Reinforced Australia expected to be a tougher proposition despite pitch seeming spin-friendly

Starc’s angle and Green’s speed and lift could probe the Indian batting, complementing Lyon and Murphy’s spin; high time Team India took a call on the Rahul conundrum, with Gill waiting in the wings

The black soil pitch at the Holkar Stadium here will be viewed with some trepidation by the Australians.

The two sides of the surface — some call it business ends of the track since a majority of deliveries land there — are dry and should encourage the rampant Indian spinners. The middle portion of the surface has some grass from where Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj could get the ball to skid off the track.

Already there are ‘talks’ of a three-day Test although the appearance of the track can, on occasion, be deceptive.

Australia has to find answers and quickly. The return of the fast Mitchell Starc — the left-armer’s angle has troubled India in the past — and Cameron Green’s speed and lift could probe the Indian batting complementing the spin of Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy. And Green’s batting ability will add value to the side.

Talking about the challenges from the Australian attack brings into question whether the out-of-form K.L. Rahul deserves another go. Rahul averaged 14.25 in the two Tests in Bangladesh. And in the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he has made a total of 38 runs at 12.66. The numbers are stacked against Rahul. But then, you will also have to weigh his potential. He has two Test hundreds in England, and one each in Australia, South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

In fact, six of Rahul’s seven hundreds have been made on foreign soil. Considering his ability — this is not in question — will the team management be tempted to give him one more opportunity?

However, it is also true that Rahul, at present, has got himself into a hopeless rut. He has lacked belief, is tentative and doesn’t quite know where his next run is going to come from.