4 reasons why this will be India's best chance to win a Test series in Australia
India will be heading to their next big away Test series in a couple of months to Australia following a hard-fought one in England. The gruelling English tour was followed by an easy 2-0 victory over the Windies at home.
The home series witnessed the arrival of the teenage opener, Prithvi Shaw into the international arena. All the batsmen except for KL Rahul scored runs and the bowlers especially Umesh Yadav picked up bucketloads of wickets.
However, the team management will have their task cut out to work on the shortcomings they had during the England tour as they prepare for the Australian summer. India's bowling was exceptional in England with the pacers giving a tough time to English batsmen.
Failure to score runs by the batsmen and the inconsistency were the major reasons for India's defeat on English soil. On the other hand, Australia is still on their path to recovery after the ball tampering incident in South Africa at the beginning of 2018.
Their recent tour to UAE against Pakistan highlights the weaknesses of the current team. Their experiment with Finch as an opener has been successful. Although, the middle order batting woes and the fitness issues will hunt them when India lands in Australia.
Every team holds their advantage at home with the familiar playing conditions and crowd support. Australia won't be different in this aspect even in the absence of some of the key players.
They will be a formidable side at home irrespective of their recent Test record. However, by the looks of it, this will be the best chance for India to win a Test series in Australia. Let's have a look at the top four reasons why this is possible for Kohli and his men:
#4 The recent performance of fast bowlers
The fast bowlers comprising of Bhuvaneswar Kumar, Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammad Shami have been exceptional in the recent away tours to South Africa and England.
These fast bowlers managed to take 20 wickets during most Tests on the above two tours. It is not about those wickets but also the discipline and accuracy they brought in their bowling that has been phenomenal.
Umesh Yadav's bowling against West Indies in Indian conditions shows the progress the pacers are making in these last couple of years. India also has an option of using Hardik Pandya to pitch in with valuable contributions with the ball.
The pace bowlers accounted for 50 wickets in South Africa and 61 in England. India will expect the pacers to come into action once again in the Australian conditions to take the bulk of the wickets.