Spark
Global Moderator
You keep saying this but aside from Kohli I really don't know if this is true. Rahul is too inconsistent long-term to be trusted, Jaiswal is a real talent but he's brand new, Rohit has always found weird ways to get out after getting a start here and Gill and Iyer have not produced anything like their best home form in away Tests - the former has a less impressive batting record by average than Cam Green, for instance, and is on par with Alex Carey. Meanwhile by far the single biggest headache for the Aus bowlers in recent tours - Pujara - is no longer around.Simon O'Donnell has decided to get into the trolling game by (sarcastically) proposing a series against India without a test in Sydney.
I think there is a grain of truth in there that the recent pitches (since the Cricket Australia ordered flat decks of the 00's and 00s) have tended to be either slow, or when they're more favourable for bowling, grassy. I think this means that India's fast bowlers, who are shorter but significantly more skilled at moving the ball, don't experience the disadvantage they might have with bouncy pitches with little sideways movement, which favour the taller Australian bowlers.
That said Australia's approach to bowling will need to be more intelligent than it was in the Ashes - don't give easy runs on the pads and be prepared to bore the batsmen by bowling well outside off (but don't do it constantly like the West Indies, and Pakistan at Perth) as India's batsmen know how to score big. As for Australia's batting, it's clearly on the decline. Smith can be tied down by anyone now and the whole edifice is flakey. Frankly I'd give India the greater chance of winning the series without a significant turnaround, especially as Melbourne in particular will practically have an India home crowd.
I'd also caution the idea that they're significantly more skilled at moving the ball. Did you see how they bowled last week? I know Shami will probably be back, but that was dismal stuff from most of them. I'm personally of the opinion that this India side has past its peak and will decline from here as it moves into a transitory phase. Incredibly dangerous at home but like this Aus team pushed India hard at home and I don't think any of us really rated that as a high possibility. Mind you Australia's team is probably in a similar spot, so it's to be seen who manages that transition better.
The biggest question actually is Head. What we've really missed in the last two series is someone who can really break the rhythm of the Indian bowlers and get the scoreboard moving, rather than just allowing the Indian seamers and Ashwin/Jadeja to apply relentless pressure and keep the scoreboard under control. I'm of the opinion that the Indian seam attack, like the Aus attack, is at its most vulnerable when attacked, so in principle Head is the most important player in the Aus lineup in that instance.