What does the just-concluded India-Australia series tell us?

The just-completed series between the top two ODI teams, India and Australia, has provided not just one or two, but a bunch of formidable records that brought forth a glimpse of the outstanding cricket delivered by both the teams in the past three weeks in the sub-continent.

There are lot of positives that both the teams can take forward while moving to achieve towards the upcoming World Cup in two years.

Firstly, let’s analyse the performance of Team India and their strongest part that made them the crucial winners at the end of the tournament.

First and foremost, the opening pair – Shikhar and Rohit Sharma - have made an immaculate contribution to their team in the series. Their opening stand in almost all the matches, and their individual contributions helped India realize a strong platform, both while chasing as well as opening the Innings. It ultimately proved to be vital and made the task for the middle order players much easier.

Secondly, Virat Kohli‘s brilliant run, especially while chasing, added tremendous strength to the team. His stunning average, strong approach towards the game, and the sense of determination and will to win earned him a lot of respect and expectations, and he has already been anointed as The Pillar of the Team.

Thirdly, the coolest captain of India, MS Dhoni. His display of 130 odd runs in Mohali followed by a couple of fifties laid a strong foundation in the middle order. But while the middle order is good enough, there are ways that players like Raina and Yuvraj need to build their basics right from now as they failed miserably against the pacers. India’s batting was extraordinary throughout the series, one of the best at the moment in the international arena. The strategy that they need to focus on in the batting, is their positions for World Cup 2015. There has to be some change among the middle order players. They want someone to stabilize the innings even when Kohli gets out earlier. Yuvraj can probably do things better but the rising question is: will he back to his normal self after a miserable performance? There are still options left in Dinesh Karthik, Ajinkya Rahane and Virender Sehwag. Whoever it might be, the middle order is always crucial in case of a poor display by the front-line batsmen.

When it comes to the batting display from the Australian side, they have several positives that they can take out of the whole tournament. Aaron Finch’s attacking shots, Phil Hughes and sweetly-timed stroke play has come at a good time for the Aussies. The new addition in the team, Glenn Maxwell – and his cameos, and the brilliant James Faulkner’s all-round ability, proved to be significant at several points of the game. Shane Watson‘s flamboyant all-round capability and Voges’s approach were also crucial. Last but not the least, the skipper George Bailey was quite outstanding throughout. He led from the front and showcased his talents in the middle. His average has been a sensation and the most by any skipper of Australia.

Though both the teams have displayed some outstanding batting abilities, their bowling failed miserably yet again in the subcontinent. It was all a batsman’s game throughout the series and the bowlers had to work hard to get some wickets. Mitchell Johnson and Shami Ahmed were good at times, but apart from them the other bowlers struggled in all the matches to get any momentum. The lack of a front-line wicket-taking spinner in Australia and a strong depth of pace bowling in the Indian team are areas that demand attention at present. The teams have to look out for some answers to the above concerns if they really want to do well in the other series.

Finally, the series ended on a high note for India, as they won the series back from Australia after losing the previous three encounters. This would bring a lot of confidence and belief among the team members to do well in crucial situations. With two years to go for the next World Cup, the players need to do their homework at realizing their strengths and weaknesses and get their basics right ahead of the strong matches in future.

Though the series was taken by India, the Aussies are also slowly realizing their missing potential, and are stabilizing their abilities to become strong contenders of the next World Cup amidst the transitions in the team.

To conclude, this series is not a full picture, but just a teaser to the upcoming World Cup in 2015.