If India is able to limit Steven Smith and Nathan Lyon, they will be on their way to win Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Ian Chappell

With only a couple of weeks remaining for the epic Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former Australian skipper Ian Chappell has said that hosts India will have the upper hand and Australia will have a tough time outplaying them in their backyard. He also mentioned the challenges that India's top-order including the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara will have to face against the Aussies.

Chappell on to add that the Rohit Sharma-led side is almost impossible to beat at home. Currently the No. 2 Test team and the runners-up of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC), India last lost a Test series at home in 2012, against England.

The former Australian skipper also said that the Indian skipper Rohit, Kohli and Pujara will have to establish a "mental superiority" over spinner Nathan Lyon. Notably, Lyon has taken 34 wickets in his seven outings against India. 

"One of the main tasks for Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara will be to establish mental superiority over Lyon. If Australia can't rely on Lyon claiming regular wickets at an acceptable rate, their bowling will then depend greatly on the ‘big three’," Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.  

Apart from dealing with Lyon, Chappell also believes that India will have to prevent Steven Smith from scoring big. Smith has an impressive record against India in Tests, with 1742 runs in 28 innings at an average of 72.58, which is his second-best against any international team.

In his previous outing against India in 2017, the Australian star showed tremendous form, scoring 499 runs in eight innings at an average of 71.28 with three centuries.

“The main task for India's bowlers will be to find a way to keep the heavy-scoring Smith quiet. If India is able to limit Smith and Lyon's success they will be on the way to winning matches,” Chappell added.

Meanwhile, both India and Australia will be looking for a spot in the WTC final after winning the Test series, scheduled to begin from February 9. 

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