India vs Australia 2017: 5 key player battles to watch out for

#4 Umesh Yadav vs Matthew Wade & company

Kohli has banked on Umesh Yadav’s reverse-swing at crucial moments

Even as the focus has been firmly on India’s in-form batsmen and menacing spinners, their fast bowlers have proved to be quite valuable as well, over the last couple of seasons. Capable of reversing the ball at searing pace, Umesh Yadav has risen to the occasion and regularly landed those critical blows just when his team needed them.

Extra Cover: 5 reasons why Australia should be wary of India

With pace spearhead Mohammed Shami not recovering from his knee injury, the onus will be on Umesh to continue his impressive work with the old ball during the first couple of matches. If their top four set the platform, Australia’s lower-order, featuring pugnacious wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade and co., can swell the total to unmanageable levels. Maybe not, if the Vidarbha speedster intervenes.