Hyderabad: India's much-anticipated Down Under series against Australia is set to begin on Friday with the white ball series comprising three one-dayers and as many twenty-20 internationals. The limited-overs series will be followed by the four-match Test series which is already under the spotlight. Though the two-month-long tour gets underway with the limited-overs series, the main attraction is the Test series.
There are already so many verbal volleys being passed from either camp which are playing a big role in charging up the players as well as the fans. Team India will look to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, that they won 2-1 in 2018-19 under the leadership of Virat Kohli, who will not be around to lead this time after the Adelaide Test due to the birth of his first child.
Former Australia skipper Michael Clarke has already warned that India could be “smoked 4-0” in the Test series in Kohli's absence. Incumbent skipper Tim Paine has also expressed his wish to regain the prestige that he saw getting doomed at the hands of touring Indian team when they toured Australia two years back.
Steve Smith, who had missed the 2018-19 home series due to suspension, has already dared Indian pacers to bowl short balls and alleged that Indian fast bowlers are not as good as Neil Wagner when it comes to bowling shorter deliveries.
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Last time when India defeated Smith and David Warner less Australia, pacers - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma - inflicted a heavy blow to the Aussie batsmen. With Bumrah and Shami are fully fit after a rollicking IPL season at the placid UAE conditions, they must be licking their lips to bowl at hard and bouncy Australian conditions to emulate their success of first Test series victory.
The Indian contingent is currently staying in a stressful bio-bubble. Australian players - both current and former- gave their Indian counterparts a hostile reception upon their arrival Down Under. They opted to play mind-game with the Indian cricketers. Mind-game is an invisible factor in a Test match that can either leave the touring side in serious trouble or charge them up to perform well. Traditionally, it is a weapon Aussies use to throttle the opposition players off the field to gain an advantage on the field.
But Team India head coach Ravi Shastri doesn't like to sit back and embrace these volleys with open arms. He spoke highly of his 'fabulous five', aka 'Fab-Five', referring to his pacemen Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini.
India will miss Ishant Sharma's experience and expertise as the pacer couldn't recover on time from the injury that he suffered during the IPL. But Shastri knows the price India may have to pay in the 32-year-old pacer's absence. However, the former India all-rounder is adamant and believes India can still win the Test series against Australia for the second successive times, riding on the pace attack.
Lavishing praise on his pace bowlers, Shastri said, “Yadav has the experience. Saini is young and fast. Bumrah one of the best in business. Shami is raring to go. Siraj is an exciting prospect. You put up runs on the board and watch these fast bowlers hunt the opposition. They can beat Australia in their own den."
In India's first Test series win in Australia in 72 years, Bumrah was the joint highest wicket-taker along with Nathan Lyon. Both took 21 wickets in four Tests, but the Indian fast bowler's effectiveness was far more than the Aussie spinner. A lethal pacer, with pace, seam, yorker and bouncer making his armoury versatile, Bumrah bowled 157. 1 overs, compared to Lyon's 242.1 and conceded 357 runs against Lyon's 639. His average was also far superior at 17 than Lyon, who bowled with an average of 30.43.
Shami was the third-highest wicket-taker and second-highest among the pacers with 16 wickets in that series. His partnership with Bumrah with the old ball had left Australia reeling at shoddy scores regularly. But the absence of new-ball bowler Ishant Sharma is a concern for India that Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun will have to address during the limited-overs series.
Saini's availability will give them an option as the bowler can bowl with an infinite pace and seam. Siraj can be used after lunch as he can swing the ball with a medium pace. But both lack experience of Test cricket. Another concern for India is that Shami's most of the scalps in the last Australia tour came when the pitch became ragged. India could face a stiff challenge if Australia bat first.
The spin bowling duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were off-colour too, with both warmed the seat for the most part of the series. While Ashwin took six wickets in his solitary appearance in Adeliade Test, Jadeja played two and scalped seven wickets.
While this series will see Saini and Siraj making their Test debut with a lot of promise, their inexperience and Ishant Sharma's unavailability will be two big challenges India have to outdo to get better of a star-studded Australian batting attack, that have talented Marnus Labuschagne apart from Smith and Warner in the ranks.
In the batting front, Kohli leaving home after Adelaide Test and injured Rohit Sharma's absence came as a major blow to the Indian team off late. Not having Kohli and Rohit in the team will give Australia a cerebral advantage.
Also Read: AUS vs IND: Series loss to India still annoys and grinds me, says Paine
In the meantime, last tour's highest scorer Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 521 runs at an average of 74.43 in four Tests, has not played any competitive cricket since February last when India toured New Zealand. Hence, his form and reputation will be at stake during this Australia tour. At the same time, in absence of Kohli India will look forward to Pujara to bear the responsibility of taking India's ship forward. But lack of match practice could make him rusty to the advantage of Australian bowlers.
Now, it will not be wrong to say that, ahead of the Test series, starting on December 17 with the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval, India are already plagued with rippling issues that left the team management with a mountainous challenge to negate.
--- By Sudipta Biswas
