Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai)

Fluctuatin­g ODIS reveal what India will face on tour

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where the problem lies. There’s no doubt KL Rahul has the talent to bat successful­ly at No.4 and his performanc­e in the second contest only served as evidence.

Since that is the spot available to him whilst Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have a mortgage on the opening partnershi­p the best policy is to persevere with the elegant right-hander batting behind Kohli.

The young man who followed Kohli at Mumbai, Shreyas Iyer, was afforded the treatment a lot of the Indian batsmen can expect when they tour Australia next season. He was softened up with some well-directed short stuff before succumbing to a fuller delivery from Starc.

PREPARATIO­NS

This is standard fare on the bouncier Australian pitches and it’s a strategy the Indian batsmen should be prepared for on that eagerly awaited tour.

In pondering that Test series there are a few pointers that can be gleaned from this short ODI series.

Firstly, the batting order in a Test series is a different propositio­n. India has a perfectly good Test No.3 in Cheteshwar Pujara so in the longer format, four is the correct spot for Kohli.

From Australia’s point of view they may want to consider playing leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson at home following Adam Zampa’s success against Kohli in the first two ODIS. This will depend on the venues, as Nathan Lyon will be the first spinner chosen but Zampa’s five successes against Kohli may be a possible fragility worth pursuing.

The Mumbai success was Australia’s fourth ODI win on the trot in India, dating back to last year. It’s not a good policy to let an Australian team get on top mentally, especially as Tim Paine has the Test side in a far different frame of mind from the shell-shocked bunch who lost to India in 2018-19.

India is the best equipped side in world cricket to tackle the Australian Test team at home.

They have the bowlers and batsmen to succeed in those conditions but the way these two ODI contests have fluctuated is an indication that this challenge is going to be a lot tougher than the last tour.

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