India v Australia 2018/19: 5 Key battles which might decide the outcome of the Test series

India and Australia contests have been fierce since the turn of the new century. It all started with the famous Sachin Tendulkar-Shane Warne duel in 1998, when the master-blaster was the peak of his prowess.

Over the years, we have got to witness some great battles and this series in Australia promises to be an exciting one.

Even though Australia have lost two of its biggest match-winners in Steve Smith and David Warner, they are still a formidable force in their own den. They have a pace attack that can destroy batting line-ups with utmost ease.

Indian batting line-up has all the talent required to succeed, but it is their temperament that was found wanting in the tours of South Africa and England.

If India can hold their nerve and win some of the key moments against their opposite numbers, it would be hard to stop them from creating history for the first time.

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#5 Jasprit Bumrah versus Aaron Finch

Aaron Finch is expected to open the batting for Australia in the upcoming Test Series. Even though Finch is new to the Test arena, he has been a vital cog in Australia's limited overs setup.

Finch is an aggressive batsman who can dictate terms to the opposition if he is not snared in the early part of his innings. He had a reasonably good start to his Test career in alien conditions against Pakistan where he showed the grit to fight it out.

Jasprit Bumrah, who is on his first tour to Australia, has a lot to offer. He has been very impressive in his 6-Test career. He has picked up a couple of 5-fers and has troubled the batsman with his sharp movement in South Africa and England.

Aaron Finch usually doesn't move his feet so much and struggles against the incoming delivery. If Bumrah is able to consistently replicate the hostile spell he bowled to Keaton Jennings, he might be the right candidate to trouble Finch as well.

#4 Cheteshwar Pujara versus Josh Hazelwood

Cheteshwar Pujara is an important cog in India's batting wheel. Pujara has a great home record against the Australians scoring two double hundreds.

He was instrumental in India's triumph against Australia in 2017 when he scored a series-defining 92 in Bangalore followed by a masterful double hundred in Ranchi. His efforts helped India to go unscathed into the last Test which they eventually won and wrapped up the series.

Pujara averages a mammoth 64.28 with 900 runs in 9 matches against Australia in India. But his average reduces almost by half in Australia where he has played 3 Tests scoring 201 runs at 33.50 with a solitary fifty. His main problem has been handling the in-swinger which has put him in trouble on a number of occasions.

Pujara's battle against the ever consistent Josh Hazelwood would be an interesting one. Hazlewood is a bowler who bowls in the channel outside the off-stump and gets enough movement to trouble both the edges.

Pujara needs to be precise with his footwork to cover the movement and needs to be aware of his off-stump to avoid getting bowled.

#3 Ravi Ashwin versus Usman Khawaja

Ravi Ashwin is India's most important trump card and he is going to Australia on his third tour. Ashwin has been a force in India against Australia and has picked up 50 wickets in 8 Tests at 23.16 with five 5-fers. He was the Man-of-the-series against the Aussies in 2013/14 season when India defeated Australia 4-0.

However, Ashwin has not been that successful in Australia. He has a poor average of 54.71 for his 21 wickets in 6 matches. Even though he bowled reasonably well against South Africa and England this year, he has to really be the man who keeps things tight and prizes out a few important wickets if India has to be in the battle.

Ashwin versus Usman Khawaja will be a great contest. In the absence of Smith and Warner, Khawaja has to step up his game if Australia wants to put big runs on the board.

Khawaja has been known to struggle against quality spin and if Ashwin has his number in the series, it would definitely tilt the contest in India's favor.

#2 Ajinkya Rahane versus Nathan Lyon

Ajinkya Rahane, India's vice-captain, is walking on thin ice. Not so long ago, he was India's best overseas batsman in SENA countries averaging over 50. But Rahane's reputation has plummeted down after his recent showing in the England series. However, Rahane can feel good considering the fact that he had scored 399 runs in 4 matches in 2014-15 at an average of 57 which consisted of a sublime 147 at MCG.

Rahane has particularly been troubled by spinners. He has got out to off-spinners and googlies in particular. He usually prefers to play the cut shot off the backfoot with the spin and plays it pretty well. However, this has also brought his downfall several times and picks the wrong length while attempting the shot.

Nathan Lyon has been Australia's best spinner since the legendary Warne who has troubled Rahane both in Australia and India. Rahane plays at number 5 when Nathan Lyon will be operating. Their battle would be the one to look out for.

#1 Virat Kohli versus Australia's pacers

Well, this is what the world wants to witness, Australia's quicks versus the number 1 batsman in the world. Virat Kohli has been on a record-breaking spree and has scored 1059 runs in 10 matches with 4 centuries in 2018. He has also completed 1000 runs in a calendar year for the third successive time.

Kohli loves playing in Australia and relishes the battle against the Aussies. There has been a lot of talk about sledging and confrontation. However, Kohli never gets unfazed by these things and usually comes up trumps.

Australians have even said that they won't needle Kohli this time around. He finished with 593 runs in the Test series against England and has scored 992 runs in Australia in 8 matches with 5 centuries.

The same set of bowlers were turned into mere spectators when India toured Australia last time around. Kohli scored heavily against Aussie pacers and none of their bowling plans had any effect on the right-hander.

The performance of Kohli against the Aussie pacers would go on to decide the fate of the series.