Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 Players who can win the 'Man of the Series' award

India will take on Australia in the first Test match in Adelaide on Thursday.

This series comes just days after the three-match T20I series ended in a draw, with the game in Melbourne being washed out. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli starred with the bat for India while Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Krunal Pandya did a good job with the ball. For Australia, Adam Zampa was the most successful bowler, and Chris Lynn and Marcus Stoinis had a good time with the bat.

Many experts have picked India as favorites to win the Test series given their recent form and the lack of the dynamic Aussie duo of Steve Smith and David Warner, which has made their batting look weak. But the Aussies have already proved that they can be dangerous without them, so we can expect a cracker of a match and series.

There has also been plenty of chatter about who will be the most impactful players in the series. The batsmen from both teams are likely to dominate the proceedings because the wickets in Australia are more batsman-friendly these days, so you'd expect them to have a better shot at winning the 'Player of the Series' award.

Here, we look at the top three candidates to win the Man of the Series award.

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#3 KL Rahul

The Indian opener hasn't had a great run of games leading up to this fixture but showed some signs of confidence in the second innings against Cricket Australia XI.

Rahul was touted be the next big thing in Indian cricket but hasn't been consistent with his batting. He will look to change that in this series and bat well in Australia, the place where he started his international career.

Rahul is at a crossroads now, and is considered more of a senior player in the team. We can compare his situation with that of Virat Kohli four years ago when he came to Australia.

Kohli was excellent in that series and scored 692 runs, averaging almost 88. Rahul will try to emulate the effort of his skipper in the current series.

Despite his recent failures, Rahul has a good record against Australia. He has scored 523 runs in 11 innings averaging 53.2.

Though there are many other candidates, it feels like Rahul is the one who has got more of a point to prove. He seems more likely to play the big innings and score heaps of runs as compared to most other players in the series.

Rahul needs to perform to retain his place in the side, but he has it in him to win matches for the team. He is a big match player and he is likely to shine in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

#2 Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja has been the most consistent player in the Australian Test team lately, and he will be the key wicket for India. Ricky Ponting has backed Khawaja to score more runs than Virat Kohli in this series, and he wasn't completely off-base in thinking so.

Khawaja has the home advantage and will feel comfortable batting on the Aussie pitches. In the only innings he has played in Australia this year, he scored 171 runs, which would give some a lot of confidence.

Khawaja has scored 565 runs in 7 matches this year, averaging a great 47.08.

Though he has recently been in the news because of his brother getting arrested, his focus will remain on the game; the incident is more likely to fire him up than lower his morale.

With a point to prove and the stature of an underdog, Khawaja is a leading candidate for the 'Man of the Series' and will look to lead the Aussie batting lineup.

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#1 Virat Kohli

Even before the series started, everyone was talking about Virat Kohli and whether he could better the form he showed when he last came here.

Kohli is a changed batsman, for the better, and is the best candidate for the 'Man of the Series'. He has been the fulcrum around which India's batting has revolved, and he has played that part with ease.

In the T20I series, Kohli helped India level the series with a great half century while chasing, and it showed how confident the Indian captain was ahead of the series.

In eight matches in Australia, Kohli has scored 992 runs averaging a whopping 62. He has scored five 100s and is probably more comfortable playing on Aussie tracks than the hosts themselves are.

Kohli's consistency over the last 3 years has been remarkable. He has scored 3337 runs in 32 matches in this period, averaging close to 70. He has also scored 13 100s, and won 6 Man of the Match Awards and 3 man of the Series awards.

Added to this is his burning desire to win a series on foreign soil, and he will no doubt be looking to get to business immediately. Kohli is clearly the leading candidate for the 'Man of the Series' award.