India will leave for Australia today to play 5 One day internationals and 3 T20 match series starting from 12th January. The five matches One day International series presents the Indian team a great chance what promises to be a riveting encounter against World Champions against Australia. India head into the series on a great note defeating South Africa despite losing the One day and T20 series. India will have to face many challenges in tour of Australia to win the series.
India’s past record in Australia has been poor. They have played several multi nation series including two World Cups. India record in Australia has been poor and have found difficult to Australia in their own den. In 43 matches played in Australia India has managed to win 10 while lost on 31 occasions.
India’s recent form in One day Internationals have been poor. Before the World Cup the Indian team failed to win a single game of the tri series involving England and Australia but won seven games in row in the World Cup. They lost to Bangladesh 1-2 and lost to South Africa 2-3 at home. Their only win came against Minnows Zimbabwe.
Virat Kohli’s form has been a cause of concern in One day International cricket. In the last 20 One day International outings he has only managed 623 runs at an average of 36.65. Another worry for team India is the form of Ashwin who has been in great form against South Africa at home but the main challenge remains how he performs in Australia. He will play a crucial role in India’s bowling attack and hope that Ashwin will come up with the goods.
Another worry for team India is the poor form of Indian openers. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma failed to fire last year. Shikhar Dhawan scored 745 runs at an average of 37.45 in 20 One day Internationals and Rohit Sharma scored 815 runs in 17 One day Internationals. The Indian team needs both openers to fire against Australia. Shikhar Dhawan needs to convert starts into big scores.
Mohammad Shami will coming back into the Indian team after an injury. Shami will return to competitive cricket after 9 months and it has to seen how effective he will be after the injury. Dhoni’s finishing ability is no more there. In 2015 he played 20 One day Internationals and scored 640 runs. In Australia too his record is not good scoring 222 runs with just one fifty. He has quit test cricket and before going to Australia he has played in the Vijay Hazare trophy. He will be looking to answer his critics with excellent performances.
The Indian team has choosen many youngsters. They have given chance Brainder Sran, Manish Pandey, Gurkeet Singh Mann and Rishi Dhawan can handle the pressure of facing fast bowlers on Australian pitches. Mann and Rishi Dhawan might get a chance for the team and the tour will be a chance to claim number 7 spot which has been a problem for quite some time.