The Cricketer looks at where the three-match series in Canberra and Sydney might be won and lost
In the absence of David Warner who is sidelined with a groin strain and a doubt for the Test series, captain Aaron Finch will be the main man at the top of the innings for Australia. The 34-year-old is the remaining half of the best white-ball opening partnership in the world and can certainly be relied upon to deliver on the biggest of stages.
Finch may not have a home T20 World Cup to prepare for next up but over the next two years, he has presentable chances to add the crown to his CV. The challenge now is to get the 20-over side up to the level of the ODI outfit, which is beginning to set the standard.
He remains a muscly hitter of a cricket ball and at home, he is a key asset. Slightly worryingly, he didn't enjoy the best of IPL campaigns with Royal Challengers Bangalore and was even withdrawn at one stage in the season. Having returned home with Australia he has quickly got into his stride but with two major competitions in India in 2021 he has room for improvement.
Curiously for an opener and new-ball bowler, Bumrah only sent three balls down at Finch during the IPL with the Aussie unable to get a run off the bat. After bowling Mumbai Indians to another title, Bumrah comes into this series in fine form and was rewarded with a career-high standing of seventh in the Men's T20 Player Index, though he has been schooled during the ODIs.
He remains one of the most feared white-ball bowlers in the world, mainly due to his unerring accuracy at both ends of the innings. How Virat Kohli deploys him will be interesting, particularly if the spinners have any joy. If so, then Bumrah can become a roaming strike-bowler when he is undoubtedly at his most dangerous.
India Test, ODI and T20I squads for tour of Australia 2020-21: Full player list
Perhaps key to Australia's hopes in India next year will be which Glenn Maxwell turns up. Over the last few months, we've seen the varying sides of the allrounder and while he has the capacity to dominate teams, he can flatter to deceive in equal measure.
During the IPL we saw Maxwell at his most passive, averaging below 16 with the bat and going at more than eight an over with the ball. For a player who has previously dealt with mental health problems, we should always resist from being over-critical but the 32-year-old has been the first to admit he wasn't at his best.
Much like with teammate Finch, Maxwell's return to familiar conditions has assisted in a timely upturn in form. We should, nevertheless, hold back in heralding this as the moment when the penny drops. The recent implosion in Southampton against England suggests we require a bigger sample size before we celebrate Maxwell's return.
It might be that much like Maxwell's return to form at home, Chahal's fortunes are going in a different direction. He has been taken apart in the ODI series, unable to exert any control in the middle order and punished accordingly on some flat surfaces.
Nevertheless, the 30-year-old enjoyed a fine IPL with 21 wickets at 19.28. It was actually against Kings XI Punjab that Chahal endured two of his heaviest defeats and another tough batch of matches beckon.
Plenty of onus will be on Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav to develop their own strategies to temper the threat posed by Australia's batsmen. India are currently without a spin bowling coach and in recent matches it has shown. Chahal will likely have to think on his feet. What could be key against the likes Maxwell is to tap into his problems against spin, suffered against the likes of Adil Rashid and Shadab Khan.
Aaron Finch will be eyeing another piece of silverware
With Rohit Sharma missing the series, Rahul will be the senior figure at the top of the order for the tourists as they aim to bounce back from defeat in the ODIs.
The 28-year-old comes into the three matches in final fettle as the highest-ranked outright batsman in the Men's T20 Player Index.
Rahul averages 53.83 for India in 20-over cricket in 2020 and arrived in Australia after a sterling Indian Premier League. No player scored more runs or surpassed his tournament-best 132 not out against RCB.
It will be fascinating to see how he fares against Starc, who following a battering in the ODIs is looking to recapture some form. The left-armer finished with 1-147 from his 18 overs across his two outings, with some wild deliveries punctuating his spells.
In the end, he was rested for the third match ahead of this series. Nevertheless, the Sydney native remains one of the best around at this level and will have a point to prove to the Indian batsmen over the series.
Starc's importance has been swelled by the absence of Pat Cummins, who is being rested until the Test series. He'll lead a pace attack including Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott and Andrew Tye but will likely remain Finch's go-to man.
Five weeks without any cricket and then a period with New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield may have contributed to the brief wobble. But in September he was neat and tidy against England, finishing with 2-75 from his 11 overs at an economy rate of 6.81.
Jasprit Bumrah will be a menace at either end of the innings
Australia's premier T20 spinner only played three matches at the IPL for RCB - Finch certainly won't have minded given the rotation policy he's been forced to indulge since the tournament - but that was enough time to grab two wickets which might prove vital in this series.
The first came in a clash with eventual champions Mumbai Indians, as he got Pandya who launched into a shot he shouldn't have, fired it into the air and was easily taken. Manish Pandey was his second and last scalp, edging behind a short delivery which slid on.
Zampa is a frustrating bowler to face, particularly if your batsmen wanting to get on with the innings. The flight he achieves is deceptive, and just when you think you're getting on top he throws in a quicker delivery which traps you on the crease.
In both forms of the white-ball game, Zampa is very much Australia's secret weapon, a seemingly gentle spinner who can produce remarkable results. India's middle-order pinch-hitters have been warned.
That dismissal was a rare failure for Pandya during a competition which he lit up. Only Kieron Pollard had a higher strike-rate of players to face more than 63 deliveries. He often turned bright Indians' innings into fabulous ones with some splendid hitting. Just two players struck more than his 25 tournament sixes.
Pandya has taken his IPL form to Australia, with two scores in the 90s as India went down 2-1. Virat Kohli will be hoping his next contributions come in a winning cause.
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