3 reasons why the upcoming series is India's best ever chance to win in Australia
It's all back to where it all started. After four years, Virat Kohli will return to the land wherein he played his first Test as captain of India.
The upcoming one is India's last Test series this year. Although they had lost in South Africa and England, they are still favorites to win the series.
Stats suggest that India have never won a Test series on Australian soil. They have played down under 11 times and drawn three series while losing the other eight. Last time they went there, they lost the series 2-0 in 2014/15. But this time around, Kohli and his troops will be hoping to avenge the past. Here are three reasons why the upcoming series is India's best ever chance to win in Australia.
#3 Likely absence of Smith and Warner
Australia, in this series, are likely to miss the services of two of their most accomplished batsmen in Steven Smith and David Warner. The duo, who were banned for an year following the ball tampering scandal, are being considered for a premature return to the national team. However, their comeback plans might be delayed till the World Cup.
In their absence, all the batting duties will fall upon the other batsmen. In 2014/15, Steven Smith scored 769 runs against India. He was Man of the Match in the second and fourth Tests aside from becoming Man of the Series.
Not to be left behind, David Warner also scored 427 runs in the series which included two centuries in the first test. They were largely responsible for Australia making big totals against India. This time around, with no Smith or Warner, a much more fragile Australian batting unit will be up against a much better Indian bowling lineup. Things could be very different as we might not see Australia posting mammoth totals and troubling India.