Former England bowler and cricket commentator Isa Guha on Tuesday (December 15) said the Indian cricket team led by Virat Kohli looks more settled compared to the Australian side heading into the first Day-Night Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting December 17 at Adelaide Oval.
She also impressed with Shubman Gill in the way he took on the Australian bowlers during the tour games on the tour and picked him over Prithvi Shaw as a better option as an opener for India.
While the hosts Australia is still searching for its ideal opening combination after David Warner ruled out of the opening Test of the upcoming four-Test series and Guha doesn’t see out-of-form Joe Burns will open alongside Marcus Harris in the Day-Night Test against India in Adelaide.
Guha told PTI on Tuesday: “India looks to have a more settled unit compared to Australia and their bowlers have a chance to pray on that.”
The commentator further added, “I don’t see Australia selecting Joe Burns and we have to see whether it's Marcus Harris-Matthew Wade coming out to open. As far as India is concerned, what I saw during the day/night game, I found Shubman Gill coping better than Prithvi Shaw.”
She will be commentating alongside Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, and Mark Waugh for Fox Sports during the high-profile Test series between Australia and India.
However, Guha said Team India would be the “underdogs” once the flamboyant Warner comes back in the mix for Australia, possibly, in the second Test, in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series.
She continued, “India will be underdogs when Warner comes back. I think it will be a fascinating contest. Also, Rohit will be back for India in the last two games and their batting will also get stronger.”
Isa also picked young Rishabh Pant over experienced Wriddhiman Saha despite his better glove work as India’s wicketkeeper for Australia Tests given his superior batting skills.
She further explained, “Purely, in terms of fighting fire with fire, I think Rishabh will be selected. He is a batter who can take on the bowlers and take the game away. While Ravi (Shastri) has said that Saha is the best keeper, purely from the batting point of view, Pant looks likely to be selected.”
Guha also backed experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to play in the first Test against Australia but feels India should try the left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in Melbourne and Sydney.
She further added, “I will go with the experience of Ashwin in the first Test. Kuldeep can be played at Sydney, where he did well the last time.”
Australia successfully brought back the crowds inside the stadium in the post-COVID-19 world and the stadiums are expected to be full during the upcoming marquee Test series featuring “Box Office Cricketer” like Virat Kohli and world-class Steve Smith.
Isa signed off by saying, “Credit to Australian authorities for getting the crowd back in the stadium. It is wonderful really. You know how much India appreciated the crowd's support during their T20 victory. At the Adelaide, with the sun setting behind Sir Donald Bradman Stand creates the best vantage point.”
(With PTI Inputs)
