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India look to extend unbeaten run
On a fairytale 19-match unbeaten streak, India would seek extension of their incredible dominance on home turf when they clash against an aggressive Australia in the four-Test series, beginning here tomorrow.
By
migrator
migrator
Pune
The series against the Steve Smith-led side is the fourth and last home series of the 201617 season for India, who have conjured up emphatic victories over New Zealand (3-0), England (4-0) and Bangladesh (oneoff Test).Â
India are going into the rubber, seeking their seventh successive series win going back to the three-Test away series against Sri Lanka in 2015. There are several factors in India's stupendous run, chief among those being captain Virat Kohli's phenomenal run with the bat. The young captain has truly led from the front by notching up four double hundreds. Kohli is averaging over 80 after accumulating 1457 runs in the last 13 Tests and Australia will need to find ways to curtail his brilliance to stop the Indian Juggernaut.Â
The other major factor has been the excellent bowling by spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, incidentally the top two bowlers in the ICC rankings. Off-spinner Ashwin has grabbed 78 wickets in 13 games during the same period with 8 five-fors at an average of just over 24 while left-armer Jadeja has scalped 49 wickets in 10 Tests at just under 25. The spin twins, who combined forces to rout New Zealand and England, again pose a major threat to the Australians.Â
In addition to these three players' consistent performance, the support from batsmen such as opener Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara and from other bowlers has been invaluable. The stubborn lower-order batting has often helped the team come out of tricky situations and score big. As coach Anil Kumble pointed out yesterday, India have not fielded the same eleven during this successful phase due to a variety of reasons including injuries. But each replacement has been bang-on and delivered the goods.Â
India's unbeaten 19-Test run commenced with a victory in the second Test of the series in Sri Lanka. At home, India have not tasted defeat since drawing the fourth and final Test of the 2012-13 series against England. During this period they have played 20 Tests, won 17 and drawn three, a fine record by any reckoning.. This is what the Australians would like to blot in Pune.
FIXTURESÂ
- 1st Test February 23-27, PUNEÂ
- 2nd Test March 4-8, BENGALURUÂ
- 3rd Test March 16-20, RANCHIÂ
- 4th Test March 25-29, DHARAMSALA
HEAD TO HEADÂ
Total 90Â
Australia win 40Â
India win 24Â
Draws 25Â
Tied 1Â
IN INDIAÂ
Total 46Â
India win 19Â
Australia win 12Â
Draws 14Â
Tied 1
INDIAÂ
- Test ranking: 1Â
- Captain: Virat KohliÂ
- Coach: Anil KumbleÂ
- Squad: Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund and Hardik Pandya
AUSTRALIAÂ
- Test ranking: 2Â
- Coach: Darren LehmannÂ
- Captain: Steve SmithÂ
- Squad: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Wade, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Nathan Lyon, Stephen O’Keefe, Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson
LAST SERIESÂ
In IndiaÂ
1st Test: Chennai Feb 2013: India won by eight wickets
2nd Test: Hyderabad March 2013: India won by an innings and 135 runs
3rd Test: Mohali: March 2013: India won by six wickets
4th Test: Delhi: March 2013: India won by six wickets
In AustraliaÂ
1st Test: Adelaide Dec 2014: Australia won by 48 runs
2nd Test: Brisbane Dec 2014: Australia won by four wickets
3rd Test: Melbourne Dec 2014: Drawn
4th Test: Sydney Jan 2015: Drawn
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