Gavaskar, Ponting and N Lyon. (Photo source: X(Twitter)
An Australia vs India bilateral Test series is never devoid of excitement and captivating moments. Talking about the buildup to this mega event, there have always been predictions made majorly by former cricketers who had been part of the high-octane rivalry before. The 17th edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is no different.
As the two cricketing powerhouses are set to commence their five-match expedition on Friday, November 22, we take a look at some of the predictions made by former cricketing luminaries of the game.
Former swashbuckling southpaws from Australia, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, predicted the hosts to take the cake by a 3-1 and 3-2 scoreline, respectively. Former Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting, who has featured in quite a few of these riveting encounters in the past, stuck to the same outcome as predicted by Hayden.
Also Read: AUS vs IND Match Preview, 1st Test
Coming to Sunil Gavaskar, one of the icons of the game in whose name the series has been named partly, has predicted India to win their third series on the trot in Australia, going with an emphatic 3-1 scoreline. Yuvraj Singh has likened Australia to win one more match than what Gavaskar has predicted, but stuck to India winning the series.
The series seems to have captured the eyeballs of neutral cricketing experts as well. Both Michael Vaughan and AB de Villiers felt that while India would win some games, Australia would be successful in pulling it off as far as the grand scheme of things is taken into perspective. Vaughan went with 3-2 and De Villiers 2-1.
While left-arm wrist-spinner, Brad Hogg, favoured the Aussies to clinch the series by a 3-2 margin, it was Nathan Lyon who was confident of Australia whitewashing India. While it does not really seem that he was trying to undermine the Indian setup, it remains to be seen how he backs up his prediction with his performance with the ball.
While most of the erstwhile cricketing greats and cricket fraternity in general have labelled Australia as the favourites ahead of the series, it is interesting to note that India have emerged victorious in 10 out of the 16 BGT series played since 1996.
While Australia seem to be short on red-ball practice going into the series, they would be hoping to capitalize on India’s deflated spirits caused by a thumping faced at the hands of New Zealand at home.