India vs Australia 2017: 5 things we learned from the series

After drubbing the West Indies and Sri Lanka both at their respective home venues, India had their first big test under new coach Ravi Shashtri when Australia came visiting. However, few would have expected it to be as one-sided as it eventually was.

The Australian side, like India, had some of its top names missing, and the Kangaroos ended up losing the five-match series 1-4.

For the Indians, there were plenty of positives from the series, especially the form of Ajinkya Rahane and the wrist spinners and the growth of Hardik Pandya. For the Australians, though, there was not much to take back home.

Here are five things that we learned from the series.

#5 Finch, Warner crucial to Australia's World Cup defence

Aaron Finch had been a mainstay in the Australian limited overs setup ever since making his debut four years ago. However, after a string of poor performances, he was dropped from the team towards the start of the year. In this series, though, he has proved his worth once again.

The Aussies, even if they say otherwise, did miss him in the first two matches. In his absence, even David Warner was struggling to get going; it is possible the burden of pressure at the top of the order was too much to handle alone.

From game three onwards, Australia still gave somewhat of a fight to the Indians and it was largely due to the Finch-Warner combination at the top. There is an undeniable chemistry between the two, one that is going to be crucial in Australia’s World Cup defence in 2019.

#4 India’s squad depth is second to none

Even without some of their key players like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadej and Shikhar Dhawan, Team India found their bearing and never looked like they missed a particular player. And this was largely because of the fact that they found a player every time the situation demanded one.

A couple of months ago, after success in Sri Lanka, Kohli had claimed that it was the squad depth that was the team’s biggest strength. If anything, that claim found further backing in this series as the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel all stood up and performed exceptionally.

There is competition for every position in the line-up and the players are actually thriving from this competition. They know they have to perform to stay in the team, and that drives them to give their best.

#3 Hardik Pandya has grown beyond expectations

Hardik Pandya

Many players grew in this series – Chahal, Kuldeep and Rahane, in particular – but nobody grew more than Hardik Pandya. There was never a doubt of his promise and talent, but what excited us was the translation of that promise, especially, in this series, where he scored 222 runs with the bat and also picked up six wickets.

Even a year back, he was struggling to find his footing in the India A team. He was giving away his wicket, he was struggling to adapt to situations. But under Rahul Dravid's mentorship, the crinkles in his regimen were smoothed over.

And now, even Kohli realises that he is the biggest asset to the team. Of course, Pandya’s biggest test isn't until early next year in South Africa but we do need to be patient in our assessment.

#2 Kuldeep Yadav could be India’s trump card for some time ahead

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav is still early into his days as an international cricketer but he is already working his magic and earning plaudits from pundits and fans alike. And in this series, he gained a new set of admirers and fans, the most noteworthy among them iconic spinner Shane Warne.

It does not take much to comprehend why Warne believes that Kuldeep could be “the best leg spinner in the world.” He can turn the ball both ways and as a result, always has batsmen on their toes.

He might be hit for a huge six but that does not frazzle him as it could many others.

Instead, he will go back to his bowling mark, ready to bowl another tossed up delivery, tempting the batsman to go for it again and drawing him to make a mistake. That makes him invaluable to the team.

#1 Ravi Shastri-Virat Kohli partnership successful so far

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri

Right after the conclusion of the ICC Champions Trophy, Indian cricket was shrouded in controversy regarding the clash of interests of Virat Kohli and the then coach Anil Kumble. While Kumble had been very successful in his one-year tenure, Kohli had reservations with his style.

This eventually led to Kumble’s resignation from the post and Ravi Shastri being appointed his replacement. This turn of events upset many former cricketers, but everyone agreed that it was in the best interests of Indian cricket. But only time could give substantial proof of that.

Under Shastri, India started off well with comfortable victories in West Indies and Sri Lanka but the first big Test was always going to be the Australia series. As the result of the recently concluded series would suggest, it is safe to say that the Shastri-Kohli partnership is indeed working quite well.