5 biggest positives to come out of India's tours Down Under
India's long Trans-Tasman tour has finally come to an end, with the Indian team coming out with their heads held high.
In Australia, they won everything except the T20I series, which ended up 1-1. They completely dominated the Aussies in the Tests (2-1) which was a historic first, and they also won their first ever bilateral ODI series on Australian soil (2-1).
The New Zealand tour, which was supposed to be a tough one for the Indians, was one-sided at first as the visitors cruised to their first ever away series win against the Kiwis (4-1). The only blemish was the T20I series which was closely fought, but which India ended up losing despite coming incredibly close.
Nevertheless, this has been India's best overseas yet by a long way, and the management must be fairly confident of the team's chances heading into the World Cup 2019.
There are plenty of positives to come out of both the tours, and here are the 5 most important of them.
#5 Mohammed Shami's form
The thing that is most promising is the form of Mohammed Shami. Before the tour to Australia began, Shami was not a certainty in the ODI team. But look at him now: he seems to be an automatic pick for the side.
Shami became the quickest Indian bowler to reach the 100 wicket landmark in ODIs on this tour.
There was no doubt about his ability as a bowler; we always knew he would bowl his heart out. But Shami was always tagged as a second innings specialist.
Things were different this time around though as he got lots of wickets in the Tests against the Aussies which subsequently earned him a place in the ODI squad again after quite a while. And he didn't disappoint the selectors who were looking for a pace bowling option to support Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah at the World Cup.