The much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy starts with the Adelaide Test on December 6.
Former Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist has said that if India are to register their maiden Test series victory Down Under then other batsmen will have to support the talismanic Virat Kohli, who is on a record-breaking spree this year.
India have never won a Test series in Australia, with its best result being a 1-1 draw in 2003-04. The much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy starts with the Adelaide Test on December 6.
“Going ahead into the Test series, I expect Virat Kohli will have another imperious outing like he did in 2014 (694 runs in 4 Tests at average 86.50). I have spoken with him these last few days, seen his confidence, and seeing the way he batted in Sydney, I will be very surprised if he doesn’t,” Gilchrist told PTI.
“The key for India winning this series though will be batsmen around him. Will they support him enough to allow India to get enough runs, and give their good bowling attack enough opportunity to defend or even bowl Australia twice in a Test?” he added.
When asked if there could be a particular ploy from Aussie bowlers to combat Kohli’s prolific scoring, Gilchrist replied: “I don’t think I will be able to pinpoint a plan because I don’t know. At best, Australia will have to be patient. They will have to play good old-fashioned Test cricket. Their best hope is to make early inroads in the Indian batting and bowl at Kohli with the new ball.”
“Of course, they have to attack all batsmen and not just him, especially when they are new to the crease. But they also need to know when to go defensive and play the patience game against him for long hours,” he continued.
Gilchrist admitted that India start as favourites because of their settled team.
“India start as favourites for this Test series mainly because they have a reasonable idea of their team composition. They have a strong understanding what combination they want to play with,” he opined.
“Maybe 1-2 spots will be up for grabs but otherwise their playing eleven is very much set. I think India have a stable Test team. Whereas if you look at Australia, I don’t think their selectors are quite sure about the line-up or team balance. This is a new phase for Australian cricket,” Gilly explained.
Talking about the bowling attack of both the teams, Gilchrist said there is not much to choose between them.
“Both teams have top-drawer bowling attacks, so it will come down to which batting line-up can eliminate collapses. Kohli talked about India’s tour of England and said that when they were poor, they were really poor, and hence lost. India have only batted reasonably well in patches in both South Africa and England. They are favourites, but they also have to be honest with themselves,” he remarked.
Australian Cricket is perhaps at their all-time low after the ball-tampering saga led to severe bans on Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Smith and Warner are in their eighth month of the 12-month suspension, while Bancroft will be eligible to return in December after serving his 9-month period.
On being asked about the absence of Smith and Warner, Gilchrist said: “Smith and Warner have scored a lion’s share of Australia’s runs over the last couple years or so, and this is a huge loss, no doubt. They are clearly going to miss them, especially Smith because he is in the same space as Kohli.”
“He is the best batsman in the world across formats but until the ban Smith was right up there, particularly in Test cricket. Warner can be very damaging and this is a massive hole. Their absence makes it a more open series for India and all the more difficult for Australia,” he elaborated.
Gilchrist feels Cameron Bancroft’s suspension will also hurt the home team.
“Even Cameron Bancroft is a big miss, because he provided a calming influence at the top as a Test opener. In their absence, my advice for Australia would be to bat in a group. And they need to avoid what India did in South Africa and England.
“When Indian batsmen were bad in those series, they were very bad and lost Tests. So, when the moment of failure comes, Australian batsmen should try to not be as bad. Don’t lose ten wickets for 100-odd runs too often, would be my advice,” he concluded.
(With PTI inputs)