India-Australia Test series: A battle of attrition
"India has the best chance to win a series in Australia" this statement gives a sense of deja vu - about six months back, similar things were said about India's prospects in England, but the results were in stark contrast.
India had their best chance in England simply for the reason that English team had one of the most fragile batting line-ups in recent times. Indian team's famed batting line-up kept crumbling throughout the English series which turned the series into a battle of attrition - a battle between two struggling batting sides where England won because their lower middle order fared much better than India's lower middle order.
With two of their main batsmen out of the Test arena due to a ban, Australia is also going through a difficult phase as far as their batting line-up is concerned. Indian team can sniff the same opportunity once again but as they go along to call this as a golden opportunity due to a weak Australian batting line-up, Indian team needs to realise that there batting line-up is also their weak link.
Once again it makes the upcoming India-Australia Test series a battle between two struggling batting sides.
Before giving India the favourites tag, one needs to examine the firepower in the bowling line-up of both sides - with bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon in their ranks, that too in conditions which they know like the back of their hand, Australia seems to have a slight edge over India.
Indian bowling also looks good but the fact that Australia is playing in their home conditions and Indian bowlers do not have much experience of playing in Australia, the series can well turn out to be a bumpy ride for the Indian team.
As far as batting is concerned, Virat Kohli was the lone performer for India during the English series which brings out the fact that to win a Test series in alien conditions batting should click as a unit, individual brilliance can win you sessions but not Test matches.
Players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane have the experience of playing in Australian conditions if these players can make their experience count and perform this time around in Australia, then this series can indeed turn out to be a goldmine for India otherwise the ghosts of England can come back to haunt them in Australia as well.