Australia vs India 2018-19: 5 players who could have a great Test series

India's tour of Australia began with the three-match T20I series which ended 1-1, after the visitors registered an emphatic six-wicket victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in the third and final game of the series.

Hosts Australia led by Aaron Finch won the first game at Gabba, Brisbane by four runs (thanks to the DLS method). The second game played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was eventually called off due to incessant rain. India held the upper hand in that game having restricted the Aussies to 132-7 in 19 overs before rain curtailed the proceedings.

Needing a victory to level the series, Virat's men bounced back with a brilliant display of bowling to restrict the hosts to 164/6 in 20 overs and not allowing them to score a single maximum throughout their innings.

In reply, on the back of good innings by Shikhar Dhawan, skipper Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik, India chased down the target losing just four wickets in 19.4 overs thereby levelling the three-match T20I series 1-1.

Now, the caravan moves to the Adelaide Oval for the ultimate format of the game- gruelling four-match Test series that gets underway on November 6.

Following the Adelaide Test, Perth, Melbourne (Boxing day Test) and Sydney (New Year Test) will be hosting the second, third and fourth Test matches respectively. While the BCCI has announced the Indian squad for all the four games, Cricket Australia has announced the squad for the first two Test matches.

With plenty of quality players in both the sides, let us look at five players who could have a great time in the much-anticipated four-match Test series.

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Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami

Shami is currently the highest wicket-taker for India in Tests this year with 33 scalps in nine matches, with his best figures being 5/28. The Bengal pacer was the chief tormentor with the cherry for Kohli's men during South Africa tour finishing with 15 wickets in three matches.

He continued his good run with another brilliant bowling display against the English in their own backyard, picking up 16 wickets in five matches.

Though India could not get their desired results, Shami's exploits with the ball were the major takeaways from those tours.

Though other pacers have been equally good this year, Shami's performance when India last toured Australia was exceptional with 15 wickets in three matches. He followed it up with 17 wickets in seven matches at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, where India lost in the semi-finals against the Aussies.

Acquaintance with the conditions, form and experience make Shami the one to watch out for in the Test series.

Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja

The Islamabad-born Aussie opener is the highest run-getter for the hosts in Tests this year. So far in the year, he has scored 565 runs in 12 innings which includes three half-centuries and two centuries at an average of 47.08.

A solid top-order batsman, Khawaja's contribution with the bat might pave the ideal platform for other Aussie batsmen to capitalize on the good start. It will be difficult to encounter the Indian pacers especially with the new ball, but the southpaw who has 2455 Test runs to his name, might be wary of the threat.

A very good player of the spin, Khawaja scored 85 off 175 in the first innings before coming up with a match-saving century in the second innings (141 off 302) of the Dubai Test against Pakistan last month. He emerged as the highest scorer in the two-match series, scoring 229 runs at an average of 76.33.

One of the few senior players in the current Test squad, Khawaja's form and experience in the red-ball cricket might be crucial for the Aussies to pile runs on the board.

Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw

Well, predicting a 19-year-old (who will be playing just his second Test series) to perform well that too in the fast and bouncy Australian tracks might be surprising. But, such is the confidence and maturity Shaw has shown in his batting in the matches he has played across formats.

A Man-of-the-series winning performance in his debut Test series against the West Indies last month saw the young prodigy score 237 runs in three innings at an astonishing average of 118.50, with his highest score being 134.

Thanks to his consistency with the bat in the domestic circuit, Shaw's name was doing the rounds for quite sometime before finally getting his spot in the Test side against the visiting Windies side.

UPDATE - Prithvi Shaw ruled out of First Test against Australia in Adelaide. https://t.co/bOB8e6Ijrv

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 30, 2018

In 17 First-class matches, the 2018 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup-winning captain has scored 1767 runs at an average of 60.93. Shaw top-scored for India with a quickfire 66 off 69 balls in the first innings of the four-day practice game against Cricket Australia XI at the SCG.

Though he is ruled out of the first Test due to the Ankle injury sustained during that game, expect the Mumbaikar to continue his good run in the whites when he returns from the injury.

Nathan Lyon

Nathan Lyon

Lyon, who was the leading wicket-taker in Tests last year is currently the highest wicket-taker for Australia in Tests (in 2018) with 32 wickets in seven matches. In the two-match Test series against Pakistan in UAE, Lyon excelled with the cherry scalping 12 wickets.

Lyon was one of the key members of the Australian squad that won the four-match Test series 2-0 against the visiting Indian side back in 2014-15. He picked up 23 wickets in that series and played a crucial role in an Aussie series victory.

Being the only spinner in the entire squad, the onus will be on Lyon to recreate the magic with the ball. He has been the Aussies' prime spinner for several years now and will be looking to continue his dominance over the Indian batsmen just like he has done in the past.

With 80 matches and 318 Test wickets under his belt, the 31-year-old off-spinner will once again hold the key in restricting the ruthless Indian batsman.

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

The flamboyant Indian skipper is currently the highest run-getter in Tests this year with 1063 runs in 18 innings at an average of 59.05.

Run-machine Virat has registered four half-centuries and four centuries so far in 2018, with his highest score being 153 against the Proteas at Centurion in January. Though India could not win the series, Kohli was in sublime touch against South Africa and England (both away) amassing 286 and 593 runs and thereby stamping his authority with the bat.

As a captain, he will be more determined to turn things around against Australia, who are sans regular skipper Steven Smith and David Warner. Kohli's captaincy will be the key if this Indian side wants to seal the Test series in Australia (which no Indian side has ever done so far). But that won't be easy even though Tim Paine's men are without several stars.

Kohli proved himself with the bat when India last toured Australia four years ago. He amassed 692 runs in four Tests that included four centuries at an average of 86.50. Hence, it won't be a daunting task for the man who is in a great form, to emulate that performance this time.