What’s sport without a little—or a not-so-little—rivalry? Where’s the fun in the absence of a little needle, an edginess that reveals a desperation to win, a desire not to be second best?

If you are looking for a cricketing rivalry that fits this bill, you can stop at India v Australia. Yes, the temptation will be to plump for Australia v England and the Ashes, or India v Pakistan, for obvious reasons. But the Ashes has been largely one-way traffic for a long time, the occasional fiercely fought series an aberration, and India haven’t played Pakistan in Test cricket since December 2007 for reasons that don’t need reiteration.