1. Mitchell Starc vs Rohit Sharma
This will be Rohit's first international assignment of 2020 after an immensely successful 2019, a year in which he uprooted and set several records. He would like to begin the New Year too with a bang but the biggest obstacle will be Mitchell Starc. Rohit has this weak point against left-arm pacers, especially to the ball that comes in. Starc is quite good at that and he can bowl at speed in excess of 150 kmph. Rohit vs Starc will be a fine battle and could be a potential series-turner especially considering the Mumbai man has scored 2037 runs from 37 matches at 61.72 against the men from Down Under in ODIs.
2. Pat Cummins vs Virat Kohli
This could be one explosive battle at any stage of the match. Kohli is on top of his abilities and so is Cummins. Kohli has a wonderful record in ODIs against Australia, having scored 1727 runs from 35 innings at 53.96. It is imperative for the Australians to stop Kohli from making big runs and Cummins in current form can be a good choice for the job.
3. Jasprit Bumrah vs David Warner
Warner can amass runs at the top like a flash flood. The left-handed Aussie opener knows the Indian conditions like the back of his hand thanks to his long stint in the IPL with various teams. Warner has not scorched the field like Steve Smith since his return to the side last year but showed enough indications that he is near his best. Warner would be eager to stamp his dominance early on and the responsibility to muzzle him will largely be on Bumrah, who made a rather quite return to top-flight cricket in the T20I series against Lanka. It will be a crucial duel.
4. Smith vs Indian bowlers
Marnus Labuschagne might have hogged all the limelight of late courtesy his purple patch in the Ashes and at home against Pakistan and New Zealand. But Smith remains the engine room of Aussie batting. Around him, the visitors will be looking to build the innings and overall, Smith has managed to score 678 runs from 15 matches against India at 52.15. But in India, he has 170 runs from 6 matches at 28.33. It will be an interesting battle between them, especially the one between wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Smith.