Australia vs India 2018-19: Aaron Finch Wants To Test Indian Middle-Order Batting

The Australian skipper might have figured out that the only weak link in the Indian lineup has been the middle-order batting. In the last couple of years, the major scores have come from the Indian top three batsmen Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. Aaron Finch wants to knock out India’s top 3 players for a cheap score to gain an advantage.

Australian skipper Aaron Finch on Friday said Indian batting is heavily reliant on its top-three and his team will be looking to exploit that weakness in the three-match ODI series beginning here on Saturday. Finch said his side’s target will be to dismiss India’s top-three batsmen.

Despite India’s slightly untested middle order comprising of Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni, Finch said that they cannot take it any easier against the middle order either.

He believes that every player in Indian lineup can form a threat on their day. But, Finch wants to test the middle-order lineup, who haven’t got the much of a time in the middle in the recent, especially, in the last one year.

“Over the last 12 months Virat’s averaged 133, Shikhar 75, and Rohit 50; so there’s a lot of runs and balls faced from their top three. It’s important to get them as early as you can because once they get in, they score fast and they don’t seem to get out too easily,” he said.

“Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Dhoni these guys that can all play their part as well. The top three are very important but you can’t just look at that otherwise there’s someone else that will catch you off-guard and get the job done as well,” Finch said.

Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav played a huge role – Aaron Finch

Meanwhile, Aaron Finch termed that the absence of Bumrah is a positive factor for Australia but he is wary of the threat from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He also spoke out few lines on the wrist duo of Indian Cricket Team.

”Bumrah has played a huge part for their one-day side or all their sides. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is someone who has had success at all levels as well. The two spinners have played a huge role in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal over the last month as well. There are no real weak links in their side,” he added.

Well, it would be interesting to see how things would pan out in the first ODI. Australia has already named their playing XI while India will reveal it during the time of the toss.