What

The fourth and final Test of the four-match series between Australia and India

When

January 24-28, 2012. The game begins at 5:30 am, IST.

Where

The Adelaide Oval, Adelaide. India will draw heart from the fact that in the last two instances that they have played here against Australia, they have managed a win (2003) and a draw (2008). Also, the Adelaide wicket is traditionally known to favour batsmen and so it is perhaps the best place for the beleaguered Indian batting line-up to finally come good.

The Teams

Chairman of the Australian selection panel John Inverarity had indicated early last week that Nathan Lyon was likely to replace one of the four pacers from the Perth Test. Confirmation came in this morning with Australia opting to replace Mitchell Starc with Lyon in the playing eleven. The offspinner will be desperate to come good at Adelaide given that he has only two wickets to show for the 50.5 overs he bowled in the first two Tests.

Besides Lyon, Shaun Marsh, who registered another poor score at Perth (11), will be under immense pressure to perform in order to retain his place in the Australian side.

In addition to their batting woes this Australian summer, the visitors also have to cope with the absence of MS Dhoni who faces a one-match suspension due to the slow over-rate maintained by his side at Perth. That would mean Virender Sehwag steps into the skipper’s role in what would be only the fourth instance of the opening batsman taking charge of the team’s fortunes. Wriddhiman Saha, the stand-in wicketkeeper-batsman, will similarly make only his second Test appearance for India in place of Dhoni.

Then there is the matter of team composition. After the four-man pace attack didn’t exactly perform to expectations in Perth, it is widely anticipated that offspinner R Ashwin will come back into the side in place of R Vinay Kumar. Doubts also remain about whether the Indians will stick with VVS Laxman or give Rohit Sharma a break in this Test. However, with Dhoni not available, the Indians might take the more prudent step of persisting with the more experienced Laxman.

Key players

David Warner smashed the fastest century by an opener in Test cricket en route to his innings of 180 at Perth. The Australian opener now has two centuries from five Test appearances. Should he give Australia another blustery start, the hosts might well be on their way to wrapping up the series 4-0.

Virat Kohli has gained confidence steadily as this series has progressed. His twin innings of 44 and 75 at the WACA were in remarkable contrast to the edgy manner in which he had accumulated a total of just 43 runs from the Tests at Melbourne and Sydney. With Adelaide expected to be a slower wicket, Kohli will look to make a strong case for his selection in the side in the series to come.

Trivia

• The average runs per wicket for Australia in the series is 47.09. The corresponding figure for India is 22.90.

• In the three Tests played so far, no Indian batsman has managed to reach the three-figure mark. The highest has been Gautam Gambhir's 83 in the second innings of the Sydney Test. In 54 away Test series (before the current series) comprising of three Tests or more, there have been only three instances when there was no century scored by an Indian player – v England in 1971, v New Zealand in 1981 and v Sri Lanka in 2001.

Venue Stats

Highest total in an innings: Australia 674 all out in 151.3(x8) overs v India - January 23, 1948

Lowest total in an innings: Australia 82 all out in 25.7(x8) overs v West Indies – December 22, 1951

Best individual score in an innings: Sir Donald Bradman (Australia) – 299* v South Africa - January 29, 1932

Best bowling figures in an innings: Albert Trott (Australia) 27.0-10-43-8 v England – January 11, 1895

Average first-innings score at the Adelaide Oval: Overall - 380, since 2000 – 432

Average second-innings score at the Adelaide Oval: Overall - 365, since 2000 – 473

Result summary at the Adelaide Oval:

Head-to-head

Last meeting between both sides at the Adelaide Oval: 24-28 January 2008

Brief scores: India 526 & 269-7 drew with Australia 563

Form guide (most recent listed first):

India: Lost, Lost, Lost, Drawn, Won (3 losses, 1 win)

Australia: Won, Won, Won, Lost, Won, (4 wins, 1 loss)

The Squads:

India (from): Virender Sehwag (c), R Ashwin, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, VVS Laxman, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav

Australia (playing XI): Michael Clarke (c), Brad Haddin, Ed Cowan, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mike Hussey, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle & David Warner

All stats are as onas on January 23, 2012