The Indian cricket team, including some of the most experienced and prolific run-getters in world cricket and led by their highest wicket taker in Tests, Anil Kumble, winged off from here on Monday for Australia bidding to become the first from the nation to conquer the hosts in a Test series and create history.

Kumble and his men left by a morning flight to Singapore en-route to Melbourne, firm in their belief that they had the wherewithal to bring to the knees the mighty Australians in their own den of high-bouncing pitches, speedy bowlers and attacking players.

“It’s a tough challenge to play Australia in Australia but we are ready for the challenge. We have the potential and players to win the series in Australia,” ace leg spinner and Test skipper said here about the high-profile contest against Ricky Ponting’s men on the eve of India’s departure for their ninth full tour of the Kangaroo land.

“We had a very good series against Pakistan. We won the one-day as well as the Test series which is a confidence booster for doing well in Australia ,” said Kumble who will give way to one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and return home at the end of the four-Test rubber.

India have won Test rubbers on all Test playing countries in the world barring Australia and South Africa although they have come agonisingly close to doing so in the 2003-04 series

Kumble and the rest of the players, especially the Fabulous Four, know from past experience how important its to adjust to the wicket conditions in Australia, far different from the knee-high-bounce-offering pitches in the Indian sub-continent.

The revamped squad, bolstered by limited overs specialists yet to be decided by the selectors, will then take on the hosts in a lone Twenty20 International tie at Melbourne on February 1 before engaging Australia and Sri Lanka in a tri-series of 50-over internationals from February 3 to March 7.

For the record, India had visited Australia for the first time in 1947-48 to take on the all-conquering team led by the world’s greatest-ever batsman Donald Bradman.

Subsequent visits for full Test tours followed in 1967-68, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1985-86, 1991-92, 1999-2000 and 2003-04.

They failed to win a single Test while losing the first two rubbers comprehensively by 0-4 margins, lost the rubber in the deciding Test to lose the series 2-3 in 1977-78, drew 1-1 and 0-0 in the two three-Test rubbers played in the 1980s, lost 0-4 in a five-Test rubber in 1991 and 0-3 in the next three-match series before drawing 1-1 in their last four-match rubber played Down Under.

India had also visited Australia in 1985 for the World Championship of one-day internationals as World Cup champions and won the crown against all expectations as well as made a second visit to play the World Cup in 1992 jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Newly appointed national team coach Gary Kirsten is expected to join the team after the second Test as a consultant for an unspecified period of time till he assumes office as full-time coach on March 1.

Indians will kick start their campaign with a warm up game against Victoria XI at Melbournes Junction Oval prior to taking on Australia in the traditional Boxing Day (Dec 26) Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, to be followed by matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground (Jan 2-6, 2008) and Perths WACA ground (Jan 16-20). They will also play a second warm-up tie against ACT Invitational XI at the country s capital Canberra, and Adelaide Oval (Jan 24-28).

The squad: Anil Kumble (captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (vice-captain), Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, V V S Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Kaarthick, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Ishant Sharma and Pankaj Singh. Manager: Chetan Chauhan. Administrative manager: MV Sridhar. Assistant coach: Lalchand Rajput.