Former Australia cricketer Steve Waugh believes that Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli's performance will be instrumental in India's triumph in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.
The 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, featuring India and Australia, will clash with each other in the all-important five-match series at Perth, Adelaide (pink-ball game), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, respectively. The first Test between India and Australia will take place at Perth on 22 November.
It'll be a good series with two very good teams, evenly matched. India has a good chance to win in Australia because they have a very strong bowling attack.". They have a good pace attack with Bumrah, Siraj, and Shami; along with that, they also have several good spinners like Jadeja, Ashwin, and Kuldeep. But the key will be Jasprit Bumrah's performance with the ball and Virat Kohli's performance with the bat. Bumrah is an excellent bowler, the more he takes wickets, the higher the chances of India winning the series gets high, " Waugh told IANS.
"Virat has already done wonderfully away from home. India's batting core relies a lot on him, so he will be at the helm. Australia have a very, very good team, and their bowling inquisitors are pretty menacing. So, with two high-quality teams, I expect it to be an excellent series," he added.
India steps into the series on an all-time high in their Border-Gavaskar conquests, winning four of the last five affairs, including two historic wins - the first after more than a decade and a half, last time around in 2018-19, and the second in 2020-21 - on Australian soil.
Victory seems to have tilted the balance of power in this rivalry, favoring India with ten series victories against five for Australia. The last series Australia won was back in 2014-15, while the Indians last lost a series to Australia nearly ten years ago, going back to 2004-05.
The series would run from November 22 to January 7, 2025. Iconic venues in Australia would host the series. After the Perth opener, the teams would head to Adelaide Oval to play the second Test from December 6 to 10, which would be the only day-night Test of the series.
Third Test: Brisbane's Gabba, December 14-18 Most awaited match of the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground, December 26-30. Final Test: Sydney Cricket Ground, January 3-7.
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