The much-awaited Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 is all set to lit up our TV sets from 22nd November 2024. India cross swords with Australia for 5 Test matches and this will be a proper litmus test for the Indians.
With India winning the last 3 Border Gavaskar Trophy Series’, this series promises to live up to its billing. Several cricketers would be hoping to shine during this series and would be looking to leave an indelible impression on the minds and hearts of the fans and the lovers of this sport.
The last time when these two sides locked horns with each other in the red-ball format, it was the World Test Championship (WTC) finals 2023 and it was Australia who had won it.
In this article, we take a look at 3 reasons why Australia have the upper hand in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25:
1. Australia are the WTC reigning champions
In the 2nd edition of the World Test Championships (WTC), it was Australia and India who locked horns with each other in the finals. India lost the game at the hands of the Ozzies and it was pure class and domination displayed by Australia.
Australia defeated India by a humongous margin of 209 runs and Travis Head was adjudged the player of the match for his blistering knock of 163 runs. Pat Cummins and co. would be quite confident ahead of this series at home. They would be banking on their home support and crowd and would be looking to etch their names in the history books again.
2. India lost their previous series
Rohit Sharma and co. suffered a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand at home and suffered their first-ever Test series loss at home since 2012. It was a big blow to the confidence levels of the Indian cricket team and they need to stage a strong comeback from this precarious situation.
The Indian batters aren’t in form and they will face an uphill task in the bouncy and swing-friendly conditions in Australia.
3. Australian batters know the conditions well
The Indian batters will take some time to get accustomed to the conditions Down Under and there are several batters in the team, who don’t have a lot of experience. But on the flip side, the Australians would be quite confident of putting up a show at home conditions.
The likes of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschange and Travis Head, love playing at home and have an enviable record in the red-ball format in Australia.
Also read: 3 Reasons Why Virat Kohli Can Stage A Huge Comeback In The Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25