When did Australia last tour India for a Test cricket series? – Sporting News

After having easily taken care of the West Indies and South Africa during the summer, Australia will be faced with a much tougher task when they travel to India to play a four-match Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 
The Aussies will be full of confidence with their batsman plundering plenty of runs against hapless bowling attacks as records tumbled on home soil. Meanwhile, their bowlers repeatedly ripped through brittle batting line-ups to continue their red-hot form under Pat Cummins. But can they finally break their bad run against India with a famous win on the sub-continent?  
The Australian Test team will be touring India for the first time in over five years when the series commences on February 9th.
Back in February 2017, Steve Smith led the side out and actually claimed the opening match before eventually losing 2-1 to a Virat Kohli-inspired side.
It’s fair to say much has changed since then with Smith no longer the captain and a number of starters being moved on for some fresh faces.
Cummins is now at the forefront of this exciting Aussie side who will be attempting to win their first series in India in 19 years.
Despite having a poor Test cricket record against the Indians – losing nine of the past 15 series – Australia have travelled to India in recent times and emerged victorious in various other formats of the game.
They beat the hosts 2-0 during a T20I series in 2019, before then also triumphing over them in a five-match One Day International series that followed.
In order to give his side the best opportunity to beat India this time around, Aussie coach Andrew McDonald will employ similar touring tactics to the ones he used in Pakistan last year. Namely, keeping the time his men spend away from home to an absolute minimum.
“No tour game is something we’ve done in the last few series, before embarking on overseas tours,” McDonald told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“We feel as though we don’t need that match practice as such. We’re going to go to India about a week out from the first game. We didn’t want to press for too much longer, in terms of the preparation.”
This approach worked for the aforementioned Test series against Pakistan that Australia won by a 1-0 margin, while giving them the most relaxed lead-in to the gruelling series which is sure to follow against India.
“We feel as though seven days is ample time to get ready and to make sure we maintain freshness throughout the whole four Test match series,” McDonald reasoned.
“We had some success doing that, going to Pakistan. We had a shortened period on the ground there.”
India have the wood over Australia in Test cricket, winning nine of the past 15 series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 
While a lot of their wins have come in the favourable conditions at home, India have also won the past two series Down Under in both 2018/19 and 2020/21. 
Since its official inception in 1996, India have held the trophy for the majority of the time, with the Aussies last gaining possession of it back in 2015. 
 

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