India needs to win four out of five Tests against Australia to qualify for WTC 2025 final.
Marnus Labuschagne stated that it is a good thing that the Indian team has come to Australia for the BGT 2024 five-Test series low on confidence after being whitewashed by New Zealand at home 0-3.
New Zealand became the first team since England in 2012 to whitewash India in a three or more Test series in India. It was a shocking result for the Indian team, whose run of 18 consecutive unbeaten Test series wins at home was broken spectacularly.
The Indian players have been practicing hard and getting ready for the match against arch-rivals since they arrived in Australia last week.
The Kiwis stunning them may be lingering in the back of the Indian team's mind, but Marnus Labuschagne is aware that their opponent, one of the world's top teams, is capable of recovering.
Although Labuschagne admitted that India's confidence would have suffered after the defeat to New Zealand, the Australian squad is not underestimating the wounded team.
"Having India come here at the back of a loss at home is something that has never happened before, so I think that's a good thing in terms that they are probably a bit low on confidence, not coming off a Test victory, losing to New Zealand in India. I think that's gonna do a little bit of damage to their confidence but at the end of the day, they are a quality line-up and one of the best teams in the world. So you can never underestimate a team like that," Labuschagne told reporters on Tuesday.
Aiming for a hat-trick of series wins in Australia, India now has to win four out of the five BGT Tests to make it to the WTC 2025 final without depending on the results of the other teams.
(ANI inputs)