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

#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.