Australia’s Series Win Highlights Key Struggles and Rising Stars

Australia’s series win against India “lived up to the hype,” according to captain Pat Cummins with both teams experiencing ups and downs throughout. The series saw some standout performances but key players also struggled, including India’s Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Rohit’s form was a major concern. After missing the first Test for personal reasons, he managed just 31 runs in five innings, averaging 6.20 with a top score of 10.

His struggles, particularly against pace were noticeable, averaging just 17.1 compared to a career average of 37.5. A weakness off the back foot contributed to a decline in his performances since December 2023. Kohli also faced challenges, scoring 190 runs at an average of 23.75, with one century masking several low scores. His post-2019 average has dropped significantly and England could target his weaknesses outside off stump where he has struggled since 2020.

India’s emerging talents such as 23-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal and 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy showed promise but Jaiswal has struggled against left-arm seamers and Reddy has weaknesses against hard-length balls. For Australia, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland led the attack. Cummins took 25 wickets at 21.36 while Starc and Boland contributed significantly to the team’s success.

However, Australia’s batting struggled, with the top order failing on several occasions, highlighted by 100 scores of 10 or fewer in the series. On the Indian side, Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance continued with 32 wickets at 13.06 but his lack of support from other bowlers especially in the spin department was a concern. India faces questions about their attack as key players including Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, continue to show inconsistent form.