India Vs Australia Test Series: Schedule, Squads, Venues, TV Information

Bengaluru, Feb 15: India and Australia will face off in a 4-Test series starting in Pune from February 23. The teams will battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Smith warns Indian team of 'verbal battles'

It will also be a personal battle between two of the best batsmen at the moment - Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. Both are captains and will be aiming to make a huge impact on the series.

Kohli is in terrific form with a record of 4 double tons in successive series. He described the Tests against Australia as "big series".

Here is your complete guide to the series

Current Rankings (As on February 15, 2017)

Team Rankings - India (1) 121 Rating Points; Australia (2) 109 Rating Points

Player Rankings

Batting - Steve Smith (1); Virat Kohli (2); David Warner (5); Cheteshwar Pujara (9)

Bowling - R Ashwin (1); Ravindra Jadeja (2); Josh Hazlewood (3); Mitchell Starc (10)

All-rounders - Ashwin (1); Jadeja (3); Starc (7); Hazlewood (15)

Squads

India (For opening 2 Tests): 1. Virat Kohli (captain), 2. Murali Vijay, 3. KL. Rahul, 4. Cheteshwar Pujara, 5. Ajinkya Rahane, 6. Karun Nair, 7. Wriddihiman Saha (wicketkeeper), 8. Ravichandran Ashwin, 9. Ravindra Jadeja, 10. Jayant Yadav, 11. Umesh Yadav, 12. Ishant Sharma, 13. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 14. Kuldeep Yadav, 15. Abhinav Mukund, 16. Hardik Pandya.

For the last 2 Tests, Pandya was left out of the squad

Australia: 1. Steve Smith (captain), 2. David Warner, 3. Ashton Agar, 4. Jackson Bird, 5. Peter Handscomb, 6. Josh Hazlewood, 7. Usman Khawaja, 8. Nathan Lyon, 9. Mitchell Marsh (withdrawn), 10. Shaun Marsh, 11. Glenn Maxwell, 12. Steve O'Keefe, 13. Matthew Renshaw, 14. Mitchell Starc (withdrawn), 15. Mitchell Swepson, 16. Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper). 17. Marcus Stoinis. 18. Pat Cummins.

Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Starc were injured after the 2nd Test and ruled out of the series. Marcus Stoinis came in for Marsh. Pat Cummins replaced Starc.

The Schedule

All matches start at 9.30 AM IST

1st Test - February 23-27 (Thursday to Monday) - Pune (Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium) - Australia won by 333 runs

2nd Test - March 4-8 (Saturday to Tuesday) - Bengaluru (M Chinnaswamy Stadium) - India won by 75 runs

3rd Test - March 16-20 (Thursday to Monday) - Ranchi (JSCA Stadium) - Draw

4th Test - March 25-29 (Saturday to Wednesday) - Dharamsala (HPCA Stadium)

What happened in the last series between the two sides?

Australia won the 4-Test rubber 2-0 at home in 2014-15. It was the last Test series for Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He retired from the five-day format after the 3rd match in Melbourne.

What happened when Australia toured India last time?

India, under the leadership of Dhoni, whitewashed Australia 4-0 in 2013.

When was the last time Australia won a Test series in India?

Australia's last Test series win in India was in 2004. During that tour, they claimed the 4-match rubber 2-1, after 35 years, under Adam Gilchrist (Led in 1st 3 Tests) and Ricky Ponting's captaincy.

Umpires and Match Referees

1st Test - On-field: Nigel Llong and Richard Kettleborough; TV umpire: Richard Illingworth; Match referee: Chris Broad (all officials from England)

2nd Test - Onfield: Illingworth and Llong; TV umpire: Kettleborough; Match referee: Broad

3rd Test - On-field: Ian Gould (England) and Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand); TV umpire: Llong; Match referee: Richie Richardson (West Indies)

4th Test - On-field: Marais Erasmus (South Africa) and Gould; TV umpire: Gaffaney; Match referee: Richardson

All Tests LIVE on Star Sports TV Network. LIVE streaming on Hotstar

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