History beckons India
History beckons the present Indian team as the Border-Gavaskar series rolls into its final tie at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.
After a brilliant 137-run win on the 'average' rated MCG track, India did not just take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series, but also managed to retain the trophy.
Even more awaits Virat Kohli and his men if they manage to make it 3-1 on a slow and dry SCG track. In fact, Kohli himself stands on the verge of four captaincy records if India win the fourth Test.
The formidable form of the Indian team keeps them as the favourites in the final tie while Australia suffer a selection conundrum for the clash.
Kohli will become the first Indian captain to win two series outside their nation with three wins in the contest. Kohli had previously led India to a historic whitewash against Sri Lanka in 2017.
With another win under his belt, Kohli will surpass Sourav Ganguly's record for the most Test wins away from home. The Indian skipper has led India to 11 away wins so far.
Australia, meanwhile, began the new year with an optional training session at the SCG, where the hosts hope to settle on a batting line-up before mounting a charge to win the final Test and level the series.
Seven members of the 14-man squad – Tim Paine, Nathan Lyon, Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Peter Handscomb and Marnus Labuschagne -- trained under brilliant Sydney sunshine in the morning as the nation steadily rose after seeing in 2019.
Hosts' inability to extract reverse swing this summer continues as in-form paceman Pat Cummins made it clear he and his fellow quicks were determined to extract plenty of movement in Sydney.
"We've spoken about it [a lack of reverse swing]," said Cummins, speaking at an Australian and Indian team function at Kirribilli House on Tuesday.
“Maybe on Day One or Two when we bowled the wicket wasn't as abrasive and that makes a big difference. We tried bowling some cross-seamers and it just didn't seem to scuff up as much as a couple of days later and sometimes you get a ball that goes, sometimes it doesn't.”
Comments