India vs Australia: Last chance for Virat Kohli and co. to enjoy home turf before the real test begins

India have been inexorable so far at home, demolishing sides like New Zealand, England and Bangladesh at will. In the 9 Tests India have played at home, teams have amassed 13,625 runs, which is the second best when it comes to England tally of runs at home (15,361). In terms of wickets a total of 416 victims have fallen on the pitch, which is also second best behind England (462). It was touted to be the make-or-break season for a young and an inexperienced Indian side, and they went on to have a very happy run. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Australia, 1st Test at Pune

Virat Kohli, India’s Test captain had the perfect opportunity to stake claim to a plethora of records to his name, and that he did. With India playing under the comfort of home conditions, Kohli and his troops — marched, battled, damaged and conquered anyone who opposed their rule. India started their path to Test dominance against New Zealand, where Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja annihilated the visitors to pulp; attaining a series whitewash. India’s batting was dubious to say the least but showed sparks of brilliance. The Kiwis in their defence could say that they nurtured a fragile batting line-up with only Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to stir their sail.

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Next came England, from the land of fish and chips, attempting to topple the terrain of chicken tikka masala (which is ironically England’s nation dish). Piloted by Alastair Cook, the Three Lions took on the valour of Kohli’s battle ready brigade. It was a series that saw Kohli stockpile hundreds, Pujara loot  runs and Vijay gather 100+ scores at ease. Given the pitches were familiar to the Indian batters, they easily hammered England’s lacklustre bowling to the tissue. IND vs AUS, 1st Test stats preview: Kohli, Ashwin, Smith eye milestones

India’s spinning duo in Ashwin and Jadeja relished bowling against a timid batting line-up survived only by Cook and Joe Root alone. Ashwin accounted for 28 wickets, while Jadeja scalped 26 victims for himself. Even newbie Jayant Yadav claimed 9 wickets in his debut series. Much to the credit of the bowlers, India have not dished out rank-turners like it did against South Africa in 2015-16. Also what is commendable is the performance of Indian fast bowlers, who have managed to develop the art of reverse-swing.

Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar excelled and played their parts well. Indian conditions, on the other hand, have been helpful for them with abrasive surfaces, sun-beating grounds and hardly any moisture on offer for them to hamper their skills.

India bruised and battered England to win the five-Test series by a handsome margin of four games to zero passing the second-hurdle at home. Kohli and his men riding on self-belief took on the eastern-neighbours’ Bangladesh in a one-off Test. More than anything else it acted as an well-planned practice for the upcoming Australia series.

India, prevailed yet again with the similar group of players shining though, proving they are ready for the final ‘Border’ towards incomparability in Tests .

Australia, pose the biggest threat to Kohli’s dominance at home with players like David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Shaun Marsh’s know-how Indian conditions. Warner and Smith, in particular will be the toughest batsmen to dismantle in middle, with their technical precedence well known. Warner, will be much more feared as his stay in the middle for a few overs can slant the match in Australia’s favour.

Smith, much like his contemporary, Kane Williamson, will be under tremendous pressure to come good with the bat and exhibit his captaincy acumen. This factor in all likelihood, will tilt the outcome of the series in Kohli’s goodwill. Australia, will bank on Mitchell Starc to fire all cylinders if they even have an iota of a chance to win any Test (Dharamsala to be more direct).

Their spinning prowess in Nathan Lyon, Stephen O’Keefe, Mitchell Sweepson and Aston Agar looks thin yet promising. O’Keefe’s tenacity mixed with Lyon’s persistence can spring in a surprise but could be a herculean task against the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Wriddhiman Saha.

Australian pundits and cricket gurus have quite bluntly announced that current Steven Smith-led team holds no chance of upstaging India in India. India will still not want to take Australia lightly or the joke could very well be on them.

Australia’s tour of India is looming as a repeat of that macabre scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: “Bring out your dead” – Ian Chappell

Post this India don’t play a Test in home conditions until March 2018. Kohli and his men will tour Sri Lanka (3 Test) and South Africa (4 Test) in July and December respectively. Sri Lanka, will a tough-tour but having already won a series there in 2015, Kohli would not heed into this much.

The real test will bring in South Africa, where the hosts will look to avenge their 0-3 defeat against India in India. Unlike in India, Proteas will dish-out green, bouncy and fast wickets to crumble down Vijay, Pujara, and Kohli, all of whom have poor record there. Youngsters like Rahul and Nair will indeed to tested to their limits batting.

It will be quite interesting to see Umesh, Shami and Bhuvneshwar perform in helpful conditions, where gaining control of the ball is more important than maintaining it for reverse swing.

Ashwin’s record outside India has been quite pitiable. Only 67 of his 254 wickets have come outside the country. He too will want to make his haters eat a humble pie and stay out of business for a while. Jadeja’s reputation will be on the line, and he too would want to show that he is not a home bully.

India, play as many as 12 Tests under non-subcontinent conditions in the next one and a half years. The Australia hurdle will be crossed but the real Test will start thereon. To keep up the momentum will be crucial. For now, another whitewash will on the mind of Kohli’s side.