"Australia will win in Perth to start the summer" - Daren Lehmann backs Australia to win Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years
Former Australian cricketer Daren Lehmann has backed the national team to win the upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against India. The two-time ODI World Cup-winning player has predicted a 3-1 series win for Australia.
Notably, the Aussies are chasing their first-ever Test series win against India in almost 10 years. They won their last series against India at home in 2014/15 by a 2-0 margin in a four-match series. Since then, they have lost four series against the Men in Blue, including both home and away Tests.
For the unversed, India won their last two Test series in Australia by the same margin of 2-1, in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 rubbers. On Thursday, September 26, Daren Lehmann wrote on X:
"Australia v India prediction, 3-1. Australia will win in Perth to start the summer on the bouncy track then quite even after that with the home team playing conditions better."
"Need to keep Sharma and Kohli quiet all summer" - Daren Lehmann warns Australia of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Daren Lehmann further warned Australia about India captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as their biggest roadblocks in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The 54-year-old wrote on X:
"Need to keep Sharma and Kohli quiet all summer."
Rohit and Kohli love playing against Australia regardless of the format. Rohit has amassed 3571 runs against Australia across formats, including nine centuries. Meanwhile, Kohli has scored 5203 runs against the Aussies with the help of 16 centuries.
In Tests, Kohli has 2042 runs in 25 Tests at an average of 47.49 against Australia, including eight centuries. On the other hand, Rohit has 708 runs in 12 Tests against them. The two players also enjoy a good track record in Australia with Kohli and Rohit scoring 1352 runs (12 Tests) and 408 (7 Tests), respectively.
Thus, the duo will be key to India's success as they eye to complete a hat-trick of Test series win on Australian soil. Rohit Sharma will be aiming to script history by joining Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane on the list of India captains to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series in Australia.