All eyes will be on India’s bowling attack when they take on Australia in three-match T20 International starting tomorrow.
India had a woeful outing in the Asia Cup tournament and their loss against arch-rivals Pakistan and eventual champions Sri Lanka saw them get knocked out of the tournament in the super four stages. And to a certain extent, it was the bowling unit that had disappointed and were blamed by the experts and blamed for India’s early exit from the tournament.
However, with the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel will boost the Indian bowling attack. They both will be looking forward to get among wickets on their return as the World Cup approaches. Other pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar and spinners Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal will have to do well as well.
The series will provide a chance for the bowlers to redeem themselves and exorcise the ghost of the continental tournament.
Though India could not progress past the Super Four phase of Asia Cup, they have some positives coming into this series. The biggest of them all is Virat Kohli regaining his form. ‘King Kohli’ as he is known to fans, scored 276 runs in five innings during the Asia Cup, which included one century, a highly-anticipated one and two half-centuries. The way ball found the middle of his bat was a sight not seen since a long while and fans would be hoping that they get to see more of it.
This series is a chance for in-form middle-order batters like Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant to score big against a world-class team which currently has the biggest prize in T20I cricket. Pant has scored heavily against Australia historically and it would be his chance to prove his worth as a T20I player, a format in which he has struggled.
Australia on the other hand is coming to the series after some T20I series win throughout the year and a 3-0 win over New Zealand in ODIs. A lot of eyes will be on globetrotting power-hitter Tim David, who has been included in the Australian squad. He could be really dangerous with his no-look shots, big sixes and Indian bowlers will have to beware of him.
Skipper Aaron Finch will have to rectify his poor run of form by scoring against India to boost his side’s chances in the series and World Cup as well. This series will also be an opportunity for star batter Steve Smith to establish himself as a T20I player.
Though Australia will miss stars like Mitchell Marsh, David Warner and Marcus Stoinis, this series will be a good opportunity for the likes of all-rounders Cameron Green and Daniel Sams, batter Josh Inglis, pacer Nathan Ellis to present their case as the future of Men in Yellow.
Australia is travelling to subcontinent with a top-class bowling attack consisting of Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa and Pat Cummins. With their quality, they can wreak havoc in any conditions.