India national cricket team have a giant task in front of them as this time Australia would be well prepared for winning BGT 2024-25. The rivalry between the two nations has been intriguing and we can expect a cracker of Test series. It might be the last Test tour of Australia for the senior duo of Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma who are at the back-end of their career and would be keen to end on a high note.
India not only needs to win Test series against Australia but win 4 matches out of 5 which will be an arduous task. The Aussies have started playing mind games and are a bit too confident that Indian batters would fall like a pack of cards against Australia’s bowling attack. India’s batting line up got exposed against New Zealand where they were facing tough times on rank turners and India lost Test series by 3-0.
We need Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli, one of them to have a great series- Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar urged Team India to focus on smaller goals rather than aiming too high while noting the absence of Mohammed Shami as a key challenge in the five-match series. He said on a show hosted by Star Sports,
“4-0, a distant dream, just take one step at a time and the first couple of steps, which is Perth and the next one in Adelaide are going to be India’s toughest tests. We need Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, one of them, to have a great series. Problem for India is that the bowling which has been their great strength in the last couple of years, Shami missing,”
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have struggled with the bat recently, scoring just 93 and 91 runs, respectively, in the three-match Test series against New Zealand at home. Both have managed only one half-century in their last five Tests.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Shami is set to make a return to competitive cricket after almost a year. He is set to play for Bengal in the ongoing Ranji trophy. Shami was kept on the sidelines for the BGT 2024-25 for not playing any form of cricket since the ODI World Cup 2023.
No team has beaten Australia 4-0, But India got to believe that they can turn the tables on Australia– Sunil Gavaskar
Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has expressed confidence in India’s ability to bounce back in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy after their 0-3 series loss to New Zealand. He also explained the role Indian wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant could play in the five-match series. Speaking in the same show, Gavaskar said,
“No team, including the champion West Indies of the past has beaten Australia 4-0 to the best of my recollection. They’ve got a very good captain Rohit Sharma who’s always been somebody who’s been able to lift the team up,”
“Rishabh Pant has got the great ability to soak up the pressure. He just wants to go out there and enjoy himself, play to the best of his ability. Forget what happened against New Zealand, they’ve just got to believe that they can turn the tables on Australia like they’ve done on the last couple of tours to Australia,” he added.
Rishabh Pant played a pivotal role in India’s remarkable 2-1 series victory in Australia during the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The left-hander amassed 274 runs, including two crucial half-centuries, he stayed unbeaten on 89 at the Gabba sealing a memorable win and securing a consecutive series victory in Australia.
The highly anticipated five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy is set to start in Perth on November 22. Notably, India has maintained an unbeaten record in Test series in Australia over the last decade, claiming the 2017/18 and 2020/21 series with identical 2-1 scorelines.