India vs Australia, WTC 2023 Final: Team India's road to the summit clash

India's first assignment in the second cycle of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) was against hosts England. The five-match series started on August 1, 2022, and the then Virat Kohli-led visitors had an unassailable 2-1 lead heading into the fifth and final Test before the match was postponed due to Covid-19 crisis in the Indian camp.

The rescheduled fifth and final Test took place last year, in July, where Jasprit Bumrah-led India lost by seven wickets and the series ended in a 2-2 stalemate.

India beat New Zealand, at home, 1-0 in the two-match Test series in late 2021. The Kiwis held onto a draw in the series opener, in Kanpur, as Ajinkya Rahane-led India failed to claim the tenth wicket in defence of 285. The second and final Test saw regular captain Virat Kohli return as the home side thrashed NZ by a whopping 372-run margin. 

Virat Kohli's Team India played a three-match Test series versus South Africa in the African nation in early 2022. They conceded the series (2-1) after a 1-0 lead. It became Kohli's last series as a Test skipper, announcing the decision soon after the end of the final Test.

This was Rohit Sharma's first assignment as the full-time skipper as he took over as the Test captain following Kohli's resignation. The Dimuth Karunaratne-led Islanders were clueless against the Indian team who romped past their Asian neighbours in both the Tests with top performances from Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, etc.

Rahul led India in the two Tests with Rohit out of action due to injury. India thrashed the Bangla Tigers by 188 runs in the series opener before the home side put up a great fight in the final Test in defence of a paltry 145 on a tough batting surface. At 74 for 7, India were on the mat before R Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer won their side the game with three wickets in hand. 

Rohit & Co. had to win the 2022/23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to enter the WTC Final. India took a 2-0 lead after winning the opening two Tests but Australia bounced back to make it 2-1; winning the third Test by nine wickets and qualifying for the WTC finale.

India qualified on Day 5 of the final Test (which ended in a tame draw), in Ahmedabad, after New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka in a thriller in Christchurch.