Ricky Ponting set the ball rolling, saying he would expect Australia to beat India 3-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year. Nathan Lyon’s assertion that the Aussies have “10 years of unfinished business” came on the heels of Ponting’s comment. Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins, meanwhile, has decided to take an eight-week break to make himself fully fit for the Test series against India. Mitchell Starc has called it “right on par” with the Ashes. The first Test in Perth is three months away, but mind games have begun in earnest.
India will play two home Test series before going to Australia — against Bangladesh in September-October and against New Zealand in October-November. The matches will carry World Test Championship (WTC) points. But make no mistake, the focus is firmly on the marquee contest. India have won back-to-back Test series Down Under. A response from Australia is expected.
In fact, Australia haven’t won a Test series against India since 2014-15, when they got the better of their rivals by a 2-0 margin. The 2020-21 series was India’s crowning glory, when they bounced back from 36 all out in Adelaide to clinch the series 2-1. The defeat hurt the Aussie pride. No wonder that they are hungry.
“It’s been 10 years of unfinished business, it’s been a long time, and I know we are extremely hungry to turn things around especially here at home,” Lyon was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “Don’t get me wrong, India is an absolute superstar side and extremely challenging but I’m extremely hungry to turn things around and make sure we get that trophy back.”
Australia hammered India in the WTC final last year to officially become the world’s best Test side. But it was a one-off affair and India went to the game undercooked, without virtually any preparation time after the IPL. A five-Test series between the two giants would be different. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under is Test cricket’s unofficial world championship.
Australia are stronger this time, with a very good captain at the helm. Lyon said as much. “Feel like we are a different team to a couple of years ago, we are on a journey of becoming a great Australian cricket team.”
Ponting, too, spoke about avenging the defeats in the previous two series in Australia. “It’s going to be a competitive series and, as I said, I think Australia’s got a bit of a point to prove against India in Australia on the back of what’s happened the last two series here,” the former Australia captain said on the ICC Review. “I’m obviously going to tip Australia to win and I’m never going to tip against Australia. There will be a draw somewhere and there will be some bad weather somewhere, so I’m going to say 3-1 to Australia.”
Putting the opponents under pressure through mind games is a typical Aussie trait. This time it has started earlier than expected, which is due to the magnitude of the contest. India, by the way, have a few holes to fill. Finding a replacement for Cheteshwar Pujara at No. 3 would be very important. Pujara had been immense in India’s last two Test series wins in Australia and now the onus is on Shubman Gill to rise to the challenge. The 24-year-old has been seen as a future captain in all three formats and the Australia series gives him an opportunity to reach superstardom, should he make telling contributions with the bat.
And spare a thought for Virat Kohli. He, too, has unfinished business. In 2020-21, he returned home after the first Test due to personal commitments. He missed the home series against England earlier this year due to personal reasons. In Australia, Kohli will aim to dominate and if he does that, India will breathe easy.
The Indian team management and the selectors have been managing fast bowlers’ workload with an eye on the big series. Jasprit Bumrah has been given an extended break, while Mohammed Shami, who is recovering from an ankle surgery, will not be rushed back to competitive cricket. The fast bowler is aiming to play the Ranji Trophy for Bengal that commences on October 11. But nothing has been finalised as yet. Shami might even skip the Test series against New Zealand and go to Australia with the India A team before the main event. India need their seamers at their peak against a world-class Australian side.
As for Gautam Gambhir, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy would be his first real challenge as India coach. Ravi Shastri had cracked the code and it needs to be seen if the new coach wants to pick Shastri’s brain before going to Australia.