5 key battles to look forward to in the Tri-Series

The tri-series featuring India, England and the hosts Australia is an ideal platform to prepare and test combinations before the World Cup which starts in Australia and New Zealand in a month’s time.This series will feature some much-anticipated rivalries that have developed over the last 2-3 years leading up to the World Cup. And this is what makes the series exciting and unique. India, Australia and England feature in a tri-series for the very first time since the tri-series was included in the Australian cricketing calendar and is bound to give some indications of what to expect from these sides during the World Cup.So let’s take a look at some of the interesting face-offs which will be on display in the tri-series: 

#1 Virat Kohli vs James Anderson

During India’s tour of England in July-August 2014, Virat Kohli was dismissed by James Anderson no less than five times. The Delhi batsman kept on prodding at the line outside off-stump, and Anderson, being the smart bowler he is, kept bowling in that corridor of uncertainty to force him to make such mistakes.

In the series, Kohli looked susceptible outside the off-stump as soon as Anderson came on to bowl in almost every match with the possible exception of Southampton. As the series went on, his confidence clearly diminished and he wasn’t able to resist the temptation of poking at deliveries that were well outside his eye-line. After a point, it almost seemed as if Kohli’s ego came in the way as he refused to change his approach, without realising that he needed to put greater priority on his wicket against a bowler of the ilk of Anderson.

However, in the recently concluded series against Australia, Kohli scored 692 runs at a stupendous average of over 80 and showed that the England series was nothing more than a blip. With his confidence now sky-high after tackling Mitchell Johnson brilliantly, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top when they go head-to-head this time around.