"India winning at the Gabba is a real possibility" - Brett Lee
Former Australia pacer Brett Lee believes India have a good chance of winning the fourth Test at the Gabba. According to him, the visitors will be favorites to clinch the series if they can get through the Aussie openers in the fourth Test.
The Australians have a great record in Brisbane. India have never won a Test at the Gabba, while Australia haven't lost at the venue since 1988. To add to the visitors' woes, they will be without several crucial players for the series decider, owing to a freakish injury spree in the camp.
Speaking to Fox Sports, Brett Lee said a win at the venue won't be a 'miracle' for the Indians.
“I don’t think a win at the Gabba is a miracle (for India), I think it’s a real possibility, especially if Australia are a couple short in their batting lineup. The only thing that’s going to hurt India is their lack of options to choose from. A couple of their gun bowlers are gone, a couple of batsmen are out with injury as well," said Brett Lee.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma were India's three frontline pacers in their winning campaign Down Under in 2018. All three, along with Umesh Yadav have been ruled out of the series with different injuries.
Two-Test old Mohammed Siraj will lead the attack in Brisbane along with Navdeep Saini, who made his debut in Sydney last week.
If Pucovski and Warner are not fit, India can turn the tide against the Australians: Brett Lee
Australia confirmed on Thursday that Marcus Harris will replace an injured Will Pucovski in the side for the fourth Test. David Warner, who wasn't fully fit in Sydney, has retained his spot in the playing XI.
Brett Lee's opinions were recorded before the announcement. He had said it will be a big blow for the hosts if they can't field both the openers from the last game.
"The Australian bowlers are all fully fit, so I’m going to tip Australia is going to go well at the Gabba providing we have Pucovski and David Warner at the top of the order. If we don’t, then India can definitely come back in and are a chance to beat Australia. Otherwise we are potentially looking at two different openers at the Gabba. If that’s the case, then I’d have to say the tide turns and India would have to be favourites," said Brett Lee.
Even with Warner playing, this will be Australia's third opening combination in the series.
Team India have shown the ability to break the wall when they have their backs against it. However, going into a daunting ground with an inexperienced pace attack will certainly be the steepest mountain to climb for Ajinkya Rahane and the team. The fourth Test kicks off on Friday, January 15th.