Australia vs India 2018-19: India's record at the Adelaide Oval is poor, but they have reason to hope for a better result this year
Although the Adelaide Oval has been a good hunting ground for their batsmen, India's record at the venue has poor, to say the least.
India have played 11 Test matches at the Adelaide Oval, and out of those 11 matches, they have won only one. That was way back in the 2003-04 series, aided by the heroics of Rahul Dravid - who scored the only double century by an Indian batsman on this ground during the famous win.
India have lost seven Test matches in Adelaide till date, while three have ended in a draw. But while there is no doubt that India's record has been dismal at this ground, it won't be unfair to say that they have been a tad unlucky too.
Three out of the seven defeats were really narrow, and they could have gone either way. India lost these three matches by a margin of fewer than 50 runs, which is quite close by Test match standards.
Dravid has been the highest scorer for India at this ground, and his knock of 233 during the 2003-04 series was instrumental in securing the first and only victory for India here. Indian batsmen have scored 13 centuries in Adelaide, with Virat Kohli scoring the highest of three.
Dravid also holds the record for the highest run-aggregate by an Indian batsman at the Adelaide Oval; he has scored 401 runs from 4 matches. Kohli is a close second with 394 runs from just 2 matches, and he is looking good to break Dravid's record during the ongoing tour.
When it comes to the bowling, Kapil Dev has the record for the best bowling figures in an innings here. He took 8 wickets for 106 runs during the 1985-86 series.
Indian bowlers have taken seven 5-wicket hauls at this ground, with Kapil featuring in the list on two occasions. Kapil also holds the record for highest wicket-aggregate for India at this ground; he tops the list with 19 wickets from 3 Test matches, while Ajit Agarkar and Anil Kumble are second and third with 13 and 10 wickets respectively.
The Adelaide Oval pitch has the tendency of helping spin bowlers during the second innings. With a few good spinners in their ranks, India will be looking to exploit this and put the squeeze on the Australian batsmen.
Further, if the Indian batsmen can bat as well as their predecessors during the first Test, then Kohli's men might well find themselves in the ascendancy by the end of the first Test.