Indian cricket team is enjoying a beautiful run of play at the moment with skipper Virat Kohli in the form of his life, scoring 4 double hundreds in 4 consecutive Test series, R Ashwin at the peak of his powers, second strength batsman coming in and scoring triple hundred and fast bowlers complementing the spinners pretty well.

But here’s the thing, how tough an opponent will Australia prove to be against this Indian squad at their home because it is the battle of the top two test teams in the world. However, this is definitely not the strongest Australian squads to tour India and skipper Steve Smith will have a big job on his shoulders ahead of the Test Series.

India go on to the test series as favourites. In fact few critics back them for a clean sweep against Australia, but knowing the Australian spirit they will come back hard at the Indian team and fight till the last ball is bowled or the last run scored. At the moment on present form and given the squads India are favourites, but sport is all about unpredictability.

Let’s have a look at a few players to watch out for:

David Warner

Australia’s vice-captain across all three formats, David Warner is a key to Australia’s batting performance. One of the best hitters of the cricket ball, David Warner has been a consistent run getter for Australia. A lot of Australia’s batting will depend on how Warner opens the batting.

Mitchell Starc

The man of the tournament in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Mitchell Starc will lead Australia’s pace attack. Back after an ankle injury which kept him out of action for long, Starc is back to his old ways of genuine fast bowling and can even swing the ball at that pace which makes it a lethal combination. Starc will have a lot to do especially if Steve Smith loses the toss and Aussies are invited to bowl first on Indian surfaces.

Virat Kohli

Regarded by many as the modern day best, Virat Kohli leads by example in everything he does. Virat Kohli keeps his game simple and that’s the best part, simple yet so affective across all formats. Australian’s would love to get him out early each time he comes on to bat and Starc versus Kohli might very well be an interesting battle to witness.

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin in India is a phrase you would not want to hear as a batsman. Ashwin can deceive you, and outthink you in the mind game going on between you. Ashwin recently said that he was not at his best in recent series victories and Australia might not want to see an Ashwin who bowls at the best of his ability. R Ashwin spearheads Indian bowling attack.

Squads

India: Virat Kohli (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, K. L. Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Steve O'Keefe, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade (wk).

First Test Thursday 23rd February 2017 9:30 AM (IST)
Live from Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune