New Delhi: Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar predicts a 3-1 victory for India against Australia in this year’s highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India has won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia twice in a row, in 2018/19 and 2020/21.
India and Australia will face off in the all-important five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth, Adelaide (pink-ball game), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney in 2024/25.
“It’s going to be an exciting series for sure with the talent that is there on both sides and it will also show why Test match cricket is the ultimate format of our beloved game. Oh, and my prediction is a 3-1 win for India,” wrote Gavaskar in his column for Sunday Mid-day.
He also believes that Australia would miss the talents of left-handed opener David Warner, who retired from international cricket earlier this year. Since then, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja have opened the innings for Australia in Tests, although their average is only 21.3 over seven innings.
“With their opening batting problems exacerbated after the retirement of David Warner and the middle-order also a bit dodgy, the Aussies are ripe for the taking once again. India is the usual slow starter in an overseas series in SENA countries so that the first test will be crucial.”
“That they aren’t playing proper first class games before that as well as in the week long gaps between some Test matches could work against them. That said, it is how schedules are nowadays for most touring sides,” added Gavaskar.
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With some predicting Australia as early favourites to win the trophy, Gavaskar provided some insight into the mental games played before the series, which begins on November 22. It will be the first five-match Test series between the two nations since 1991/92.
“The five Test matches that India play (at home) before they go to Australia will be good for the mental tuning required for a tough tour like that. Already, the mind games have begun with Australian players, both current and former, airing their views about what the result would be.”
“While they (Australia) are not making Glenn McGrath-like statements of a clean sweep, they are still suggesting that Australia will prevail. Sadly, apart from Ravi Shastri, no other former or current player has seen to counter the mind games which the Aussies are so good at.”
“Maybe Ravichandran Ashwin should start telling us about a special delivery that he is developing for Steve Smith, that is, of course, if he continues to open the batting and can survive Jasprit Bumrah,” he concluded.
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–IANS
