Dean Jones feels that India will be able to seal the upcoming Test series against Australia with a big win
Former Australian batsman Dean Jones doesn't foresee the current team beating India in the upcoming Test series and feels the hosts will be better off without "provoking" opposition skipper Virat Kohli.
Australia are a depleted unit in the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner, providing India their "best" chance of winning a maiden Test series Down Under.
"If India doesn't win this series, they will never win in Australia. India is miles better than Australia in all formats but do they have the belief, and will their fast bowlers last the distance?" Jones was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
Despite India having a poor overseas record, Jones has backed the visitors to win the four-Test series starting December 6 at Adelaide.
"With India's history, maybe this series will not be a fait accompli. I do feel the result will go India's way to the tune of a 2-0 or 3-0 result, as I just can't see Australia winning a Test anywhere.
"Normally when Australia play at home they are very hard to beat. But now there is no Steve Smith and David Warner, who consistently make 40 per cent of Australia's runs. For Australia to win, who is going to fill those shoes?" asked Jones, who played 52 Tests and 164 ODIs.
Jones also said not engaging Kohli in a verbal battle will serve them well.
"Do not talk or provoke him. Make him your best mate."
On how to contain Kohli the batsman, Jones added: "Trying to find a weakness in Kohli's game is like trying to find something wrong with the Mona Lisa. Teams must stop his cover drive and bowl in different areas.
"At the start of Kohli's innings, quicks need to bowl at a fourth-stump line and make him play on the back foot. Do not give him width and length outside off-stump.
"Bowlers must try to set him up with short stuff first and then the odd wide ball on the drive to find the edge. Slips and gully stay on high alert."
‘I am picking Australia over India’
He can't really figure it out yet but Ian Chappell believes India would be "missing" something in the Test series against Australia and will end up on the losing side despite things looking good for them on paper.
The Test rivalry, which has risen in stature and intensity over the years, will be renewed with the latest assignment starting December 6 in Adelaide.
"I am going to pick Australia, but don't ask me why I am picking them. I think the only reasonable reason I can give is that I was disappointed the way India played in England and I thought they should have won that series," Chappell told 'ESPNCricinfo'.
"Certainly, on talent, they should beat this Australian side, but there might just be something missing. The other thing is the Australian attack.
"It is a very good one. It is proven under Australian conditions and the Indian attack is not proven under Australian conditions. So it is pretty flimsy evidence but I am going to pick Australia," he added.
Chappell nonetheless expects Indian skipper Virat Kohli to score heavily in the series.
"...I'm particularly looking forward to the competition between Australia's pace bowlers and Virat Kohli. That should be a great contest. Last time he was here, Kohli played really well," he said.
Another positive for India, according to Chappell, is their pace bowlers, who did quite well in England.
"They got the ball to move around. I'm not sure they will get the same kind of assistance in Australian conditions, so I'm interested to see how they bowl, and I think those two things could tell a big story in the series," he said.
Asked about India coach Ravi Shastri's recent assertions of this being the best travelling Indian team in the last 15 years, Chappell said there are reasons to agree with it to an extent.
"I think it is one of the better teams to come from India, and certainly, as far as the fast bowlers are concerned, they are better suited to Australian conditions than any other pace-bowling attack I have seen come from India.
Chappell said India will be handicapped significantly by the absence of all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Pandya is out nursing a back injury.
"...Because he was the balance to the team. If you had Pandya there under Australian conditions, he could perform as your third seamer and you could play two spinners in places like Adelaide and Sydney, where I think it is very handy to have five bowlers," he said.