Zaheer Khan reveals why both India & Australia evenly matched ahead of upcoming series

Former Indian bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan has gone on to say that there are no favourites in the upcoming all-format bilateral series between India and Australia that gets underway on November 27 as he reckons that both teams are equally matched.

'There are no favourites'

“The Australian pitches have always had good bounce and pace, so I think the area which will decide the ODIs, T20Is, and Tests will be the bowlers and how well the team bowls as a unit to restrict the opponent to a lower total on the scoreboard. When someone talks about the top line bowlers in the world right now, the names of the players that come to our mind will all be on the pitch in this series", said Khan while speaking to Sony Pictures Sports Network.

“Now with the return of Steve Smith and David Warner to the Australian side, the Indian team is definitely going to face a stiffer competition than their previous tour Down Under", ZAK added.

“There are no favorites going into the series as both the sides have quality batting and bowling line-up in their squad and that is what will make the upcoming tour interesting and exciting to watch,” the 2011 World Cup winner further added.

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An important bilateral series for India Down Under

Team India will be seen in action for the first time in almost nine months when they lock horns with the five-time world champions at the Sydney Cricket Ground next Friday. The Men In Blue had suffered a 3-0 whitewash in New Zealand earlier this year and they would be hoping to rediscover their rhythm in the 50-overs format by getting the better of the Aaron Finch-led side in their own backyard.

Coming to the T20Is, India would be hoping to repeat the heroics of the 2015/16 season where they had whitewashed the Aussies by a 3-0 margin. However, what is more, important here is that the 2007 World T20 champions will be hoping to start identifying the players who can be a part of the core team for next year's ICC T20 World Cup that they will be hosting in October-November.

As this is India's first-ever T20I series post-COVID-19 break, this is where they would be looking to strategise and plan as the race to the T20 cricket's showpiece event begins.

Finally, it all comes down to the four-match Test series. As India and Australia lock horns in pure whites come December 17,  it will not just be about Australia's vengeance or India's desire to write history, and nor will it be about winning the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Because this time, there's something much bigger on the line - The World Test Championship. India currently sit atop the World Test Championship with 360 points whereas Australia are just below the Men in Blue with 296 points.

India had beaten Australia when they had toured Down Under during the 2018-19 season by a  2-1 margin in the four-match series to win their maiden Test series on Australian soil. It remains to be seen whether the Virat Kohli-led side will succeed in retaining the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy by getting the better of a full-strength Australian side that features the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, etc. 

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