What happened the last time India played a Test match in Nagpur? 

With a World Test Championship (2021-23) final berth on the line, Team India are set to lock horns with arch-rivals Australia for a four-game Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

The opening Test is scheduled to take place at the VCA Stadium in Vidharbha, Nagpur, on Thursday (February 9).

So far, Team India have played a total of six Tests at the said venue in Nagpur, winning four while losing one of those encounters. A match against England in 2012 ended in a draw as well.

Situated in the center of the country, the pitch in Nagpur is expected to be spin-friendly and a bit difficult for the batters. Vidharbha has given many rank turners in the past and we can expect the same this time.

Batting in the fourth innings at this venue takes a lot of courage and temperament as the ball turns a mile once the pitch gets torn. Batting first after winning the toss would be the option both captains will choose as nobody wants to bat last on this surface.

The last time India played a Test match in Nagpur was in November of 2017. The VCA Stadium hosted the second of the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which the hosts won by a scoreline of 1-0.

After opting to bat first, Sri Lanka managed to post just 205 runs on the board before getting all out in their first innings. Pacer Ishant Sharma played a pivotal role as he took a three-wicket haul while the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took seven wickets between them.

India closed out Day 1 with a score of 11/1, losing KL Rahul in the process. However, the next two days were fully dominated by the Indian batters as they managed to pile up a total of 610/6 in their first innings. As many as four Indian batters, including Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, went on to notch up their respective hundreds.

While Vijay and Pujara scored 128 and 143, respectively, Kohli mustered his fifth Test double-century, smashing a masterful 267-ball 213. Rohit, who batted at No. 6, remained not out at 102 as well.

With their resounding batting efforts, the hosts took a massive 405-run first-innings lead.

Sri Lanka succumbed to the pressure and played some poor cricket to get bundled out for just 166 in their second innings. Ashwin took eight wickets in the match as India won the encounter by a massive margin of an innings and 239 runs.

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A high-octane Border-Gavaskar series begins on February 9

The hype for the upcoming highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy is palpable. After all, the two teams have had a great rivalry, giving spectators some world-class matches over the years.

Ever since the first Test match between the two sides in 1947, they have locked horns in 27 Test series. The Aussies have a slight upper hand with 12 Test series wins while India have won 10; five series ended in draws.

However, India have beaten Australia in six of the last eight series between the two countries. The hosts will look to continue their impressive run this time around as well.

Having said that, the current Aussie unit have enough potency to surprise the hosts this year and will be eyeing revenge for their last three Border-Gavaskar Trophy series losses.

With the likes of in-form batters including Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja, and Travis Head, alongside a lethal bowling unit, Rohit Sharma and Co. will have to be on their toes if they are to secure a series win and qualify for the World Test Championship (2021-23) final.

Given that India have been unbeaten at home for more than a decade now, they will start the series as slight favorites. While the last Test series that India lost at home was against England in 2012-13, Australia scripted their last Test series win in India way back in 2004-05.