#INDvAUS: Virat Kohli will want to do a Bolt in India's final lap to glory

Think of India's ongoing home Test season as a 400m race.

The first 100m, a three-Test series against New Zealand, was a breezy start. The next set of 100m, the five encounters against England, tested India to the hilt, yet they maintained the lead. The stretch from 200m to 300m was a bit of a trot, the one-off Test against Bangladesh.

As the Indians enter the final phase of the bash, the ones to challenge their lead are Australia, starting with the first of the four Tests here on Thursday.

And like the unreal Usain Bolt so famously does in his 100m and 200m races, India would want to make a mighty sprint to the finish line in this final leg.

Trust Virat Kohli to want to do a Bolt.

The India captain went about training on the eve of the game here on Wednesday morning with that very mindset.

Even as his teammates were leisurely forming a line to start jogging after a round of warm-up, Kohli was already out of the blocks, stretching the nerves of his feet as hard as he could.

Once the team split into four and formed a circle for their fielding drills, Kohli was running around more – and quicker – than any of his teammates. Why, he even lunged forward and dived while throwing the ball to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, all in one motion.

Kohli was gearing up for the final run exactly how he wants his team to run it.

The skipper knows the worth of finishing India's long home season on a high. Not only will it cement his legacy as a young captain who led India to their finest period in Test history, but also make each and every individual of this Indian Test squad a part of something special, something grandeur, something historic.       

And the good part is, they don't even have to change much in order to achieve that. India have been unconquered so far in the nine Tests at home, and look far from being touched even so slightly.

The openers have adapted well to the constant musical chairs in their little circle, with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul occupying the seats for now. Cheteshwar Pujara has been reliable as ever with the bat, and Kohli as ruthless as ever.

Ajinkya Rahane dismissed doubts about his place at No. 5 with his 82 against Bangladesh, and should come into this game with a renewed sense of confidence.

The bowling unit has been the heart – or rather legs – of the team's unbeaten run. The spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav has responded brilliantly on responsive pitches, and show no signs of pulling the finger off the trigger in this Test series.

The pace pack is rightly wearing the 'biggest improvement' tag of the season, and after a long time, India will look at the Australians in the eye in that department.

The Aussies, though, come into this series with a sense of unpredictability around them. They have a rather inexperienced squad, especially in sub-continental conditions, with only six of their players having played a Test here before.

That can, though, can act as a boon or a bane.

Bane, for even the players who have toured India twice or thrice haven't been able to master what it takes to do well here, and boon, for they won't have any baggage of Australia's last tour here that ended in embarrassment both on and off the field (4-0 and homeworkgate).

That's where Australia's unpredictability factor kicks in. Steve Smith and his young boys can either throw in the towel and let India storm to the finish line, or put some speed breakers along the way.

We'll find out starting Thursday. On your mark, get set, go.

N ZONE

6

No. of Australian players in their current squad who have played a Test in India before – Steve Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell