Australia don't seem to be here to complain about the pitches. It would not be entirely appropriate to count Ian Healy's comments on "fair pitches" to reflect the Australian Team's views.
Test matches in India do seem to get over sooner than they used to in years past. That trend in unlikely to change. India is keen to assert it's right to make pitches that spin from day one, even if it leads to 2 and 3 day Tests.
Australia are a proud team that has lost 2 consecutive series at home to India. They've come here to win. India on the other hand are not as strong a batting side compared to a few years ago, even at home. Pant's unfortunate injury is a big blow. He can't be replaced.
Australia will rely on pace and Lyon. They seem equipped match India's bowlers in intensity and skill. And Cummins and the fast men have the capacity to remove the pitch factor from the equation
This will be Cummins' opportunity to embrace greatness. Some contests rise above factors such as skill, techniques and conditions. Some contests go to teams that just want to win more desperately. England have shown the way on how such wins can be engineered.
The era of Root, Kohli and Williamson as captains is over. Babar's leadership is in crisis of sorts; having lost home series' to Australia and England and the inability to beat New Zealand. There is a buzz around Cummins' captaincy. He would love to start the upcoming Ashes series with a win of his own in India and Stoke's equal.
It's been a while since India have talked about the desire to win. The "we follow a process" language has crept back in. I am sticking my head out and predicting an Australia win by 2 Tests with Labuschagne doing a Damien Martyn from the 2005 series.
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