India, which has been branded as poor visitors outside the subcontinent, will have a great chance of a rare Test series win in Australia against a team that is struggling to do well following the ugly ball tampering saga.
After the Cricket Australia ban on regular captain Steven Smith and dashing opener David Warner in the aftermath of the ball tampering scandal, the Aussies, somehow haven’t been the force they had been for so many years since the mid-90s.
Australia will host India for a 3-match T20 series, a 4-match Test Series and a 3-match ODI Series. It is the Test series that is going to be very important for India as the team will be looking to prove that they have the ability to not just compete but pull off a series win down under.
CricketFundas.com believes that the odds are in favour of Team India. For all those fans who are into online cricket betting, Team India seems to be the better choice for Test series on current form and players’ abilities while the T20Is and ODIs could go either way.
India flag. Image courtesy of Asif Akbar/Freeimages.com
The reason to go with India in the Test series is for the fact that the Aussies are not a settled side. Their captain for Test matches – Tim Paine, is yet to be a world class player himself. There are issues with the batting line up with no real big names in it although there is enough on the bowling front up to challenge the Indians.
The recent Test series against Pakistan in the UAE was disappointing for the Aussies although Tim Paine led from the front in pulling off a miraculous draw in the first Test. The series though badly exposed the vulnerability of the Australian batting line-up in the absence of David Warner at the top and Steven Smith in the middle order.
Team India, on the other hand, have progressed very well following the retirement of greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan and a few others. Whether it is batting or bowling, India has found some exciting talent to fill up the big shoes.
There is no doubt that Virat Kohli’s captaincy hasn’t been great but his batting has been quite legendary. Of course, his team did lose in England but not so badly. Given that the team had toured South Africa and England in the recent times, the players have gathered lots of experience of how it is to play in Test matches outside the sub-continent.
India’s problems on the South African and England tours have been poor team selection – whether it is giving far too many chances to Shikhar Dhawan, who has only got runs on flat batting tracks or by going with an extra spinner when the need was for a pacer to exploit the seaming and swinging conditions.
Team India will go into the Test Series down under with the exciting new talent in 18-year-old Prithvi Shaw, who is expected to replicate the feats achieved by Sachin Tendulkar as a teenager during the 1991/92 tour.
India Tour of Australia 2018/19 begins from 21 November with the 3-match T20 Series. The most awaited Test series begins from December 6 at the Adelaide Oval.