IND v AUS 2020: Ranking the Australian bowlers based on their performances against India

After the conclusion of the limited-overs leg and the two tour matches, all eyes are now on the commencement of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for which India and Australia will battle it out in the longer format.

The series is going to commence with the Day & Night encounter at Adelaide starting from December 17. This will be followed by three more Test matches at Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Let us have a closer look at the Australia bowlers and analyze how they have performed when India have travelled to Australia in the past.

Here, we are trying to rank the bowlers in the Australian squad based on their performances so far against India.

Please note:

The statistics analyzed is limited to India v Australia matches played in Australia since it is the relevant data for the upcoming series.
Top-order batsmen include the batsmen batting from no.1 to no.7
Top-order batsmen constitute 64% of the entire team (7 out of 11). This percentage should be the standard that should be taken into consideration while looking at the top-order dismissal ratio of each bowler

Check out the latest update on the 5 Australian players on the injured list

Ranking the Australian bowlers based on their past performances against India

1. Nathan Lyon

Australia has been historically a paradise for the pace bowlers. There have been legendary leg-spinners like Shane Warne and Richie Benaud in different generations, but finger spinners enjoying success have been far and few. Nathan Lyon is among those few.

Nathan Lyon has caused some problems for the Indian batsmen whenever they have visited the country. In 11 matches that he has played against India in Australia, Lyon has picked up 51 wickets at an average of 33.94. This tally includes 38 (75%) top-order wickets.

The wily off-spinner was the top wicket-taker when India visited Australia in 2014, and also the joint wicket-taker in the 2018 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Lyon has a strike rate of 65.8 when it comes to bowling against India in Australia. He has dismissed Ajinkya Rahane 6 times (8 matches), Rohit Sharma 5 times (5 matches), Rishabh Pant 4 times (4 matches) and Cheteshwar Pujara 4 times (7 matches).

Mitch's left foot: Why Lyon is welcoming Starc's return | @samuelfez https://t.co/GY0AskBJwg #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/lDemOfLpCI
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 14, 2020

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2. Josh Hazlewood

It was a rather tough choice between Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood to decide who could be the most dangerous proposition for the Indian batsmen in the upcoming series. The superior performance of Nathan Lyon in the previous series finally tilted it in his favour.

However, Josh Hazlewood is not far behind. He has picked up 25 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 30 against India in Australia. Even more impressive is the fact is that 88% of his total wickets are of top-order batsmen.

Hazlewood has a strike rate of 66.6 against India in Test matches played in Australia. Indian batsmen have found the consistent length and the seam movement that Hazlewood produces challenging to tackle. He has dismissed KL Rahul 4 times (5 matches), Ajinkya Rahane 4 times (7 matches) and Cheteshwar Pujara 3 times (6 matches).

Also read: 'If we are not getting the results, we will challenge the batsmen with bouncers'

3. Pat Cummins

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2018 is the only series that Pat Cummins has played against India in Australia. He picked up 14 wickets in the series and was second among the top wicket-takers in the Australian ranks.

11 out of his 14 wickets (79%) were of top-order batsmen in that series. The average of Pat Cummins is a bit better than Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood at 28.68. He also has an impressive strike rate of 62.1. If he continues his form and picks up some important wickets during the upcoming tour, Cummins could become the number one bowler for his side.

The right-arm quick caused some issues for the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, during that tour, dismissing him three times in four matches. Cheteshwar Pujara also fell to his bowling twice in that series.

The selectors have plenty to ponder after an intriguing final day in Sydney #AUSAvIND https://t.co/2sanhniLlr
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 13, 2020

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4. Mitchell Starc

The left-arm pacer is ranked below the other three main bowlers in the squad simply because he has been the least effective when it comes to bowling against India by his own standards.

Starc has a career average of 26.97 and an even better one at 25.92 while playing in Australia. However, it is much worse when playing against India. He averages 32.12 in Australia and over 36 when it comes to all matches against India.

Mitchell Starc has picked up a total of 24 wickets from 7 matches, but the percentage of top-order batsmen is down at 67%. He will be inching to improve his record against the visitors in the upcoming series.

5. James Pattinson

James Pattinson's record against India is quite impressive, but the data is from just a couple of Test matches of the 2011/12 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This is a comeback period for the seamer and hence Pattinson is ranked below his fellow bowlers.

He picked up 11 wickets in those two Test matches of which 9 (82%) were top-order batsmen. His average at 25.35 is the best among the rest of the bowling attack.

Pattinson will have to warm the bench in case Tim Paine decides to go in with the three regular seamers and Nathan Lyon, but if he gets a chance, he will be certainly a force to reckon with.

Also read: Moises Henriques added to Australia's Test squad, Sean Abbott out