ADELAIDE, Jan 23: The bitter rivalry between Australia and India has added extra spice to the fourth and final Test starting at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

The Australians have already retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy by winning the first two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney but India’s surprise win in last week’s third match in Perth has given both teams plenty to play for in the series finale.

Australia are seeking to restore their battered pride amid complaints about their on-field behaviour and growing speculation their golden era is drawing to a close after India ruined their chance of setting a world record of 17 successive wins.

India have the chance to draw the series and perhaps claim a moral victory after they were on the wrong end of a number of incorrect umpiring decisions in a narrow loss in Sydney.

The rivalry between Australia and India has been building steadily over the past decade but reached new highs in this series after the bitter fallout between the teams in Sydney.

India suspended the tour for two days and threatened to call off the remaining matches after off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was suspended for racial abuse. The Indian board eventually agreed to continue after the International Cricket Council (ICC) sacked umpire Steve Bucknor and the warring captains called a truce.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said both teams were enjoying the rivalry.

“You want to be tested all the time at the highest level and India manage to push Australia and test Australia a lot over the years,” Ponting told a news conference on Wednesday.

Indian captain Anil Kumble said he was disappointed his side could no longer win the series but said a draw would leave a legacy for future Indian teams.

Both teams are considering making chances to their line-ups from Perth because the Adelaide pitch is traditionally much slower and more conducive to spin.

Ponting is stuck between retaining the same all-pace attack that lost in Perth or ditching express fast bowler Shaun Tait for spinner Brad Hogg.

India have been dealing with rumours of a rift in the camp over the selection of the one-day squad that will remain in Australia after the test series.

Several senior players were controversially overlooked for the squad but Kumble said he was confident it would not affect their performance in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, Ponting and Kumble said they would not finalise their teams for the Test until just before the match.

Teams (likely):

AUSTRALIA: Matthew Hayden, Phil Jaques, Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist (w/k), Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark.

INDIA: Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Irfan Pathan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (w/k), Anil Kumble (captain), Harbhajan Singh, R.P. Singh, Ishant Sharma. —Agencies