Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli's performance will be crucial for India in Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Steve Waugh
Former Australian captain Steve Waugh reckons the performance of lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah and senior batter Virat Kohli could hold the key to India's success in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Overall, Waugh expects an excellent series between two well-matched teams.
India will take on Australia in five Tests from November 22 to January 7. The series will begin in Perth and conclude with the final Test in Sydney in the New Year. India are aiming for a hat-trick, having beaten Australia in the last two away contests.
Speaking to news agency IANS, former Australian captain Waugh picked Bumrah and Kohli as the two danger men for the hosts. He commented:
"It'll be a good series with two very good teams, equally matched. India has a good chance to win in Australia because they have a very strong bowling attack. With Bumrah, Siraj, and Shami, they have an excellent pace attack, and they also have many good spinners, such as Jadeja, Ashwin, and Kuldeep but the key will be Jasprit Bumrah's performance with the ball and Virat Kohli's performance with the bat."
"Bumrah is an excellent bowler, the more he takes wickets, the higher the chances of India winning the series gets high. We have seen Virat's performance in away conditions. The Indian batting depends on him, so he will be at the helm. However, Australia has a very good team as well, with a strong bowling attack. So, with two high-quality teams, I expect it to be an excellent series," the 59-year-old added.
India beat Australia in Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2018-19 and registered victory by the same margin in 2020-21.
Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah's Test record in Australia
Former India captain Kohli has an excellent Test record in Australia. In 13 matches (25 innings), he has notched up 1,352 runs at an average of 54.08, with six hundreds and four fifties.
He amassed 692 runs in eight innings at an average of 86.50 during the 2014-15 tour. The right-hander contributed 282 runs in seven innings at an average of 40.28 during the historic triumph in 2018-19.
Looking at Bumrah's Test stats in Australia, the pacer has featured in seven matches and has claimed 32 wickets at an average of 21.25, with a best of 6-33. He picked up 21 wickets at an average of 17 during the 2018-19 tour and 11 scalps in three Tests, averaging 29.36 in 2020-21.