Australia are also a good side and so the series will be very competitive
Sourav Ganguly
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has predicted a series win for the hosts in the 2022-23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy considering the quality of spinners in their side and Australia missing two quick bowlers due to injury. The first Test match starts today in Nagpur.
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“We will be playing on turners where it would be difficult for the Australian batsmen to handle our spinners. The Jamtha [Nagpur] and Kotla [Delhi] wickets will have some bounce. I expect our bowlers to cash in on this. With no Hardik [Pandya], I expect India to go in with three spinners and two pacers. Apart from the spinners, our seam attack is also quite handy,” said Ganguly.
“Australia are also a good side and so the series will be very competitive. I am just tilting towards India considering the Australians will be without two quality seamers in [Mitchell] Starc and [Josh] Hazlewood,” he added. Ganguly, who captained India to a historic series win in 2000-01 against Steve Waugh’s invincible side, wants India to keep things simple throughout the series. “The formula is simple. If you win the toss, bat first and pile up a huge total. The visitors will find it difficult to face our bowling attack in the fourth innings,” Ganguly remarked.
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With Test regulars Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer unavailable, a couple of spots are up for grabs and Ganguly, 50, was clear as to who he wants as replacements. “I would love to have Ishan Kishan and Shubman [Gill] in the playing XI as both play aggressively. If India have to win, Pujara will be the key. He has been a thorn for the visitors in the last few series. It’s a great honour for him to be playing his 100th Test [in Delhi]. Not many India cricketers have reached that milestone,” Ganguly signed off.