An eagerly anticipated Test series between India and Australia gets underway in Nagpur on Thursday when the two sides embark on a journey of four matches which might well tell us just who the best team in the world in this format is.
It is very possible that these four matches are dress rehearsals for the World Test Championship Final in June so there will be even more of a competitive edge on the game than there usually is between these two and they are often very feisty.
India
India head into this series knowing that the last time they were in Australia they came out on top so a win in this series really would have them seen as the dominant force of these two nations at present. They will be very confident of coming out on top in this series because they have the ability to really prepare wickets which suit them and it would appear they are going down that route. I have no issue with that but when that option is taken the home team has to deliver.
You would imagine that the India batters will cope with the surface that is underneath them in this opening match so the battle for the victory is likely to come with the ball. India will be without Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Jadeja who are often key bowlers for them so they are going to need others in the attack to stand up. Most of the players on show have been rested for this series so they should be ready for a big performance.
Australia
This is probably the biggest test that Australia can face as a red ball side. It might not be the biggest series they have, that is still to come later in the year when they bid to defend The Ashes, but in terms of coming out on top in conditions that are completely alien to them this really is as tough as it gets. Their record against India overall is weakening but in India it is especially poor. They are not alone in that regard, not many fare well in this part of the world, but Australians love a challenge and they’ll give it a good go.
The problem that Australia have in this match, and the three which will follow it, is that they are going to be tested when they have the bat in hand and when they are in the field bowling. You would imagine the result nature of these pitches will keep their bowlers competitive even if the wickets don’t suit their strengths, so the outcomes or otherwise will be determined by how they go with the bat. You would think two men in particular will need to fill their boots.
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Team News
India have all but picked their team but have a trio of selection questions to answer. One is whether KL Rahul opens or Shubman Gill does. If it is the former the latter could beat Suryakumar Yadav to a middle order spot. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are battling for the second spinner role.
Australia have already confirmed that Cameron Green will not be involved in this match and Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out with injury as well. Ashton Agar is likely to get the second spinner nod to provide further depth to the batting.
Betting
It will be interesting to see how Australia begin this series. They didn’t fly to India early for a warm up, instead choosing to prepare on a specially prepared dry wicket back home. I struggle to believe they could have replicated the conditions they are going to get here though so I would imagine they are going to build their way into the series, although that is a risky situation because once India get ahead they are tough to peg back. I don’t want to get too involved until we’ve seen the teams in action but I’ll go with one bet.
Marnus Labuschagne is going to need to have a big series if Australia are to get anything from it. Obviously he will need to do most of his best work with the bat but he could be important with the ball at times because I think everyone agrees this pitch is going to turn and it is probably going to do it from a very early stage. He has a performance line of 80.5 which is more than achievable across two knocks with the bat but if he can snaffle a wicket along the way it becomes even more so. I’ll play the over.
Tips
Back M.Labuschagne’s Performance – Over 80.5 points for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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