Matthew Hayden believes India has all the makings of a great team
Former cricketer Matthew Hayden has opined that India has all the makings of a great team because they can win against all odds and in any condition. Hayden also added that Team India have the ability to fight it out when faced with challenging situations.
India's recent triumph in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was a testament to their bench strength and their ability to fight against all odds. The Men in Blue have now backed it up with two comprehensive Test wins over England at home, which has put them in the driver's seat to make the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Speaking about India's strengths, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden said to PTI:
"India have shown that they are a modern team who can not only fight it out but win against the odds in all conditions. This is a mark of all the great teams in history. The ability to win both at home and away."
On the back of their latest defeat, England are out of the running for a place in the WTC final. However, they can still poop India's party if they win the final Test in Ahmedabad. In that scenario, Australia will go through.
Matthew Hayden weighs in on the pitch debate
Matthew Hayden also had his say on the pitches being used in the ongoing India-England series. The Australian believes as long as the track is not unfairly groomed, he doesn't have any problem with the conditions.
"Provided the wickets are not unfairly groomed, reducing the game to only one type of cricket, I don't have a problem with it at all. Conditions should promote an even game." said Hayden.
The 49-year-old pointed out that teams need to make use of all their resources to tackle the challenges of modern-day cricket.
"Teams, both home and away, tour with several options at their disposal should condition suit different specialists. That's the modern game, different formats, different conditions and huge resources to account for the same."