“There’s no reason why they will not beat them again,” Ganguly expects India to defeat Australia in WTC final

India defeated Australia 2-1 in the just-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Indian players posing with Border-Gavaskar Trophy | BCCITeam India dominated Australia in the just-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home. The Rohit Sharma-led side won the four-match Test series 2-1.

As a result, India qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, where they will take on the Aussies in a one-off match at The Oval in London from June 7 to 11.

Speaking to RevSportz, former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly congratulated the Indian team for reaching the WTC final.

Ganguly is confident of India beating Australia in the grand finale despite the daunting schedule of IPL 2023 and the alien conditions in England.

“Firstly, let me congratulate India for beating Australia. Secondly, India have beaten Australia in Australia, they have beaten them here. So there’s no reason why they will not beat them again (in WTC Final),” Ganguly stated.

When asked what should be India’s plan to get the better of Australia, Ganguly highlighted the importance of posting a good total on the board.

“Batting. You score runs. You put 350-400 on the board, you’ll be in a position to win,” he said.

India opener Shubman Gill slammed a century in the fourth against Australia at Ahmedabad and Ganguly was all praise for the youngster, who has already hit five hundreds in 2023 so far.

“He (Gill) has been brilliant for the last six-seven months. What else does he need to do? He is a permanent player now,” Ganguly said.

Star batter Virat Kohli ended his over three-year wait for a Test century with a painstaking 186 in the fourth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

Ganguly is now hoping that Kohli will continue to pile up runs for the Indian team.

“It’s exceptional. 75 hundreds at this level…nobody needs to say anything more. It’s good that he’s back to scoring runs. He has had a last good four five months for India. Hopefully, he’ll continue” he said.

With Rishabh Pant set to be out of action for the major part of 2023 because of injuries sustained in a horrific car crash last December, the slot for a wicketkeeper remains open in the Indian Test team heading into the WTC final.

While KS Bharat was preferred over Ishan Kishan in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the former failed to make a mark with his glovework and batting.

“Depends on what Rahul (Dravid) is thinking. Ishan Kishan is an exceptional player. My way of looking at the game is different from theirs. So it’s their decision,” Ganguly opined.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 15 Mar, 2023

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