India vs Australia, 2nd Test: India 36/1 at stumps on Day 1, trail Australia by 159

The teams have lined up for the National Anthems.

A little numbers game as we wait for the play to begin in about five minutes

Captain's words - Tim Paine

Captain's words - Ajinkya Rahane

Proud moment for the debutants!

Australia XI

Big day for Siraj and Gill as they make their Test debut. Here's the India XI:

TOSS NEWS

Debutants Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill have received their Test caps to make it official that they will wear the Test whites for the first time today as part of the playing XI.

And this Boxing Day Test marks the century of Tests between India and Australia

Seldom has an Indian outfit been at such difficult crossroads in recent years as it is in the aftermath of the humiliating defeat in Adelaide. Let's see what they come up with.

Here's the India XI: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

But that's not all. The credits of India's Playing XI roll with the names of two players making their Test debuts - batsman Shubman Gill and seamer Mohammed Siraj. There are two other changes from India's eleven that played in Adelaide. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja have also returned to the eleven. Besides the forced exclusions of Kohli and Shami, the two men asked to sit out have been the out-of-form opener Prithvi Shaw and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

The script has gone another major change. Virat Kohli has flown back home to attend the birth of his child, and Ajinkya Rahane will stand in as captain. Also, the visitors will be without the reliable paceman Mohammed Shami, who is out with a hand injury.

It's another of those mornings anticipating a classic Test-match day, but the background for this one has changed considerably since that Adelaide afternoon last week from the day-night first Test, when 70 minutes of madness saw an Indian Test innings getting buried in history for just 36 -- their lowest ever. Australia won by eight wickets inside three days, now lead this four-match series 2-1 and India have everything to chase, repair and play for in this second game - the traditional Boxing Day Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Good 'very early' Morning if you are joining us at Timesofindia.com from India. It's that time of the year when cricket fans in the past in India would get up rubbing their eyes to switch on the TV sets and hear the familiar voice of Richie Benaud welcoming them. While it's been five summers since Richie left this world, the Indo-Aus rivalry has only grown to be one of the most sought-after in the annals of cricket.