Australia vs India 2018-19: 5 player battles that can decide the Test series
India and Australia will be at loggerheads in the Border-Gavaskar trophy which commences on 6th December. The teams will renew their rivalry in the first Test which will be played at Adelaide.
While the Indian team comes to Australia as the number one ranked Test side, the current Australian side looks like a pale shadow of the once unbeatable Australian team. On paper India looks like a stronger side and even though India starts the series as the favourites, Australia can never be written off, especially playing at home. The Australian bowling attack is still one of the best in the world and will pose a major threat to the fragile and under-confident Indian batting line-up.
Also, there will be some crucial one-to-one battles between players from both sides. Players who succeed in these individual battles will ultimately have a huge impact on the final result of the series.
Here are the five player battles which will have a huge impact on the final outcome of the Test series.
#5 Shaun Marsh vs Ravichandran Ashwin
After a mediocre series against England, Ashwin got back into his groove against West Indies. Even though Australian pitches aren't conducive for spin-bowling, Ashwin is well equipped to trouble the Australians. Moreover, with so many left-handed batsmen in the Australian side, the ace spinner will be smelling blood when he gets the red cherry in his hand.
One of these left-handed batsmen is Shaun Marsh. In the absence of Smith and Warner, Marsh is the most experienced batsman in the Australian side. And even though he looked awfully out of touch against Pakistan in U.A.E, Marsh will hold the key for the Australian middle-order. He struggles against off-spinners and Ashwin will look to exploit that.