India will look for a hattrick of series wins in Australia when they tour Down Under for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The series will be part of the World Test Championship (WTC) and the winner will almost confirm a berth in the WTC final. Beating Australia in Australia is no joke but India defied the odds and won consecutive series in 2018-19 and 2020-2021 tours. The previous series win in Australia was more special as the team was marred by injuries to key players but veteran Chesteshwar Pujara and the young bridge stepped up to stun the hosts.
Australia are like a wounded lion and would like to seek revenge for the series defeats. Also, with Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara unlikely to be part of India's squad, it will be a massive Test for team India. Former Australia cricketer Geoff Lawson feels the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy could be the best Test series of the 21st century.
“With a hot dry Australian summer predicted, I can’t see there being any draws as these two teams have an attacking penchant and the players to deliver quick runs and batting collapses. This could be the best Test series of the 21st century so far and will remind us of how Test cricket is the premium form of the game,” was quoted as saying by Mid Day.
Meanwhile, Lawson also made a bold prediction for the series and backed Australia to win the series 3-2.
“Picking a winner is fraught with all sorts of peril which is exactly how the fans want this series to unfold. I’m very uncertainly going for an Australian win 3-2,” he added.
The series gets underway on November 22 in Perth. The second Test will be played in Adelaide from December 6. The final three matches will be played in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney respectively.