Just a few days remain before Rohit Sharma and his team fly to Australia to compete in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Unfortunately, India is touring Australia at what could be the worst possible time. India faced a 3-0 series loss to New Zealand at home, marking only the second whitewash in Test history on Indian soil. Just a week after such a remarkable defeat, the team will embark on their tour to Australia, where they need to secure a 4-0 victory to clinch the World Test Championship final.
Simon Dull, the former Kiwi pacer and current commentator, cautioned that Team India will have to endure relentless sledging from Australia amid this challenging situation. He emphasized that the Australian team will continuously remind India of their recent whitewash at the hands of New Zealand.
India, however, has good memories of their last two tours to Australia, where Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma led the team to victory in the Test series on both occasions. This time, however, the challenge is expected to be much tougher, as demonstrated by their recent performance against New Zealand. After winning 18 consecutive home series, India finally faced a shocking defeat.
Simon Doull said, “India have allowed average spinners to get out good Indian players because of the pitches they’re producing”. pic.twitter.com/sEEuzl2D5i
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 3, 2024
According to Doull who served as a commentator during the series, India faces a significant challenge ahead. He stated, “It will take an exceptionally strong character to turn things around in this situation.” The team that suffered defeat against New Zealand will now be heading to Australia, where performing well on the bouncy pitches is never an easy task.
Simon Doull, well aware of India’s previous two series wins in Australia, sees this history as a positive for Rohit Sharma and his team. However, Doull believes the recent heavy loss to New Zealand, The Indian team will come back to haunt the Aussies very strongly this time, especially with Australia’s tendency for relentless sledging. I’m certain all of Australia is eagerly awaiting this series, and every minute, every step, they will be reminded of that drubbing,” Doull remarked. India’s task is challenging: they need four wins and at least one draw. Rohit and his squad are set to face some tough challenges on Australian soil.
The highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins with the first Test on November 22 in Perth and will wrap up with the fifth Test in Sydney, starting January 3 next year.