India Should Use Sri Lanka Series to Finalise Fast-Bowling Line-Up for Australia

On Sunday, Pakistan's 40-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq scored the fastest-ever Test half-century and equalled the fastest Test hundred, and the red and blue sides of Manchester clashed in a pulsating derby. On such a day, yet another contest between India and Sri Lanka in a meaningless, makeshift, one-day international series wouldn't have found many watchers around the world.

Two weeks after the West Indies bid sayonara and flew home midway through their tour of India, the hosts began their series against their accommodating neighbours with a ho-hum, totally one-sided 169-run victory at Cuttack.

The winning margin and total of 363 for five equalled India's second-highest and third-highest against Sri Lanka, respectively. 

But then, this isn't likely to be the only high-scoring game in this five-match series; it also won't be a surprise if India win the series, having never lost a trophy to Sri Lanka at home.

So aside from further filling the coffers of the richest cricket board in the world, what can India take from this series? 

With a long tour Down Under starting at the end of November culminating with the World Cup in February and March, India should use this series to look ahead to the next four months.

The Men in Blue had many positives to take from the game, like the form of their openers Ajinkya Rahane (111) and Shikhar Dhawan (113).

After enduring a testing first 10 overs when the ball was moving around and generating good bounce from the pitch, the left-hand-right-hand combination put on 231 runs—India's third-highest partnership ever in ODIs for the opening wicket—in 35 overs.

However, as much of a powerhouse as India are when it comes to batting, their bowlers will hold the key to success in Australia.

Sunday's game marked the first time that Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron all played together. Watching Yadav and Aaron, both of whom clock upwards of 140 kph, bowl in tandem from either end would have been mouthwatering for Indian fans.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Aaron, who clocked 152 kph on the broadcaster's speed gun in his first over, pulled out of the game after bowling less than five overs.

Aijaz Rahi/Associated Press

ESPNcricinfo later reported that the 25-year-old had injured a quadriceps muscle but hasn't yet been ruled out of the series.

The injury, not Aaron's first in his short career, was the only blip in an otherwise inspiring display of fast bowling by the Indians despite of having to counter the dreaded dew factor in the evening.

Yadav was quick and extracted plenty of bounce and movement from the surface. He swung it both ways and brilliantly set up Tillakaratne Dilshan to break the opening stand.

Ishant, meanwhile, was playing his first ODI since January and responded with his best-ever figures in the format, 4-for-34. He also generated good bounce and was extremely persistent with his back-of-good-length deliveries angling either way.

The Indian bowlers were assisted by coming up against an under-prepared Sri Lanka, a seaming surface at Cuttack and a cushion of a huge total to defend, but they still had to bowl well to keep the Sri Lankans below 200, considering the dew.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India would be prudent if they ordered similar tracks for the remainder of the series.

The Indians are definitely not going to find sub-continental highways to bowl on in Australia, and it would help if their bowlers could get more seamer and pace-friendly tracks to practice on prior to the tour.

Andres Leighton/Associated Press

India will be looking to take at least five fast bowlers with them to Australia. They had taken six to England in the summer, excluding the medium-paced Stuart Binny, and ended up using all of them.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami are certainties, barring injuries.

If Umesh Yadav continues to bowl like he did on Sunday, there's no reason why he shouldn't get a ticket.

As for Aaron, India absolutely need to have him fully fit for the Test matches against Australia starting December 4, even if it means resting him for the rest of the ongoing series.

If India manage to have at least five fit and in-form fast bowlers on the flight to Australia, it would be much more valuable than a few broken run-scoring records and an ODI series win in their own backyard.

More importantly, it would be their best chance of avoiding yet another hammering away from home.