"Probably a 2-1 win for Australia, but it's going to be a tough one" - Mahela Jayawardena
Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena believes that Australia have a chance to defeat India in the subcontinent during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series. The Men in Yellow head into the series as the No.1 ranked Test team in the world, while India are yet to lose a Test series at home in 11 years.
The Pat Cummins-led side have only lost a solitary contest in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. They have almost secured a spot in the finals of the tournament and a positive result in India would seal their berth.
Hoping for Australia's win to spruce up Sri Lanka's chances of qualification for the WTC Final, Jayawardena said in the latest edition of the ICC Review:
“It's difficult to predict, but being a Sri Lankan, I’m hoping that Australia can go all the way. Probably a 2-1 win for Australia, but it's going to be a tough one.”
Further adding that the contest between the Indian batters and the Australian bowlers will be one to watch out for, Jayawardena continued:
“I think it's always going to be a great series. I think Indian conditions and how the Australian batsmen tackle that, they do have a really good bowling unit and how do the Indian batsmen tackle that … it depends on how each team starts the series and who's got that momentum. But it will be fascinating."
Australia have named four spinners in a massive 18-man contingent for the tour. The Men in Yellow, however, are battling a serious injury crisis to their pace bowling unit, with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Cameron Green likely to be out of the playing XI for the first Test.
"He's been very good, he's technically very sound and he's a good player of pace" - Mahela Jayawardena on Shubman Gill
Young opening batter Shubman Gill's recent exploits have earned him the tag of an all-format player. In the upcoming series, though, he might be forced to operate in a different role. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are expected to open the innings, and Gill is a contender for the No. 5 spot due to Shreyas Iyer's back injury.
Noting that Gill should try to translate his supreme white-ball form into red-ball cricket, Mahela Jayawardena said:
“He's been very good, he's technically very sound and he's a good player of pace. That'll keep him in good stead against that Australian attack, but it's always going to be tough and it will be a very good series."
Jayawardena continued:
“He is in great form at the moment and if he converts that into red-ball cricket and have that tempo, maturity, understanding of the situations and conditions, he’d be a great asset at the top of the line-up for India. He does give them those good starts at a good tempo to put opposition bowling attacks under pressure."
India will take on Australia in the first of the four Tests in Nagpur from February 9 onwards.
Who will win the Border-Gavaskar series? Let us know what you think.