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| Edited By: Pranav Joshi |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Sep 29, 2017, 06:30 PM IST
An India-Australia series is cause for celebration. Over the years, this storied rivalry has never failed to excite fans from both sides. With the World Cup looming in Australia, there was added excitment about the series. An unfortunate incident in the form of Phillip Hughes' death means interest in the series has now reached a wholly different level. While this is a miserable way to bring back attention to the game, everyone is on the edge of their seats again.
India go into the Test as the more confident team, having done well in their practice games. This in spite of the fact that India will be without their regular captain MS Dhoni, who is out with a thumb injury, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has a left ankle injury. On a reasonably firm batting wicket in Adelaide, Australia might just struggle to throw off the emotion of Hughes' death.
The fact that the first Test begins in Adelaide instead of Brisbane will comfort the Indians a bit. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina (assuming he is part of the starting XI) would have found the going more difficult on the bouncier Brisbane track. Adelaide might restore their confidence and enable them to score a few good runs before Brisbane and Melbourne arrive.
Virat Kohli has to ensure his captaincy does not affect his batting, and vice versa. There are no seniors in this team apart from Dhoni himself, and Kohli is India's numero uno batsman. He is the one batsman in the side you can rely on to negotiate pace, bounce and swing with relative ease. He is almost exactly in the same position Sachin Tendulkar found himself during the 1999-00 tour to Australia. The only difference is that his trial by fire will last just one Test instead of three.
For Cheteshwar Pujara, Australia is a golden chance to redeem himself after a torrid year outside the subcontinent and being shunned from the World Cup side. Pujara always had massive shoes to fill - Rahul Dravid's - but unless he proves himself outside the subcontinent, the doubts and the barbs will persist. Then again, Pujara will do well to remember that Rahul Dravid failed miserably in his first series in Australia, and never really got going in South Africa in his entire career.
Lastly, will India go for Ajinkya Rahane or Murali Vijay as the opening partner for Dhawan? Both Rahane and Vijay played reasonably well in England. But Vijay is the default opener while Rahane may bat at No 5.
It will be interesting to see what kind of bowling combination India use. Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami are now almost certainties, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar out.
Whether India pick Varun Aaron or Umesh Yadav would be an important question. It will also be interesting to see whether India sacrifice a genuine batsman to include Ravindra Jadeja. Ideally, India may look for more spin options in Adelaide and Sydney while sticking to just R Ashwin in Brisbane and Melbourne.
For Australia, Michael Clarke is fit to captain. How much they are able to focus on playing hard, competitive cricket remains to be seen. Will Mitchell Johnson be able to steam in and bowl menacingly in the first spell, terrorising Indian batsmen the way he terrorised England several months ago? How much will Australia use the bouncer.
The one positive for Australia - aside from the obvious fact that they are playing at home - will be that the team for the first Test has already been decided. Their challenge is to take Hughes' death as motivation to perform at their best with 'we'll do it for Hughes' mentality.
Expect the team winning the toss to bat first. India will be at a distinct advantage if they win the toss and bat, as bowling first may play on the minds of the Australians. In normal circumstances, Australia would be favourites to win. Now, all bets are off.
Squads:
India (probable): Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami.
Australia: Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (captain), Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon.
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