Australia vs India 2018-19: 7 milestones in sight for Indian team in the Test series

After a brief hiatus, yet another series of mouth-watering red-ball contests is all set to begin next week, as India will lock horns with Australia in the first out of four Test matches to be played between December 2018 and January 2019.

The Test series is important to both Australia and India in several contexts. India will be looking for victories that will wash away all the dirt and pain from their harrowing losses to South Africa and England earlier this year, where they lost 1-2 and 1-4 respectively.

Meanwhile, Australia, who are reeling in the absence of Steven Smith and David Warner, is yet to complete a series win across formats, ever since the start of the International ban on both the players on account of the ball-tampering in the South African Test series from March.

A win in their own backyard would boost the morale of the Aussies, while the win for India may fuel their hopes in several overseas conquests in the years to come.

Both sides are counting on a positive result from the series to set their preparations right for the World Cup 2019, which has already announced its impending arrival among the cricketing fraternity.

Australia and India are also the latest winners of the game's ultimate prize, the former in 2015 and the latter in 2011.

The Sony Pictures Sports Network - India, who is in charge of live television coverage and broadcast of the series in the Indian subcontinent, had released an advertisement on the same, which really hit the nail on its head while referring to the intense rivalry between both sides.

Sparks are certain to fly as Virat Kohli and co. gear up to face the Kangaroos, in their own territory.

Meanwhile, let us take a look at a few remarkable numbers that are within touching distance for a few Indians in the squad.

These may as well serve as a motivation for the visitors to do well in the series. Here we go then:

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#1 Virat Kohli is eight runs away from the 1000 run mark in Tests on Australian soil

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Indian skipper Virat Kohli has played just eight Tests in Australia so far, and yet he is already the fourth-best Indian in terms of Test runs made Down Under.

The 30-year-old batsman has made 992 runs from 16 innings in eight matches, at an average of 62.00, including five hundreds and two fifties. His highest score in Australia is 169.

Kohli is just eight runs away from 1000 runs, and we can easily assume that he will cross the feat in the game.

Upon doing so, he will be the fastest Indian to get there as well. As of now, he is behind Sachin Tendulkar (1809 runs from 38 innings in 20 matches), VVS Laxman (1236 runs from 29 innings in 15 matches) and Rahul Dravid (1143 runs from 30 innings in 15 matches) in terms of runs scored in Australian venues.

Murali Vijay (482 runs from eight innings in four matches) and Ajinkya Rahane (399 runs from eight innings in four matches) are the next best in line, considering Indian players who are still active.

#2 India looking for a first-ever series win in Australia

Apart from solitary wins scattered out across the years, the side has never managed to bring home a series in its entirety

India has a very dismal record when it comes to playing Tests in Australia. Apart from solitary wins scattered out across the years, the side has never managed to bring home a series in its entirety.

Of the 11 series played so far between India and Australia in Australia, eight were won by the hosts while thrice the games ended in a series tie.

The most recent series was between December 2014 and January 2015, when the teams played four matches against each other.

Australia won 2-0, with the remaining two matches ending up as draws. Virat Kohli was the second-best runs-scorer (692 runs) behind player-of-the-tournament Steven Smith (769 runs). It was also Kohli's first outing as full-time captain after Dhoni announced a shock retirement following the third game.

This may be India's best chance in recent times, to claim a series win in Australia. The hosts lack their best players in Smith and David Warner who are unavailable due to the ban, while the current Indian side has a bigger experience with the red ball than many of the new Aussie players.

Still, the contests will not be easy at all, given several factors like the nature of pitches, the moving Kookaburra ball, the prevailing Aussie conditions, and many more.

As a result, it will be historic indeed, if Team India goes on to clinch their maiden series win Down Under, this time.

#3 Virat Kohli needs two hundreds to get past Tendulkar's tally in Australia

Kohli needs just two more hundreds to overtake Sachin to become the Indian with most hundreds in Australian soil

Sachin Tendulkar has the most hundreds among Indian players, in Australia. His tally includes six tons made in 20 matches, including a brilliant 241 not out. Following the maestro is Virat Kohli (five tons from eight matches) and Sunil Gavaskar (five tons from 11 matches).

Thus, Kohli needs just two more hundreds to overtake Sachin to become the Indian with most hundreds in Australian soil.

With a maximum of eight possible innings spread across four games, there is a real chance that he will get there.

After a minor slump in the first T20I against Australia, the man showed signs of coming back with a well-made 61 not out in the third and final T20I, which had also helped India win the game and tie the series.

If the Indian skipper can continue to find runs in the same fashion, this is yet another record that will be in his name by January 8th, 2019.

#4 Cheteshwar Pujara is 95 runs away from the 5000-run mark in Test Cricket

Pujara has been really consistent at No.3, often playing a pivotal role in India notching up good innings totals

Let's take a look at Pujara's current numbers:

Tests 64, Innings 107, Not Outs 8, Runs 4905, Highest 206*, Average 49.54, Hundreds 15, Fifties 19.

Pujara has been the near-perfect replacement for "The Great Wall" Rahul Dravid, ever since he hung up his boots from International cricket.

Pujara has been really consistent at No.3, often playing a pivotal role in India notching up good innings totals.

95 runs more, and he will be the 12th Indian to reach the 5000-run mark in Test matches. In the overall list led by Tendulkar (15921), the others that follow are Dravid (13265), Gavaskar (10122), Laxman (8781), Sehwag (8503), Ganguly (7212), Vengsarkar (6868), Kohli (6331), Azharuddin (6215), Gundappa Viswanath (6086) and Kapil Dev (5248).

Pujara can be the latest entrant in the list, and he has a maximum of eight innings to play, to try and do so within this series itself.

#5 Kohli needs three hundreds to overtake Tendulkar in most tons scored across all formats in a year

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Understandably, Tendulkar was a man of the big numbers on many occasions. His tally of 100 international centuries is a feat yet to be matched.

But guess who is second in that list - it is Virat Kohli with more than 60 tons made during his ten-year career so far. Kohli is also considered as the one person who can equal or better Sachin's 100 hundreds.

As of now, the Indian captain has scored ten tons in 2018, and he needs three more to overcome Sachin's tally of 12 centuries (set in 1998) to become the player with most hundreds in a calendar year.

Tendulkar made the feat from 42 innings in 39 matches, while Kohli has played 41 innings in 34 matches so far this year.

He previously came close to do so, last year when he made 11 tons from 52 innings across 46 matches.

This upcoming series is a golden opportunity to better both his own numbers and Tendulkar's, which will make him the leader of yet another record detail in the statistician's books.

#6 Ravichandran Ashwin is 24.5 overs away from bowling 3000 overs in Test cricket

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India's premium spinner with the red ball, R. Ashwin is the side's leading wicket-taker among the current crop of players.

The off-spinner has 336 wickets from 64 matches, including an innings-best of 7/59 and match-best of 13/140. He also has 26 five-wicket hauls and seven ten-wicket hauls.

A differently unique number awaits Ashwin ahead of his assignment in Australia. The bowler is 24.5 overs (149 balls) away from bowling 3000 overs in Tests.

Upon reaching there, he will be the sixth Indian to do so, after Anil Kumble (6808.2 overs in 132 matches), Harbhajan Singh (4763.2 overs in 103 matches), Kapil Dev (4623.2 overs in 131 matches), Bishan Singh Bedi (3560.4 overs in 67 matches) and Zaheer Khan (3130.5 overs in 92 matches) to reach there.

Ashwin's closest colleague still active in the game is Ishant Sharma, who has bowled 2763 overs in 87 Test matches.

#7 Virat Kohli is 393 runs away from Sangakkara's record of most runs across formats in a year

In 2018 so far, Kohli has made 2476 runs from 41 innings in 34 matches, at an average of 72.82

Kumar Sangakkara made an amazing record in 2014, when he made 2868 runs from 57 innings in 48 matches, at an average of 53.11. There were eight hundreds and 18 fifties among them, including a best score of 319 runs.

The record has been untouched since then, as the most runs scored across formats in a calendar year.

In 2017, Virat Kohli made 2818 runs from 52 innings in 46 matches and came within a whisker of breaking it. This year again, he has another chance to actually better it.

In 2018 so far, Kohli has made 2476 runs from 41 innings in 34 matches, at an average of 72.82 - including 10 tons and eight fifties.

He needs another 393 runs to break Sanga's record, and given that he has another 6 innings at most before the year runs out, there is a real chance that it may happen.