MS Dhoni has his eyes set on the all-important ODI and T20 series against Australia. Dhoni is back in Down Under exactly a year later after India were thumped in a triangular series. But the former Australian skipper Ian Chappell believes that it will not be a cakewalk for Steve Smith and his Men in Yellow against Dhoni-led India.
With the ICC World T20 2016 in the horizon, Dhoni will look to get things in order as soon as possible. The former Australian great felt that Dhoni has every right to feel confident about yielding positive results from this tour.
"Following a lacklustre Test season, the public is thirsty for some meaningful contests. What looms is a battle between the current [Australia] and previous [India] ODI World Cup holders. MS Dhoni will provide a true test for Australia and Steve Smith," Chappell wrote for The Daily Telegraph.
"While Steve Smith has proved to be a successful Test captain, he's up against MS Dhoni, a leader who has a glittering pedigree in the short forms of the game. Dhoni is a cagey player and captain in these versions, with a World Cup and a World T20 trophy on his CV."
"As the next major T20 tournament will be held in India (where he claimed the 2011 World Cup), he has every right to feel confident about his team's chances. However, Smith will be buoyed by Australia inflicting a heavy defeat on India in the last World Cup semi-final."
Beating the world champions in their own den will not be easy, but India have done it in the past and they can do it again, provided they play better all-round cricket against the likes of Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, George Bailey and others.
India have started this tour of Australia on a positive note and Dhoni will look to build on that momentum that his side has gained after registering two wins in a row against Western Australia XI in the two warm up games at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Stadium in Perth.
Dhoni's premier batsmen Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have already showed signs on form with the bat and the Indian captain would want them to fire in the big stage as well.
The first ODI between India and Australia will also be played at the same venue on Tuesday.
