The hosts won the day-nighter in Adelaide by 10 wickets to level the series 1-1 and with less than a week before they meet again at the Gabba, India are racing against the clock to fix what went wrong.

India coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday backed "incredibly tough men" Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to prove their critics wrong and find form in Australia.

India must start planning for Rohit Sharma's successor if the team do not play well in their five-Test series in Australia as the captain could well retire from the longest format, former skipper Krishnamachari Srikkanth has said.

With Australia looming large, the form of 37-year-old Rohit and superstar batsman Kohli, 35, is of particular concern to Indian cricket fans.

After India's batting frailties were brutally exposed in a 3-0 home series defeat by New Zealand, captain Rohit Sharma said it was important that his players get in the right frame of mind for what promises to be a challenging tour of Australia.

After stunning victories in Bengaluru and Pune, the Black Caps won the third Test in Mumbai by 25 runs to become the first team to whitewash India at home in a series featuring three or more matches.

Batsmen have forgotten how to defend in Test cricket because of the T20 game, India coach Gautam Gambhir said Thursday ahead of the third and final match against New Zealand.

Through three World Cup titles, two World Test Championship (WTC) finals, and a 12-year Test series winning streak on home soil, Kohli and Sharma, often together, have been integral to every major Indian success of the last 17 years.

After a surprising series defeat by New Zealand, India's skipper Rohit Sharma said undue expectation was being put on frontline spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, as he called for more collective bowling efforts to win Test matches.

Seamer Mohammed Shami will not play in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy test series against Australia while spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been sidelined with a groin injury as the country's cricket board (BCCI) announced an 18-member squad on Friday.

India captain Rohit Sharma said he was proud of his team for battling back from their lowest home total of 46 to make a match of the first Test against New Zealand, despite going down to an eight-wicket defeat on Sunday.

Kiwi fast bowlers Matt Henry and William O'Rourke wreaked havoc in overcast conditions to dismiss India in 31.2 overs on the first Test's second afternoon in Bengaluru.

India, leading the World Test Championship standings, played their first Test match in more than six months, but there was no sign of rust as they thumped Bangladesh in a little over three days.

India are clear favourites but the visitors recently celebrated a landmark 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan.

Rohit's side begin a busy schedule with the opening match against Bangladesh starting on Thursday, after which they will host New Zealand in three games and then head to Australia in November for five more tests.

In a game that swung back and forth, India seemed to be heading towards a win after Shivam Dube smashed Wanindu Hasaranga for a six in the 47th over followed by a four in the next over by Charith Asalanka.

Rohit and star batsman Virat Kohli both sat out this week's 3-0 series sweep by the tourists, both having announced their 20-over retirement after snagging India's first international trophy in more than a decade.

Not only did Suryakumar finish the series as his side's leading run-scorer and claim the Player of the Series award, the 33-year-old also created an instant impression in the role of captain, bringing his own leadership style to the job made vacant following the T20I retirement of Rohit Sharma.

Rohit, 37, and his opening partner Kohli, 35, quit Twenty20 Internationals last month after the team's victory in the World Cup final against South Africa in Bridgetown but both men will continue to play test and 50-overs cricket.

Looking back, Starc acknowledged Rohit’s exceptional performance throughout the tournament and commended him for his brilliant and strategic use of the conditions in St Lucia.