Canberra [Australia], November 13 (ANI): Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 between India and Australia, former leg-spinner Kerry O’Keeffe believes that the Baggy Greens will go really hard on opposition skipper Rohit Sharma in the upcoming all-important Test series.
Over the years, India has regained an upper hand over Australia in the series. India has won its previous four series against Australia in a row, including two wins in Australia in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 seasons.
This has made India a much more successful side in the series, with India winning the BGT 10 times and Australia winning it five times, with their last series win coming in during the 2014-15 season. Their last series win in India was in 2004-05.
“Rohit Sharma may miss one or two Tests, but he is the captain, and Australia always tries to torpedo the visiting captain. It’s been a tactic they’ve used forever, and I think they’ll go very hard at Rohit Sharma,” O’Keeffe told Fox Sports.
Rohit had a disappointing series against New Zealand in the Tests. He scored 91 runs at a strike rate of 68.42 after playing all three matches of the Test series against the Kiwis.
Following the 3-0 series loss against New Zealand, Rohit became the first India captain to concede a 3-0 Test series defeat on home soil. Meanwhile, Tom Latham’s New Zealand showcased a stupendous performance in the Tests against India and became the first team to win a long format series by 0-3 in India.
Rohit Sharma has led Team India in 21 matches in Test cricket and won 12 games. Meanwhile, he lost seven matches.
The much anticipated Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will begin on November 22, with the first Test at Perth.
The second Test, scheduled for December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under the stadium’s lights. After that, fans will turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, which will be held from December 14 to 18.
The customary Boxing Day Test, set for December 26 to 30 at Melbourne’s storied Melbourne Cricket Ground, will bring the series to its penultimate stage.
The fifth and final Test, to take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, will serve as the series climax, promising a dramatic conclusion to an exciting contest.
India’s squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar. (ANI)
