Former Australian all-rounder Brendon Julian has dropped a bombshell of a statement regarding the upcoming high-octane Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 between India and Australia. He has said that Australia will easily dominate India and will win the 1st Test match at Perth in just “4 days”.
India recently suffered a humiliating 0-3 whitewash at home at the hands of New Zealand and it ended India’s unbeaten streak in red-ball cricket at home since 2012. More so, India’s star batters in the form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are out of form and haven’t been able to replicate their good performances with the willow.
Brendon Julian has also revealed that Jasprit Bumrah, who is likely to be the stand-in-skipper of India in the 1st Test, will be under a lot of pressure.
“The Aussies will clean up India in 4 days. There are worrying signs for India, straight at the top. Rohit Sharma is not playing the first Test; he has come out and said that. So Jasprit Bumrah will captain the side. Now that’s a lot of pressure when you’re the opening bowler. He is a wonderful bowler; no doubt about that. But all of a sudden when you’re opening the bowling and captaining the side, that’s a whole different ball game,” Brendon Julian said to Fox Cricket.
“The way that Virat Kohli got out against New Zealand – for him to get out like that in that Test series was unbelievable. Kohli is not at his best. He is not gelling with the captain probably and the coach but having said that, he can quickly turn it around. But if they start pulling in Perth, I reckon it’ll be all over,” he added.
Brendon Julian believes Nathan Lyon would trouble Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli always faces a challenge with spinners and off-late, the spinners have been troubling the star Indian batter. Kohli has faced Lyon on several occasions and has been dismissed by him in Tests, 7 times.
He has amassed 1028 runs at a good average of 75.6 and this will be a key battle to watch out for.
“The thing with Virat Kohli is that I think he would rather bat in Australia. The way he batted against New Zealand in India, he was getting out to spinners. The nemesis for him would be Nathan Lyon. He’s got the wood over him, but he is going to enjoy the conditions. Yes, Perth will be quick and bouncy. Yes, he has played against Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Hazelwood but I get the feeling that if he starts well, he is going to have a really good series. But you’ve got to get on him early. You can’t let him ease into his batting,” Julian said.
Also Read: 3 Reasons Why Virat Kohli Can Stage A Huge Comeback In The Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
