Mahela Jayawardene, a legendary batsman from Sri Lanka, believes that Australia has a chance to win the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy series against India, which will begin on Thursday in Nagpur. The series will consist of four matches.
. Both Australia and India are currently placed first and second, respectively, in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings as well as the ongoing cycle for the ICC World Test Championship 2023, and they will compete against one another in a four-match Test series that will take place in India.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy currently belongs to India because of their victory in the series that was played in Australia in the years 2020-21.
Jayawardena is confident that Pat Cummins and Australia will win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which begins on February 9 in Nagpur. This is despite the fact that Australia has not won a Test series in India since 2004.
“I have no doubt that it will continue to be a fantastic series. I believe that the conditions in India and how the Australian batsmen respond to those conditions, as well as the fact that Australia has a really good bowling unit, will determine the outcome of the series. It will also depend on how each team begins the series and who has the momentum going into it.
However, it will be quite interesting “In the most recent issue of the ICC Review, Mahela Jayawardene made the following statement.
“As a Sri Lankan, even though it’s hard to tell what will happen, I’m rooting for Australia to win the whole thing. Most likely a victory for Australia by a score of 2-1, but it’s going to be a close match, “he added.
The incredible run that batsman Shubman Gill has been on recently has increased India’s chances of successfully competing against the formidable Australian bowling team.
Jayawardene is of the opinion that the teenager has what it takes to make a similar impression in red-ball cricket due to his remarkable form in white-ball cricket, which has provided India with a big boost in the shorter versions of the game.
“He has been performing extremely well, he has strong technical skills, and he is an excellent player of pace.
That will put him in a strong position to defend himself against that Australian attack, but it’s never going to be easy, and the series is shaping up to be really exciting, “the native Sri Lankan said in reference to Gill.
“At the moment, he is performing at an extremely high level, and if he can translate that level of performance into red-ball cricket while maintaining the same tempo, maturity, and awareness of the situations and conditions, he would be an incredible asset for India at the top of their batting order.
He does provide them with those terrific beginnings at a good tempo, which helps put pressure on the bowling attacks of the opposition “he continued.
This Thursday marks the beginning of Australia’s four-match Test tour to India; the first match of the fourth and final Test is set to take place on March 9.
