Harbhajan Singh, former India spinner, has stated that India needs to start strongly in the first Test in Perth against Australia if they want to have any chance of winning the BGT 2024 (Border-Gavaskar Trophy).
The first Test in Perth between Australia and India will be played from November 22 onwards. This Test series is extremely important for India’s chances to qualify for the WTC 2025 final.
The three-Test series between India and New Zealand ended recently, with the visitors blanking Rohit Sharma and company 3-0 at home.
According to Harbhajan, the team's confidence would have been damaged by the series loss, but he isn't overly concerned about the Indian hitters because their home environment was very different from what they will experience in Australia.
The former Indian spinner predicted that the batters would perform well on Australia's bouncy wickets and that India had a 50/50 chance of keeping the trophy.
"It's 50-50. I am not considering the cricket India played recently because the conditions were different. Even solid batters gave the feeling they didn't know how to bat (against New Zealand). People were saying that seniors should go and play Ranji Trophy. That won't solve the purpose. Australia will have good conditions. Pitches will be good," Harbhajan said on Jatin Sapru's YouTube channel.
Harbhajan supported Rahul's success in Australia, pointing out that India needs a player who can wear down the opposition bowlers, like Cheteshwar Pujara.
However, Harbhajan noted that a defeat in the first game of the series would cause more issues and increase India's pressure.
"I feel India batters will come good. We need a player like Pujara, who can grind in and make the ball old. KL Rahul has been criticized so much. He is a class player. It will be a 50-50 series. But I will give a slight edge to Australia because they are playing at home and India's confidence would be a bit shaken (after NZ's loss).
The first Test will be very important. If India starts well in Perth, then the team will give a solid fight in the series. If India doesn't start well, then problems will escalate for India," Harbhajan added.
After the Perth Test, there will be a 10-day gap as the second Test in Adelaide will be a day-night affair. India will play a practice pink-ball match in between. The third Test will be held in Brisbane followed by the Boxing Day match in Melbourne. The New Year's Test will start from January 3 in Sydney.
