What’s the story?
Australian ace off-spinner Nathan Lyon has said that his team would have to adopt few ugly tactics to trump India in their own backyard. Lyon conceded that the tour will test them both mentally and physically and they need to adapt accordingly. “Touring there tests you physically and mentally. It puts every area of your skill and resilience under the microscope. To stand up and play well in India is to announce yourself as a world class team and that is what we want to do. We may have to play ugly to score runs and take wickets. Captain Steve Smith talked about adapting to the conditions, and these is what we need to do,” Lyon wrote in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald.
In case you didn’t know...
Australia tour India for a 4-match Test series which begins on February 23 in Pune. This is then followed by Bengaluru (March 4-8), Ranchi (March 16-20) and Dharamsala (March 25-29).
In their previous tour, they were blanked 4-0 by the then MS Dhoni-led Indian side.
The heart of the matter
The Australian team is enjoying a rich vein of form against Pakistan, as they have dismantled them in the Test series. However, things were not always cosy for the Steve Smith-led side, which faced a lot of flak for their indifferent performances before this tour.
After being annihilated against Sri Lanka on spinning pitches, they threw in the towel against South Africa and conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3 match series. This prompted the selectors to take matters into their own hands and they made wholesale changes in the squad by roping in new faces from the Domestic circuit. This yielded dividends for the ravaged team, which salvaged some pride by clinching the final Test match in Adelaide.
They carried this momentum into the Test series against Pakistan and dominated them in all three matches. However, they would be well aware of the challenges which await them when they travel to India.
Thus, according to the schedule, the Australian team travels to Dubai and would look to get much practice on sluggish pitches before they embark on their Indian sojourn.
What next?
With this statement, Nathan Lyon has clearly outlined the thought process of the Australian team, and thus it would be interesting to see how they adjust to the Indian conditions against the hosts which have been a dominant force in the past 15 months.
Not only will they have to fine tune their batting, but the spinners would have to identify the pace and the lengths at which to bowl against the Indian batsmen, who are one of the best players against the turning ball.
Sportskeeda’s Take
The Indian team is in the middle of a golden run in Test cricket, and under Virat Kohli the team has been brushing aside almost anyone in their backyard. However, no Australian team can ever be taken for granted, and hence the upcoming series promises to be one intriguing affair.
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