Australia vs India, 1st Test, Fantasy Pick, team predictions

Pro Tip: At the Adelaide Oval, the batting average in day Tests is 37.9, which drops down to 30.23 in day-night games. So pack your team with bowlers - especially pacers.

Our XI: Cheteshwar Pujara, Steven Smith, Virat Kohli, Cameron Green, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon

Substitutes: Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant

Player availability: David Warner, Will Pucovski and Sean Abbott are not available for this game. There are also doubts over the fitness of Ravindra Jadeja.

Hazlewood, who led Australia's bowling attack in the ODIs, can be expected to trouble India's batsmen with the pink ball too. He has taken 22 wickets in eight innings in day-night Tests in Adelaide, with only Mitchell Starc ahead of him. Against India in Australia, he has 25 wickets in seven Tests.

India's most experienced pacer on this tour, Shami has been brilliant since 2018, from when he has bagged 85 wickets in 22 matches at an average of 23.54. After India, Australia has been his favorite place to bowl, having taken 31 wickets there in just seven Tests.

Virat Kohli: India's captain and the current No. 2-ranked Test batsman will look to make a mark in the only Test he will be playing on this tour. In his previous three tours to Australia, he has scored 1274 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 55.39 with six 100-plus scores.

Mitchell Starc: Left-arm pacer Starc has made the best use of the pink ball so far in Test cricket, with 42 wickets in seven matches at an average of 19.23. Among the top six wicket-takers since 2019, his strike rate of 37.4 is the best.

Steven Smith: Smith has been nearly unstoppable since returning to the Test side in 2019, with 1028 runs in 14 innings at an average of 73.42. But his average drops down to 35.42 in day-night Tests in Adelaide, where he has scored 248 runs in seven innings with a highest score of only 59.

Nathan Lyon: Lyon, who has 390 Test wickets, has also been the best spinner in day-night Tests in Adelaide with 28 wickets at 25.96. The offspinner has also cleaned up a lot of tailenders since 2018, and with India's weak tail, expect him to take a couple of extra wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah: India's rising pacer Bumrah has not been his usual self in international cricket this year. However, he was the leading wicket-taker in India's previous tour to Australia with 21 wickets in four games at an average of 17.00.