“Australia is ripe for conquest”

“My prediction is a 3-1 win for India.”

IMAGE: India will attempt to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the third consecutive year when they face Australia in a five-Test series in Perth starting in November. Photo: BCCI/X

Opinions were circulating everywhere about the fate of the Border-Gavakar Trophy, which will be played in a few months.

From former Australian captain Ricky Ponting's bold predictions to Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood expressing the team's determination to reclaim the trophy, the upcoming series has, as always, piqued the interest of fans across the cricket world.

In an interview for the latest episode of The ICC reviewRavi Shastri – who was head coach when India withdrew a stunning victory at the Gabba in January 2021 to win the series – picked Rohit Sharma’s team as favourites to complete a hat-trick of series wins.

And the latest big name to enter the contest between the two giants of world cricket is Sunil Gavaskar.

“With their first-batting woes exacerbated following David Warner's retirement and the middle batting order a little dubious, the Aussies are once again ripe for the takeover,” wrote Sunny G in his Sunday column for the Midday Newspaper.

“It's sure to be an exciting series with the talent on both sides and it will also showcase why Test cricket is the ultimate format of our beloved game. Oh, and my prediction is a 3-1 win for India.”

Gavaskar is concerned about the lack of warm-up matches ahead of the first Test in Perth on November 22, as an intra-team match at the WACA is the only chance for the Indian team to adapt to the conditions Down Under.

“India is the usual slow starter in an overseas series like SENA (South Africa England New Zealand Australia) countries, the first test will be crucial,” Gavaskar noted.

“The fact that they don’t play any real first-class games before that and also in the one-week breaks between some of the friendlies could work against them.”