Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Australia will be hungry for winning in India but it won’t be easy, says Theunis de Bruyn
South Africa batter Theunis de Bruyn said that Australia will be looking to make a statement in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy by beating India in the upcoming four-match Test series.
The red-ball series is scheduled to get underway on February 9 with matches to be played in Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad. India are the currently holders of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy having won series in 2018-19 and 2020-21, both overseas.
The Aussies played a Test series in India six years ago in March 2017. India won the series 2-1 after initially conceding a 1-0 lead following a 333-run defeat.
De Bruyn said that conditions would be in India’s favour and Australia’s task wouldn’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination.
“Look, I have played against India in India. It’s completely different. They have beaten this Australian team in Australia a few times in a row now, twice. So, they will be up for the fight. Conditions will be in India’s favour,” De Bruyn was quoted as saying to India Today.
“So, you can’t really compare a series like Australia vs South Africa and Australia travelling to India. It’s two completely different series in different conditions. So, what I can say is that the Australian team has got a lot of confidence and individuals in their team understand their roles.”
A few statement
“They have got a core group of players, seasoned and world class cricketers and they are running this team superbly. So, they will be hungry to win in India, which I don’t know when they last did. Teams are building towards having a legacy which is spoken about by the Australian media quite often,” he stated.
“They have got a few statements to make and one of those statements is to beat India. That being said, it won’t be an easy task for them. So, it’s going to be a very good series,” de Bruyn added.
Australia last won a Test series in India way back in October 2004, after which India came up trumps in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2017. Out of the 14 Test series they have played on Indian soil, the Aussies have won four.
Australia are currently on top of the points table in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 while India are placed second.