Although the majority of Indian batsmen failed miserably in the five-Test series against England, bowlers’ showing was one silver lining for the No.1 ranked Test team.
After Indian bowlers claimed 60 wickets in three Tests against South Africa earlier this year, they picked up 20 wickets in three of the five Tests in England. Out of the 82 wickets taken by Indian bowlers in England, the pacers had shared 61 scalps with Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav claiming 18, 16, 14, 10 and 3 wickets respectively.
As the much-anticipated India’s tour of Australia is fast approaching, legendary wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist acknowledged that the tourists’ pace attack has shown the ability to rip through batting line-up but he is unsure whether they will excel in Down Under.
"Hard to tell (how they will fare) as they haven't been here as a group and we have to find that out. That's going to be an intriguing part of the series. Because Australian pace bowling unit has proven they are exceptional in Australian conditions," Gilchrist told ESPNCricinfo.
"But I am really excited from an Indian point of view about that pace bowling unit and they have shown glimpses in England about their ability to rip through potential batting line-ups. They are fit, strong, aggressive young men so they have all virtues to take on Australia in Australia," he further commented.
Gilchrist didn't agree that the series will be only about Virat Kohli's duel with Mitchell Starc.
"I don't see this as a Starc vs Virat challenge really. I think Pat Cummins is outstanding and Josh Hazlewood is almost McGrath like with his methodic, repetitious bowling. So there are three guys there and there are a couple in the wings. They are high-quality fast bowlers," he opined.
"So yeah, I don't intend to single out Virat although clearly he is the best player at the moment, so India will look to him to score heavily, but they are all going to have their challenges which is also true for Australian batting line-up," Gilchrist concluded.
While India’s tour of Australia will commence on November 21 with the T20I series, the four-match Test will begin on December 6 in Adelaide.
