Australia vs India 2018: 3 Things that could decide the Test series

After the T20I series was shared 1-1 by Australia and India, the real “test” for Kohli’s men starts on December 06 at Adelaide. The four-Test series promises to be riveting between two countries who’s battle has been closely fought in recent times.

It has to be noted that India has never won a Test series in Australian shores and many experts and fans feel that this is the best chance to rewrite history.

Apart from the off-field issues that are rocking Australian cricket, the home side will be without their two primary batsmen in former captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner for the entire series, who have invariably loved playing against Indian bowling attack.

Add to the above factors, India are probably travelling with their best ever pace bowling attack who are very capable of taking 20 wickets in all conditions.

All is not lost for Australia going into the Test series against the #1 ICC ranked side. Yes, their batting looks brittle but their bowling has enough firepower to win Test matches.

Like always, there will be key factors ahead of any big series that could decide the final outcome. Here are the three factors that will have an impact in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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#3 Brittle batting line ups

Australia v India - 4th Test: Day 2

Many would argue that its the bowlers who win you Test matches. Yes, you need to pick 20 wickets to win the Test but most people forget that its the batsmen who set the game up for the bowlers. Runs are as important and in fact plenty of them will only make your bowlers’ job much easier.

Take the Indian captain Virat Kohli out of the equation and all of a sudden you see the batting line up of both teams only to know that they are brittle and prone to collapses against strong bowling attacks.

There is no doubt that Kohli is the key to India's success but there needs to be support from Pujara's and Rahane's in order to win their maiden series down under.

This series will no doubt be a good one for the bowlers from either sides and hence the team which scores more runs will end up winning.

#2 India’s ability to mop up the tail

England v India: Specsavers 4th Test - Day One

Over the years, India’s ability (or the lack of it) to knock off the tail has been a perennial problem and that seems to continue even with this current strong bowling attack.

This was one of the key areas where India lost the series against England in the previous away series where the likes of Sam Curran along with other lower order players forged critical partnerships that took the game away from India.

Even though Australia’s top order is vulnerable, their lower middle order which comprises of Tim Paine, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc is good enough to score valuable runs that could end up being the difference.

This is where India needs to have a clear plan and not panic because all the three players mentioned above might take the counter-attacking route to put the bowlers off. If they keep knocking the lower order cheaply, it could go a long way in India pulling off their maiden Test series win on these shores.

#1 How Indian bowlers use the Kookaburra ball

2nd Test - Australia v India: Day 2

Indian bowlers quite like the SG ball used in home conditions and also the Dukes that's used in England but have always found the Kookaburra ball used in Australia more difficult to penetrate.

One of the main reasons could be the seam and how the Kookaburra loses the shine pretty quickly when compared to other balls. Not only does the pronounced seam help the seamers, it can also make a difference to the spinner to grip the ball.

India’s key spinner for the past few years, R Ashwin has so far not enjoyed success in Australia and that could be because of the soft Kookaburra ball.

In England, Indian fast bowlers enjoyed the conditions right through the day but it wont be the same case in Australia. After 25 overs or so, the ball stops swinging in the air and there wont be too much movement off the wicket either unless the wicket has thick green tinges.

So it will be interesting to see if Indian bowlers have worked out a plan this time around on how to use the Kookaburra ball especially once it becomes old.