22 November 2024 12:48 pm Views - 190
India Captain Jasprit Bumrah (right) and Australia Skipper Pat Cummins
By BIPIN DANI
Former Australia captain Mark Waugh, on his social media page has shared his predictions and insights for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series.
He anticipates a 3-1 victory for Australia, with the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) match likely to be washed out, as is often the case.
Waugh expects Steve Smith to be the top run-scorer for Australia, despite not foreseeing a high-scoring series overall. He believes Smith will find his form and contribute significantly.
In the wickets column, Waugh places his bets on either Josh Hazlewood or Nathan Lyon to lead the charge. He also states that Mitchell Starc could perform well with the pink ball under lights and Pat Cummins will also play a crucial role.
Waugh suggests that it might be beneficial to rotate the pace attack for one of the matches.
Regarding India, Waugh acknowledged that they have a strong chance, especially after their recent loss to New Zealand, which might have sparked a renewed determination.
However, he notes that both teams are dealing with aging line-ups and it will be interesting to see which veterans can still deliver top performances.
Waugh predicts that the series will be dominated by bowlers, as has been the trend in recent summers. The new Kookaburra ball and subpar batting techniques have led to lower scores and he believes that to beat Australia, teams need to bat long and push the game into the fourth or fifth day for a competitive contest.
He also speculated that if either Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma fail to perform, it could lead to their retirement from international cricket.
Waugh’s parting words, ‘Get ready kunts,’ are a colloquial and somewhat provocative way of urging everyone to brace themselves for an intense and competitive series. It’s his way of saying that the upcoming matches will be fierce and demanding and both players and fans should be prepared for the challenges ahead.
The five-Test match series commences today with the first Test at Perth.