Is the Australian team as weak as it appears?
This is the best opportunity for India to win a Test series in Australia.
This line is doing rounds across various forms media over the last few days. Right from the former cricketers to cricket analysts, everyone believes that India might defeat the Kangaroos this time around. Never ever in the history of the game, as long as one could remember, India has never flown down under as the favourites to win a Test series.
Former Australian cricketer, Dean Jones even went on to declare that India can never win again in Australia if they don't get across the line this time. Even former skipper Steve Waugh opined the same and heaped a lot of praise on Virat Kohli. This is definitely not the kind of Australia we are used to seeing. Verbal wars usually begin months before the series and there are a lot of mental games that are played.
However, there haven't been many instances of such on this tour. And, the reason - the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner, two of Australia's strongest pillars. One wrong step has thrown this duo into isolation and has sunken the side into all sorts of problems. This has taken the entire nation by a shocker and left the team stranded.
Post the ball-tampering saga, Australian played three Tests. They lost two and battled extremely hard to draw one. In ODIs, they only won one game out of the eight played so far. Similar is the case with T20Is where they won one game out of seven.
So, the question that arises now - Is the Australian team as weak as it appears? Will the Indian cricket team completely dominate the opposition and register an easy win in the series? Have the Aussies got enough in them to challenge the series favourites? Let's find out:
The impact created by Steve Smith and David Warner
Steve Smith and David Warner are almost irreplaceable in the Aussie lineup. Both leadership-wise and as batsmen, they are extremely critical to the team. Steve Smith was in some fierce form before he was banned. He averages over 60 in Test cricket and has single-handedly won many games for his team.
Also, Smith is a shrewd tactician and an excellent leader. In his absence, Tim Paine, who was not even in the reckoning up to a few months back is leading the side. Thus far, he has failed to draw the inspiration for the side to deliver something big.
Starting from 2017, he scored 6 centuries and 1,530 runs at an average close to 64. 499 of those runs came only against India in 8 innings. His average is above 71 during this period against India and is a very good player of spin.
His deputy, David Warner is no less either. The opener scored 1,270 runs at 47 and consistently provided the side with good starts. Losing these two batsmen, who do a bulk of the scoring for the team, is a huge loss for the side.
Huge loss, but...
Smith and Warner's absence is indeed a huge loss. Yes, the side looks a lot weaker now. But, you just can't write the Aussies off, can you? For sure, the series wouldn't be a one-sided one. After the ball-tampering saga, Australia hasn't played much a home except for a short series against the Proteas. Not a single Test was played down under ever since. Home is where the advantage lies and the Aussies will look to turn around things starting from this series.
The Indian team has got this bad record of getting the out-of-form teams back into great form. Even the batsmen undergoing extremely rough patches tend to strike back when they play India. This was witnessed several times in the past when the side toured England, South Africa and Australia. The bowlers tend to get blown away by the opposition and the practice game played earlier this week is a caution for the same.
Australia would look to brush aside the bruises of the past and start afresh. They would be hoping to make the maximum utilisation of the familiar conditions. India's track record in Australia should help them slightly with their mental preparations.
How the side shapes up ahead of the series?
Australia bank a lot of their hopes on Usman Khawaja. Former skipper Ricky Ponting's statements that Khawaja will score more than Virat Kohli depicts how high the stakes are. After Smith and Warner, he has been the best performer with the bat. His vast experience and ability to play spin well will come in handy.
Aaron Finch is another player who is expected to come good. Along with him, senior pros like Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh should step up. Peter Handscomb is back into the side and must deliver the required goods.
Their bowling unit looks fierce and will be their biggest strength in the series. With the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon, they've got all bases covered.
Yes, Australia is weak but don't write them off when they are playing in home conditions.