Australia vs India: Five intriguing face-offs to look out for in the Test series

Mitchell Starc vs KL Rahul

To be blunt, this will be a make or break series for the Indian youngster. So far in his short international career, Rahul hasn’t been able to fulfil the promise that he showed us when he made his debut against Australia. KL has been largely inconsistent in his role as an opener and that is not acceptable when India are playing overseas. While the Indian bowling attack has been doing its job consistently, it’s the constant failure of the openers that has put the middle-order under severe pressure.

Mitchell Starc is the best Australian bowler and is certainly one of the quickest going around, if not the quickest. Starc with the new ball is as deadly as a time bomb ready to go off! He can swing the ball both ways and his yorkers are the toughest to deal with, early on in the innings. It would be a sin if I don’t mention how quick Starc is, with his shorter deliveries.

KL Rahul’s flaws against the moving ball were exposed in the tough conditions of England. The fourth and fifth stump line is what troubles Rahul. The sudden incoming delivery can also clean him up. Even though there’s not much of movement in Australia, the new ball swings, pretty much in any condition. In 2018, KL has only managed to amass 420 runs at an average of 24.71.

Even though Rahul averages 33.21 away from home, he has struggled with inconsistent performances of late. Starc has managed to dismiss him only once in the 6 innings that they have faced off. The left-armer will look to exploit Rahul’s weakness and the batsman will look to fulfil his potential against a strong Australian bowling attack.