fans from India will be able to view extensive clips and highlights online through the Cricket Network Facebook page, which can be accessed here.

Last time they met

The 2017 Border-Gavaskar Series was won 2-1 by India on their home soil in one of the most engrossing Test series in recent times. Australia entered the series heavy underdogs but stunned India by winning the opening Test by 333 runs in Pune. India hit back in Bangalore to level the series, and the Aussies gallantly held on to secure a draw in Ranchi, setting up a decider in the Himalayas. A second-innings collapse to spin saw India take the Dharamshala Test – and with it, the series.  

Steve Smith, then the Australia captain, hit three centuries in the series, while India counterpart Virat Kohli endured statistically the worst series of his career. But, a fair bit has happened in the 20 months since they last played Test cricket...

Recent history

The Australia-India rivalry has dined out on a feast of white-ball cricket most recently. India won a five-match ODI series on home soil last September 4-1, a result that returned India to the world No.1 ranking (a title they have since relinquished to England). The nations drew the T20 series that followed 1-1. And while Australian cricket underwent the seismic revolutions caused by the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal since, the current tour commenced with a three-match T20 series that was heavily affected by the rain and finished in another 1-1 draw.

Form guide: batsmen

No player in the world has more Test runs in 2018 than Virat Kohli, with the Indian captain having already amassed four centuries and a whopping 1063 runs this year at an imposing average of 59.05. Three of Kohli's four centuries so far in 2018 have come away from home – two against England and one against South Africa – and given his prolific scoring here on the last tour in 2014-15, it could mean there will be no bigger wicket for the Australian bowlers than the Indian skipper. 

For the Australians, Usman Khawaja looms as their key batter. His record on Australian soil is outstanding, and this year he's taken his game to a whole new level after ending the debate about his ability to dominate in foreign conditions, piling up big runs in the British county competition as well as against Pakistan in the UAE furnace. In seven Tests this calendar year he's scored 565 runs at 47.08. He's in such good form, the great Ricky Ponting tipped him to be the Player of the Series, and the leading run-scorer, which is more than a good enough endorsement for us.

Form guide: bowlers

Advantage Australia here, as you would expect in home conditions. The Adelaide Oval curator has confirmed he will prepare the Test pitch with the same amount of grass seen for the past three summers, despite those matches being day-night games with the pink Kookaburra. And while the batsmen from the subcontinent may be more worried about the quicks, they will do well not to underestimate Nathan Lyon. The off-spinner is Australia's leading wicket-taker over the past 12 months, with 44 scalps in 10 Tests and has taken his game to new heights.

India spinner Ravi Ashwin has traditionally struggled in Australia, but the side arrives on Aussie shores with arguably their best ever collection of fast bowlers. Mohammed Shami has 36 wickets from 10 Tests in the past 12 months at 29.05 while Jasprit Bumrah, who has only played six Tests, snared 28 wickets, split evenly with three Tests in each of South Africa and England. He boasts a yorker that is as impressive as his action is unusual. He's been a regular for India in the white-ball formats for the past couple of years and the key to India's success could be his ability to continue his breakout year in Test cricket.

The squads

Australia: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain

India: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Ricky Ponting's final word

There's no better tactical analyst of the game of cricket than former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. He'll be on the airwaves for Channel Seven throughout the summer and the man described as a "visionary" by Australia coach Justin Langer will again add his unique insights exclusively for the Cricket Network on every day of the Domain Test Series. Last year Ponting proved his tactical acumen by correctly predicting the Ashes series score line. This summer he's already named his preferred Australia XI and picked the series result. 

Domain Test Series v India

Dec 6-10: First Test, Adelaide Oval

Dec 14-18: Second Test, Perth Stadium

Dec 26-30: Third Test, MCG

Jan 3-7: Fourth Test, SCG

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar