Expecting a better show: A comparison between records of current Indian batting line-up in Australia and England

Indian batting barring Virat Kohli failed miserably in England, which was the primary reason for India's thumping 4-1 loss to England. The Indian batsmen failed to cope up with swinging conditions in England.

The players failed to tweak their game according to the requirements of English conditions. The batsmen kept nicking the ball behind the stumps either to the keeper or to slips. This failure of Indian batting has raised doubts about their prospects in the upcoming series in Australia.

The way they surrendered in England, sceptics have every reason to doubt their abilities, but, will it be a fair assumption? Conditions in Australia and England are vastly different- England offers a lot of swing to the pacers which often results in low scoring matches whereas Australian pitches offer bounce and seam movement (which is not that pronounced nowadays).

Australian conditions are suitable to stroke-makers, which Indian team has in plenty, barring Pujara. To give ourselves a fairground to judge the prospects of Indian batting in Australia, let us take a look at the comparison between their records in Australia and England:

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#1 Murali Vijay

Vijay would be looking to make a grand come back to the Indian Test team

In England

Vijay has played 7 Test matches in England so far and has scored 428 runs in 14 innings at an average of 30.57 with 1 hundred and 2 fifties.

In Australia

Vijay has played 4 Test matches in Australia so far and has scored 482 runs in 8 innings at an average of 60.25 with 1 hundred and 4 fifties.

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#2 KL Rahul

Rahul would need to step up his game in Australia

In England

Rahul has played 5 Test matches in England so far and has scored 299 runs in 10 innings at an average of 29.90 which includes 1 hundred.

In Australia

Rahul has played 2 Test matches in Australia so far and has scored 130 runs in 4 innings at an average of 32.50 with 1 hundred.

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara is expected to play an important part in Australia

In England

Pujara has played 9 Test matches in England so far and has scored 500 runs in 18 innings at an average of 29.41 with 1 hundred and 2 fifties.

In Australia

Pujara has played 3 Test matches in Australia so far and has scored 201 runs in 6 innings at an average of 33.50 with 1 fifty.

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#4 Virat Kohli

Kohli would be looking for a repeat performance of 2014-15

In England

Kohli has played 10 Test matches in England so far and has scored 727 runs in 20 innings at an average of 36.35 with 2 hundreds and 3 fifties.

In Australia

Kohli has played 8 Test matches in Australia so far and has scored 992 runs in 16 innings at an average of 62.00 with 5 hundreds and 2 fifties.

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#5 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane would relish the bouncy tracks of Australia

In England

Rahane has played 10 Test matches in England so far and has scored 556 runs in 20 innings at an average of 29.26 with 1 hundred and 4 fifties.

In Australia

Rahane has played 4 Test matches in Australia so far and has scored 399 runs in 8 innings at an average of 57.00 with 1 hundred and 2 fifties.

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Conclusion:

Looking at the above records, one can safely say that the current set of Indian batsmen have performed much better on Australian pitches. It is quite evident that they relish the stroke making on the bouncy pitches of Australia. Even on the last tour to Australia, Indian batting did a fairly good job.

If the Indian bowling performs in Australia the way they did in England, coupled with a decent batting performance from the batting order, it would be safe to say that India might return triumphant from the Australian shores for the first time.