Legendary Australian keeper criticises Indian pitches and predicts the winner of upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023
India is all set to host Australia for the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a four-match Test series starting on February 9 in Nagpur. Australia has already announced a strong lineup for the upcoming series, while India has also announced squads for the first two tests.
Notably, Australia has won their last three Test series against Pakistan, the West Indies, and South Africa and is currently ranked as the No. 1 Test team. In addition, they are the top team in the current World Test Championship cycle 2021-23, and they only need one win to qualify for the WTC final.
Meanwhile, India is sitting in the second spot, but the BGT series is very important for them to qualify for the WTC final. They must win by a margin of 3-1 or 3-0 to make it to the WTC final. India, on the other hand, has won the last two BGT series, both in Australia.
On the other hand, their records at home are just incredible, and they haven't lost a test series at home in years. Former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy predicted the scoreline ahead of the start of the series and also took an indirect dig at the Indian pitches.
In a discussion on SEN, Healy predicted that India would win the BGT series by a score of 2-1. However, he also added that India should not prepare "unreasonable wickets" at home for the upcoming series.
He said, "They've (India) got a good team, but I'm not too scared of their spinners unless they produce unreasonable wickets. If they produce unreasonable wickets like they did half the series last time (we won't win), two wickets were just terrible, unfair, spinners jumping over your head on day one. But (my prediction is) 2-1 India, if (Mitchell) Starc's unavailable in the first Test."
Furthermore, the legendary keeper said that for Australia, the real concern is the fitness of Mitchell Starc; if he is not available, India can win the series. He also added that if India prepares the flat tracks for the series, then there is a bright chance that Australia will seal the series.