Border-Gavaskar Trophy: What India and Australia can expect at the five venues

Cricket Australia recently made a change to the tradition of starting the Test summer at the Gabba, with Perth now the first venue for the visiting team.

Optus Stadium is still a relatively new ground having hosted its inaugural Test in 2018-19 when India toured - a high-octane match on a lively surface which Australia won despite one of Virat Kohli's finest hundreds - before it missed out for two summers due to Covid-19 border restrictions.

Australia have continued a formidable record at the ground which could play into their favour when it comes to setting the tone for the series. All four of their wins have been by handsome margins, with the last three coming against New Zealand (a day-night Test), West Indies and Pakistan. All followed similar patterns: a big first innings total, a hefty lead when the opposition can't respond, swelling the advantage rather than enforcing the follow-on and then taking advantage of an increasingly difficult surface.

While pace bowling has been traditionally associated with Perth (both at the new ground and the WACA), Nathan Lyon has an outstanding record at Optus Stadium where he has enjoyed the bounce on offer.

Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: Marnus Labuschagne (519 at 103.80)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Nathan Lyon (27 at 18.00)
Average first innings of match total since 2018-19: 456

The venue of 36 all out. A few hours where India nicked everything. As was the case in 2020-21, this season it will be a day-night Test at the home of the format. Australia have never lost a pink ball game at the ground; their day-night Test defeat to West Indies came in Brisbane.

India won in Adelaide on the 2018-19 tour when it was a day game, in what was an absorbing Test where Australia's lower order threatened to get them home. Last year's day Test against West Indies was over before lunch on the third day.

Barring the extremes of the 2020-21 Test against India, Australia have a tried-and-tested formula in day-night Tests in recent seasons. They look to bat big in the first innings - England even offered them that opportunity by bowling first in the 2021-22 Ashes - which has often given them a crack with the new ball under lights on the second evening.

Since 2018-19, the night-time third session has a batting average of 26.84 compared to 28.04 for the first session and 30.15 for the middle one. Timings can become a key factor in pink-ball Tests to try and exploit the new ball under lights.

Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: Marnus Labuschagne (574 at 71.75)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Mitchell Starc (30 at 17.20)
Average first innings total since 2018-19: 375

In recent seasons, Australia's aura at the Gabba has diminished somewhat, with India famously winning in 2020-21 and equally so West Indies through the efforts of Shamar Joseph. But the future is in doubt. The venue only has guaranteed Test cricket for one more summer after this one amid the uncertainty over redevelopment plans for the 2032 Olympics.

It reverts to a day Test for this series having been a flood-lit encounter against West Indies. In 2022-23, the match against South Africa ended in two days on a heavily-grassed surface that produced uneven bounce. It was borderline dangerous when facing the quicks. The overall bowling average at the ground since 2018-19 has dropped by nearly 10 runs per wicket compared to the figure for the previous four years (36.21).

Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: Marnus Labuschagne (497 at 62.12)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Pat Cummins (36 at 17.25)
Average first innings total since 2018-19: 227

Since the insipid Ashes Test in 2017-18, the pitch at the MCG has undergone a transformation and is now among the most interesting in the country, leaning in favour of the fast bowlers. To highlight the shift, in the last six seasons the bowling average has dropped 15 runs. Between 2013-14 and 2017-18, it was a whopping 41.19.

Already this season there have been three fascinating surfaces for a Sheffield Shield match, the ODI against Pakistan and the Australia A-India A fixture with runs at a premium and the ball holding sway. India have won their last two Tests at the ground: by 137 runs in 2018-19, when Jasprit Bumrah produced a magical spell on what remained a sluggish surface, and eight wickets in 2020-21.

Interestingly, since 2018-19, it's the ground where the toss appears to have mattered least with a 3-3 record for teams batting first. Against England in 2021-22 (Scott Boland's Test where he claimed 6 for 7) and South Africa the following year, Australia bowled first and won by an innings.

Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: David Warner (361 at 60.16)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Pat Cummins (31 at 15.41)
Average first innings total since 2018-19: 299

The SCG remains a ground where the pitch is still trying to regain its former glories when spin would come to the fore. There were promising signs last season against Pakistan where it was a result surface that offered some assistance for all the bowlers. The other factor with Sydney in early January is often the weather: India were denied a likely victory in 2018-19 by two days of rain and the 2022-23 South Africa match was badly affected.

The average for pace bowlers at the ground since 2018-19 is by far the highest of the five venues for this season. Reverse swing can be a factor depending on how abrasive the square becomes. Like the Gabba, the SCG doesn't utilise drop-in pitches.

Leading run-scorer since 2018-19: Marnus Labuschagne (734 at 81.55)
Leading wicket-taker since 2018-19: Nathan Lyon (26 at 32.42)
Average first innings total since 2018-19: 436