India’s top speed bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, will lead the country’s men’s cricket team in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opening if regular captain Rohit Sharma is unable to do so, according to head coach Gautam Gambhir.
All eyes are on India and Australia as the two giants in world cricket are all set to take on each other in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. These two teams have rich history and there has been immense drama and competitiveness whenever these teams have gone head-to-head. India is travelling down under for yet another nail-biter of a series.
Meanwhile, Australia has not beaten India in the last 10 years in the Border-Gavaskar trophy. Aussies would be itching to go out there and get this series win on their home turf. After a loss against India’s arch-rivals Pakistan, the Aussies will have to roll up their sleeves and look to get back to winning ways against India.
Jasprit Bumrah vs Travis Head: The Battle To Watch Out For
Among the crucial matches in Australia’s 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former England captain Michael Vaughan has selected Jasprit Bumrah as India’s adversary. According to Vaughan, the two most sought-after matches in the five-match Test series will be Bumrah vs. Australian starter Travis Head and Australian bowler Pat Cummins vs. Virat Kohli.
Notably, Head has been fired twice by Jasprit Bumrah. Against the top pacer, the left-handed batsman has amassed 50 runs off 126 balls at an average of 25. However, against Cummins, Kohli has scored 96 runs off 269 deliveries and been dismissed five times.
Vaughan told the Club Prairie Fire Podcast (via The Times of India)
“I’ve got Cummins vs Kohli, world-class. And I think Jasprit Bumrah bowling to Travis Head, I think that is going to be a great contest, cause Travis will try and just moose it. And Jasprit Bumrah will probably be captain for the first couple of games, don’t know when’s Rohit’s gonna arrive.
“Pound for pound, I think Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in the world so I’m looking forward to that kind of confrontation,” he added.
In 12 Test matches in Australia, Jasprit Bumrah has claimed 32 wickets, including a fifer. Cummins, meanwhile, has taken 50 wickets in 13 Test matches against India, including five wickets. In terms of batting, Kohli has scored 1,352 runs, including six hundreds, in 13 Test matches played in Australia. Conversely, Travis Head has scored 715 runs, including a century and a half, in 10 Test matches against India.
Adam Gilchrist expects a fiery battle between Jasprit Bumrah & Steve Smith
Former Australia captain Adam Gilchrist further picked Steve Smith versus Jasprit Bumrah as his sought-after duel in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the same exchange, he stated:
“Bumrah features funnily in my line versus Steve Smith. I think Smith looked quite switched on in the couple of games he played in those ODIs. He looked like he was ready to knock out a decent summer. He would be really happy to be back in his No.4 position, that would be a good matchup.”
Gilchrist went on to discuss the differences between Nathan Lyon and Rishabh Pant. He pointed out how Lyon was dominated by the wicketkeeper-batter in the last series in Australia:
“The other one, this was one quite interesting the last time they were out here. Rishabh Pant versus Nathan Lyon. That’s the GOAT, as far as off spinners are concerned, from the Australian point of view. Does he try to draw him out of the crease, does he go flat”
“Rishabh can go through the gears as quickly as anyone, from complete defence to all out assault and attack on a bowler, so that would be fascinating,” he added.
Jasprit Bumrah vs Smith: 52 runs, one dismissal. It will be an interesting battle between the two in the BGT 2024-25. Pant vs Lyon: 229 runs, five dismissals. Steve Smith has 2042 runs in 19 Tests against India. Meanwhile, Nathan Lyon has bagged 121 wickets in 27 Tests against India.
Get ready to witness some scintillating battle in the purest form of the game. Where 22 men go head-to-head over 5 days grinding and fighting for their country to win the ultimate bragging rights for Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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