Welcome to the coverage of the third Test between India and Australia in Ranchi, on Thursday.

The spotlight will again be firmly trained on cricket after a week of off-field controversies involving the DRS row in the second Test.

The pitch will also be the centre of attention as an ambitious India brace up for what is expected to be a high-voltage battle of attrition against Australia.

The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy is locked at 1-1 and the match at Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), which is organising it's first-ever Test, is set to be a make-or-break affair for both teams.

Trailing 0-1 following a shocking 331-run defeat in the opener, India will enter the match with new-found confidence having scripted a brilliant fight-back in Bengaluru.

On the surface, the 22-yard strip looks tailor-made for spinners, even as the local officials maintain it will last the distance.

With three half centuries, KL Rahul has been the leading run-getter in the series, while Kohli, who is having a rare lean patch against the Aussies, will look to break the drought.

Kohli has just 40 runs from four innings, a dry spell coming after a year full of runs, in which the Indian captain slammed 1457 runs from nine Tests and led the side to a 19-match unbeaten run before the Pune debacle.

A win away from retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Aussies have received a body blow with the exclusion of pacer Mitchell Starc from the rest of the series after suffering a stress fracture.

The left-arm pacer has been replaced by Pat Cummins who has not played a game since his eye-catching debut in South Africa in 2011 when he had a seven-wicket match haul.