India vs Australia | Australians know how to bowl to Virat Kohli, claims John Buchanan

Australia will be termed ‘underdogs’ on their own home turf in the upcoming series against India for the first time in a long time. However, former Australian cricketer and world cup winning coach John Buchanan backed the home team to prove their doubters wrong and walk away with a win against Virat Kohli & Co.

“While Australia are weakened, India’s record away from home is not very good like every touring team right now,” Buchanan told the Times of India in an interview. “That automatically gives the home team an advantage. On top of that, Australia have a better bowling attack for home conditions.”

“Kohli likes to get bat on the ball very early. Therefore, a left-arm pacer like Starc will look to bowl away from him and get Kohli to chase the ball. I think the Australians know how to bowl to Kohli and it’s about whether or not they can execute their plans. Having said that, Kohli is an outstanding player who has the ability to negate Australia’s tactics,” Buchanan said in an interview to Times of India.

The 65-year-old, who had coached a highly successful Australian team between 1999 and 2007, opined that the series will be a close affair. However, Buchanan has backed the hosts to win the series despite the absence of the banned duo of Steve Smith and David Warner. He also backed the likes of Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja to shine for the home team.

“Australia don’t have a batsman of Virat Kohli’s calibre but the Australians will bowl well to Kohli and I don’t think he will be able to dominate the series. I feel the likes of Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja will contribute sufficiently to enable Australia to win the series,” he added.