India Vs Australia, 2017: What Australia Needs To Stop India’s Unbeaten Run At Home!

Feb 21, 2017 at 7:42 PM

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India Vs Australia, 2017: What Australia Needs To Stop India’s Unbeaten Run At Home!

It’s indeed going to be the tough task for Australian side comprising of four spinners in their 16-member squad against a formidable India in a bid to give a fitting response to the hosts in their own backyard. It looks improbable at the moment if we go by the recent run of splendid form particularly in Test format of Kohli’s men as they are unbeaten in last 19 Tests.

The bowlers shone and the batters rose to the occasion – to tumble several records led by King Kohli with his sheer brilliance at their fortress.

Australia’s batting lacks the experience, but rookies had delivered well in the recently concluded 3-match Test series against Pakistan which is a positive sign so far for the visitors as Shaun Marsh has been settled in the middle-order after playing a dominant role with the bat in Asian conditions.

In the subcontinent, they’ve mountain to climb when they’ll face veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on the spin-friendly wickets which is a norm in the subcontinent.

However, as the obvious favourites, India started the 2017 year in Tests with a convincing win over Bangladesh in One-off Test; Kohli’s team should like to continue their winning streak against Australia in the competitive four-match Test series which will kickstart in Pune on Thursday (February 23).

It’s definitely going to be a big series as fans are waiting quite eagerly to witness the two best teams – to fight hard by emerging as victorious.

Here are the few points that would help Australia to control India at home:

  1. Banking on the spin: Nathan Lyon has to produce Lion’s share

Despite Australia’s awful record in the subcontinent, the visitors would be banking on their spin arsenal which is led by off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who has picked 228 wickets in 63 Tests at an average of 34.07.

Australia would heavily rely on the 29-year-old Lyon to bring best on the table with the ball.  which has so far received the battering after winning the four-match series 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar in 2004, under joint-leadership of Ponting-Gilchrist.

In 10 Tests against India, Lyon has picked 45 wickets against India at an average of 36.71 which included three five-wicket hauls.

In three Tests in India, Lyon has picked 15 wickets at an average of 37.33.

Lyon is definitely going to test Indian batters with his flight on raging turners.

On the other side, the 32-year-old Steve O’Keefe could prove to be a tricky bowler in the Indian conditions owing to his accuracy which somehow is a bit similar to hosts’ spinners.

He would be banking on his delivery which do not spin much while trying to adapt on different wickets which even might have a bounce on an offer.

Leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson would be eyeing to give his best – if given a chance.

The 23-year-old left-arm orthodox spinner Ashton Agar would like to excel if he gets a game straight away. The Victoria-born Agar is also handy with the bat. In two Tests, he has picked two wickets and scored 130 runs which also included his Test career best of 98 against England at Nottingham in 2013.

It would be an idle situation for Australia to give a lead role to spinners to send down the marathon of overs to get the desired results and to halt India’s juggernaut which Steven Smith and Co. would be aiming for.

2. Batters Have To Spend Quality Time Out In The Middle:

Australia would heavily rely on their best in business in batting which consists of skipper Steven Smith, opener David Warner and icy cool Shaun Marsh to spend quality time out in the middle in a bid to set a good total during the innings of a Test match while giving themselves some sort of a chance to challenge Kohli XI.

Only time will tell and one can’t write-off the team like Australia which would be unfair on our part as they have had the success on the Indian soil.

The all-rounder like Glenn Maxwell has been the vital cog in the middle order for Australia would definitely try to encash the opportunity to serve the Australia in Test cricket with his all-round ability.

3: Mitchell Starc has to bring in spark alongside Josh Hazlewood in the fast bowling department:

The fast bowler Mitchell Starc is the one who could play a significant role as the fast bowling spearhead alongside Josh Hazlewood given latter’s immaculate line and length that would certainly test the good Indian batting line-up at the helm.

They’ve to bend their backs to get some sort of favour from the pitches in India before and it tandem with their spinning to pick 20 wickets which is important in Test format.

4: Seniors have to back inexperienced batsmen:

Everyone is vouching for a Test series whitewash against Australia which won’t be that easy for the hosts as the visitors also have some quality players who could handle the pressure well; be it either with the bat or a ball.

There’s a feeling that it won’t get any worse for the visitors than what they faced last year in Sri Lanka were they missed several chances to make a comeback in the series and it’s more evident after their performance against India A where they had shown some stiff resistance under hot and humid conditions particularly against slow bowling.

Following the battle of nerves, it’s going to be their litmus Test, and above all an opportunity for youngsters – to cement their place for Australia in the longer format of cricket.

5. Play it straight against the spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja:

It would be up to Australian batsmen to play the part to make the game interesting while facing the top-class spin duo in their own backyard in form of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

The spin-duo would be a major threat for Australia as both had made it difficult for the visitors by picking the wickets at regular intervals. The visitors need to bat well and acclimatise to the conditions before showing some courage to take on the slow bowlers.

In 28 Tests at home, the remarkable Ashwin has bagged 187 wickets at an average of 22.11 with an economy of 2.78. His bowling record includes 19 times five-wicket haul.

The slow left-arm orthodox spinner Jadeja has bagged 117 wickets at an average of 24.10 which included six five-wicket hauls.

The pitches would definitely play a crucial role for the visitors’ who are battling hard to improve their game during their longer training sessions under the guidance of Head Coach Darren Lehmann.

It would be more like a test of character for the Australian batsmen in India. But one never knows when Australia will turn as Australia.

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