NEW DELHI: Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins eagerly awaits the five-match Test series against India starting on November 22 in Perth, viewing it as a chance for Australia to redeem recent home defeats to their rivals. Cummins, buoyed by recent success, expects a fiercely contested series against India at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia have faced two home series losses to India in 2018-19 and 2020-21.Despite these setbacks, Cummins believes his team can draw confidence from their World Test Championship final win over India last year in London.
Reflecting on the upcoming challenge, Cummins told Star Sports, “The last two series here in Australia, we haven’t been successful, so it’s been a long time. Hopefully, it’s time to make amends. You know, we’ve played them (India) plenty of times where they’ve beaten us, but we’ve also had plenty of wins against them as well, which we’ll draw confidence from. The most recent Test match was, of course, the World Test Championship in neutral conditions, and we came out on top in that match.”
The series is expected to be highly competitive. “It’s always fiercely competitive, and it always feels like it’s 50-50. I’m 10 out of 10 excited for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” added Cummins.
Senior Australian batter Steve Smith echoed Cummins’ sentiments, acknowledging the challenge posed by a well-rounded Indian team. “It’s going to be a great series. India have been playing outstanding cricket. We’ve been playing really good cricket the last couple of years. We haven’t beaten India in the last two times they’ve come out here,” Smith remarked.
Smith further noted India’s strength and balance. “Obviously got a terrific side, very well-balanced team, all bases covered. So they’ve played really good cricket out here. They’ve played good cricket when we’ve been over in India as well, where we know they’re very, very difficult to beat. So it’s going to be a big summer. It’s going to be an exciting one.”
Fast bowler Mitchell Starc emphasized the importance of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, likening its significance to the Ashes. “For Australian cricket, you’ve got the Ashes and then you’ve got the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in there. I mean there’s a long history in the Ashes but that Border-Gavaskar rivalry, if you like, has just grown from strength to strength over each series,” Starc said.
Starc noted the growing intensity of the rivalry, particularly with India’s recent successes. “Now (with) India obviously winning a number of series in a row, it’s created even a bigger rivalry between the two countries. I mean both teams are well known to one another, we play each other very often across the formats, so I’m sure it’ll be another exciting series,” he added.
Both teams are gearing up for what promises to be an intense and highly competitive series, garnering global attention.
Australia have faced two home series losses to India in 2018-19 and 2020-21.Despite these setbacks, Cummins believes his team can draw confidence from their World Test Championship final win over India last year in London.
Reflecting on the upcoming challenge, Cummins told Star Sports, “The last two series here in Australia, we haven’t been successful, so it’s been a long time. Hopefully, it’s time to make amends. You know, we’ve played them (India) plenty of times where they’ve beaten us, but we’ve also had plenty of wins against them as well, which we’ll draw confidence from. The most recent Test match was, of course, the World Test Championship in neutral conditions, and we came out on top in that match.”
The series is expected to be highly competitive. “It’s always fiercely competitive, and it always feels like it’s 50-50. I’m 10 out of 10 excited for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” added Cummins.
Senior Australian batter Steve Smith echoed Cummins’ sentiments, acknowledging the challenge posed by a well-rounded Indian team. “It’s going to be a great series. India have been playing outstanding cricket. We’ve been playing really good cricket the last couple of years. We haven’t beaten India in the last two times they’ve come out here,” Smith remarked.
Smith further noted India’s strength and balance. “Obviously got a terrific side, very well-balanced team, all bases covered. So they’ve played really good cricket out here. They’ve played good cricket when we’ve been over in India as well, where we know they’re very, very difficult to beat. So it’s going to be a big summer. It’s going to be an exciting one.”
Fast bowler Mitchell Starc emphasized the importance of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, likening its significance to the Ashes. “For Australian cricket, you’ve got the Ashes and then you’ve got the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in there. I mean there’s a long history in the Ashes but that Border-Gavaskar rivalry, if you like, has just grown from strength to strength over each series,” Starc said.
Starc noted the growing intensity of the rivalry, particularly with India’s recent successes. “Now (with) India obviously winning a number of series in a row, it’s created even a bigger rivalry between the two countries. I mean both teams are well known to one another, we play each other very often across the formats, so I’m sure it’ll be another exciting series,” he added.
Both teams are gearing up for what promises to be an intense and highly competitive series, garnering global attention.
