The Indian team are on a high following their dominating display against the Sri Lankans. The team were able to win all their games and now are ready to face the Australians in a gruelling limited overs tour. India and Australia will play 5 ODIs and fans around the world are very excited for the big series.
India will start the series as favourites but it would be too early to belittle the mighty Kangaroos. In this post, Rohit Nair lists 5 Australian players that India need to watch out for:
Steven Smith:
The Australian captain is always the danger man in their side and he has punished the Indians on multiple occasions. He is one of the best batsmen in the world and his unorthodox technique allows him to get runs every time he comes out to bat.
India will need to get him out as soon as possible because once he gets a good start, he does not relinquish it. He is also the captain, so India need to be able to put pressure on him to make mistakes even while the Aussies are fielding.
David Warner:
The Australian opener is another one who the Indians know really well as he has played multiple memorable innings against us. Warner is one of the most explosive limited overs batsmen in the game and he can take the game away from India when he wants.
He does have a few weaknesses against the swinging ball, so the fast bowlers should take note and try to get him out soon.
Josh Hazlewood:
In the absence of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood will carry the mantle of being the main strike bowler for Australia and he has been in good form off late, at least in the longer format. Whether he can carry that momentum to the limited overs setup needs to be seen.
Hazlewood can cause a lot of problems to the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma with his disciplined line, so they will need to be cautious.
Travis Head:
The middle-order batsman is another one who is in good form off late and requires a good series to cement his place in the squad. Head is in a good space right now so the Indians will need to be careful.
The Aussie batsman can play the floater in the squad and can bat at any position in the middle order based on the situation.
Glenn Maxwell:
An old adversary of the Indian team, Maxwell is always known for his antics on the field of play as much as he is known for his explosive batting. He is the main middle-order batsman who can cause a lot of damage at the end of the innings.
India will need to make sure that he is kept quiet because once he get the pyrotechnics out, there is no way to stop him.
