Chappell said that Pant will be missed but it is almost impossible to beat India at home

Former batting great Ian Chappell believes Rohit Sharma and Co. will miss Rishabh Pant’s “brilliant personality” but it is still “almost impossible” for Australia to beat India at home. Pat Cummins-led Australia will take on India in a four-Test series starting February 9 in Nagpur, after winning the Ashes and then series against Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa.

“It will be a tough challenge – also known as ‘Everest’ in Australia because the Indian side is strong and they are almost impossible to beat in home conditions,” former Australian batsman Chappell wrote in his column for ‘ESPNcricinfo’. He said, “These two teams are among the good teams in Test cricket whose numbers are dwindling but it is difficult to see anyone other than India as winners of this series.”

India have been unbeaten at home for over a decade, having lost their Test series at home to England 1-2 in 2012. Australia, on the other hand, are looking for their first series win in India in 19 years. In their previous tour of India, Australia started with a big win in the Pune Test but went on to lose the series 1–2. Chappell wrote, “Australia’s confidence has increased after excellent form at home.” Rishabh Pant’s serious injury has boosted his confidence further which means the flamboyant personality of the wicket-keeper batsman will be sorely missed.

Pant is out of the team after suffering a horrific car accident last month and in his absence India have Ishan Kishan and KS Bharath who are awaiting their Test debuts. Chappell said, “India have a few things to prove, including the performance of Pant’s substitute. What India will miss in Pant’s unavailability is the excellent run rate that comes from his aggression.

“There is no substitute for Pant’s desire to dominate the bowlers, so India will have to rely on their top batsmen to not only perform well but also maintain a good run rate,” Chappell said. That it would be important for Team India to prove their ‘mental superiority’ over Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

He said, “One of the main tasks for Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara will be to establish mental superiority over Lyon. If Australia cannot depend on Lyon to take regular wickets at an acceptable run rate, then their bowling will then largely depend on the ‘Big Three’ (Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc). All these bowlers average more than 30 in India. “Leone is the only player who has proved himself with his performances and still averages over 30 in India.

Lyon seems to have improved as a bowler in the subcontinent but the likes of Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson, who are there to support him, have not proved themselves. There is also a need to leave the greed of the left-arm bowler and choose the best bowlers according to the situation. They have to judge the confidence they have in their fast bowlers on the basis of their achievements in India.

In terms of pace, he said, “Australia’s ‘Big Three’ Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc all average over 30 in India and they need to perform better, especially with the old ball, to get better results.” Need to do. ”The former Australia captain further wrote that it would be important for the Indian bowlers to keep Steve Smith calm. He said, “Smith is the only batsman among the current Australian batsmen who averages more than 30 in India.It will be a big challenge for the Australian batsmen to find success with the bat, especially if Ravindra Jadeja bowls successfully in partnership with the highly skilled R Ashwin.

Chappell said, “The main task for India’s bowlers will be to find a way to keep Smith, who scores a lot of runs, calm.” If India are able to limit the success of Smith and Lyon, they will be well on their way to winning the match.” The result of the four-Test series will also decide the fate of both the teams to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship. After Nagpur, the remaining three matches of the Test series will be held in New Delhi (February 17 to 21), Dharamsala (March 1 to 5) and Ahmedabad (March 9 to 13).