A series that began on a tragic note in Australia will end with the reminder of that painful incident, which snatched Phillip Hughes away from his loved ones. Emotions will no doubt take over the players before they come to terms with it once again, and while Australia will want to pay one final tribute to their mate, India hope to end the first leg of their tour on a high.

Hughes' painful demise after being struck on the head by a Sean Abbott delivery during a Sheffield Shield match postponed the start of the series, but the Australian players responded in tremendous fashion to overcome the grief and fashion a series win over India despite losing skipper Michael Clarke to injury midway.

ALSO SEE Kohli promises positive approach

Back-to-back wins in the first two Tests, which India lost from a relative position of strength, gave the Aussies an unassailable lead in the four-Test series, and the draw that followed in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne sealed their series win.

Lacking a knockout punch to win Tests overseas has been India's bane and it continued on this tour Down Under as well, keeping India's dream of winning a Test series in Australia a dream.

ALSO SEE Starc in, Johnson out

Whether it's about building on the good work of the top order or removing the tailenders, India have been found out in crunch situations, where one good session made the difference between victory and defeat.

But events off the field over the past week could also be felt on it in Sydney.

ALSO SEE Rogers’ swansong in Australia

MS Dhoni's shocking decision to retire midway through the series, after the third Test, took the cricket world by surprise. Team Director Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli admitted they were taken aback by the decision, while rubbishing theories of a rift and respecting it as an individual's personal decision.

As a result, India will once again be led by Kohli, but unlike the first Test, he will be India's regular captain now. And that should allow him to be more assertive and decisive in his actions, while also reminding him of the need to channel his aggression.

ALSO SEE Hughes’ family to be at SCG

"There were quite a few things that I sat down and analysed in Adelaide that can be improved on and I've thought about them in the past few days," Kohli said.

"What are the things that I can correct from Adelaide, the mistakes I made in that game? Hopefully I'll get those right and try to make the right decisions in every situation out there in the middle...But we are not here to back down from any sort of confrontation or any sort of battle."

But Dhoni is still with the squad in Australia as back-up to Wriddhiman Saha, who looks set to stand behind the stumps. But if he does not, Dhoni will have to come out of retirement, and that's slightly weird.

While as per their routine Australia have named their eleven for Sydney, bringing in Mitchell Starc for the injured Mitchell Johnson, Virat Kohli has a few trick decisions to take.

Suresh Raina looks a good bet to return to the squad, considering Shikhar Dhawan's continued failures and KL Rahul's unimpressive debut at the MCG. Rohit, who was dropped for the third Test, is unlikely to be in the fray. That turns it into a three-way battle between Raina, Rahul and Dhawan for two spots.

In all likelihood, Rahul may be asked to sit out, which would be a touch harsh on the young Karnataka batsman, but being thin on experience, he may lose the race to Dhawan and allow Raina a return to Test cricket.

Decisions also await Kohli on the bowling front, which will be beefed up by Varun Aaron's return after he flew back home for the funeral of his grandfather. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could be back in contention, but it's still unknown how much better is his ankle injury. And within touching distance of the World Cup, India may not want to risk the swing bowler.

Akshar Patel is also with the squad and could be in for a debut with wicket at the SCG having history of most conducive for spin among all venues in Australia. But that will mean two spinners in the eleven, with R Ashwin certain to retain his place.

One almost-confirmed omission in India's bowling line-up is Mohammad Shami. Aaron is most likely to take his place if Bhuvaneshwar remains short of match fitness.

Also, the match will see Chris Rogers making his last Test appearance on Australian soil as he announced his decision to retire after the Ashes later in the year.