MELBOURNE: For all the doubts that surround India heading into the five-match series in Australia, the hosts will be the last to doubt the qualities of Rohit Sharma’s team.
The world may have changed since India’s last tour in the fog of COVID, when stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane and his injury-decimated squad humbled Tim Paine’s full-strength Australia 2-1 in 2020/21.
Many of the current squad will remember that defeat like it was yesterday, and a good few of them will also recall the previous 2-1 home loss when India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia, ending seven decades of frustration.
Back-to-back Test series wins over Australia are almost unheard of but India have won the last four they have played.
In the last 30 years, only India and South Africa have beaten the Australians in successive tours.
Australia denied India two of the game’s most glittering prizes last year in the World Test Championship final and 50-overs World Cup in the subcontinent.
But no one in the home camp is taking much comfort in India’s stunning 3-0 collapse against New Zealand on home soil.
“It might awaken a sleeping giant, so to speak,” Australia paceman Josh Hazlewood said of the New Zealand whitewash.
Australia have long been masters of their fast and bouncy home pitches, racking up big scores while rattling through batting lineups with intimidating pace.
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However, India’s belated investment in fast bowling reaped big returns in the last two Test tours of Australia.
Even with their five best fast bowlers injured during the 2020/21 series, India had enough firepower in reserve to win the decider in Brisbane and end Australia’s 33-year unbeaten streak at the Gabba.
Modifications to the Kookaburra ball along with a change to more bowler-friendly pitches in Australia in recent years has also brought the nation’s batters back to earth.
Australia were unable to rack up a total above 300 in the 1-1 series draw with West Indies in the last home summer and wickets have continued to tumble in the domestic Sheffield Shield.
“Batting in Shield cricket has been as tough as it’s ever been in the last four years, ever since Kookaburra changed the ball,” said Australia opener Usman Khawaja.
Australia’s pitches may deal harshly with Virat Kohli and India’s struggling batters but Jasprit Bumrah and the Indian bowlers will feel they can do plenty of damage.
David Warner’s retirement and all-rounder Cameron Green’s loss to injury have undermined what was a settled Australian lineup while leaving uncapped Nathan McSweeney to open the batting.
Steve Smith, long Australia’s premier run machine, has seen his output drop steeply in recent years and he will be under pressure to perform after dropping down the order following a failed experiment at the top of it.
However, it will be Australia’s “fab four” bowling unit who will carry the greater burden of winning for the hosts and earning redemption after being well handled by India four years ago.
The pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, along with spinner Nathan Lyon, have continued to dominate Australian bowling even as they advance deeper into their thirties.
Despite the four racking up over 1,400 Test wickets between them, the five-match marathon may Test the unit’s endurance and put greater responsibility on Australia’s rarely-seen support bowlers.
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