Australia, captained by Pat Cummins, will go into their most important home Test with just four real bowlers.

After a 1-0 defeat to India in Perth, Australia simply need to maintain their perfect record in day-night Tests at the Adelaide Oval to avoid a tough week turning into a bad summer.

Australia have not come from behind to win a Test series since the 1997 Ashes in England.

The Australian players were bemused by the criticism that followed the defeat in Perth. They felt the reaction was over the top and were confident they could win a Border-Gavaskar series for the first time since 2014-15.

But if the fallout from Perth Stadium were devastating, a defeat in Adelaide would put an aging team – 10 of the current 11 are aged 30 or over – in serious jeopardy.

Australia will look to balance the five-match series without Josh Hazlewood, who will miss out due to a side strain.

Reliable and quick Scott Boland is the easiest addition, having kept Hazlewood out of the team for a while as he dominated in the 2021-22 season.

The bowling is expected to fall almost entirely to Cummins, Boland, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, although all-rounder Mitch Marsh has declared himself fit to take the ball.

The 33-year-old has been suffering from back pain since he bowled more overs than he and Australia would have liked in Perth as India piled on runs in the second innings.

Marsh didn’t throw in the nets at all this week as Australia preferred to keep him as fresh as possible for the game.

But if India’s batters get going like they did in Perth, Cummins may have no choice but to turn to Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne.

The decision to use Labuschagne’s intermittent medium pace for crucial overs in the first Test did not sit well in a historically poor defeat.

In four Tests earlier in the year, Australia had the rare opportunity to have two genuine all-rounders to bowl with when Cameron Green and Marsh played in the same team.

But with Green out all summer with a back injury and Marsh struggling to maintain full fitness, Australia suddenly lacks bowling depth.

The attempt to throw the ball to Labuschagne for crucial overs in Perth was ridiculed and the number three’s bowling appeared to be treated as a joke before the series.

But if India bat for a long time like they did in the first Test in Adelaide, Australia may have to resort to Labuschagne again.

The former number one Test batter threw significant periods in the nets throughout the week.

“I would say it’s more likely that there will be a bit more focus on the fast bowlers,” Cummins said.

“In Perth ‘Joshy’ (Hazlewood) was a bit sore towards the end too, so there’s a bit of protection there.

“While in this test everyone is fit and performing well, and if it stays that way, you usually try to rely on your four main guys.”

How to watch the test, when does it start?

If you want to watch the second Test in Adelaide, you can tune into it free-to-air on Channel Seven or on pay TV on Foxtel.

You can also stream the game on 7Plus or on Kayo if you have a subscription.

The day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval begins at 2:30pm local time (SA). Depending on where you are, this is 3:00pm AEDT, 1:30pm ACST (NT) or 1:00pm AWST (WA).

The game is scheduled to end at 9:30pm local time (10pm AEDT).

ABC Sport will broadcast live digitally and audio throughout the summer of cricket.

Follow every ball live online with ABC Sport’s live blog and listen to all the action on ABC Radio or via ABC listening app.

AAP/ABC