Former Australian left-arm quick Brendon Julian has come up with a bold prediction for the series opener of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, backing Pat Cummins and his team to steamroll India inside four days at Perth. Julian, who played 7 Tests and 25 ODIs for Australia between 1993 and 1992, reckons India are dealing with plenty of ‘worries’, including form and player unavailability, which makes the Aussies strong favourites to win the first Test.
India will most probably be without Rohit Sharma for the first Test, which means Jasprit Bumrah will take over captaincy duties. This is where Julian’s first concern lies. Secondly, in the absence of Mohammed Shami – he is playing Ranji Trophy back home – and an out-of-form Virat Kohli – who he claims is not on the same page as his coach and captain – India’s chances look bleak. Of course, Julian is not ruling out the possibility of India giving a stiff fight to Australia, but with so very little in their favour, he is confident of the Aussies entering the second Test 1-0 ahead.
“The Aussies will clean up India in 4 days. There are worrying signs for India, straight at the top. Rohit Sharma is not playing the first Test; he has come out and said that. So Jasprit Bumrah will captain the side. Now that’s a lot of pressure when you’re the opening bowler. He is a wonderful bowler; no doubt about that. But all of a sudden when you’re opening the bowling and captaining the side, that’s a whole different ball game,” he said on Fox Cricket.
“The way that Virat Kohli got out against New Zealand – for him to get out like that in that Test series was unbelievable. Kohli is not at his best. He is not gelling with the captain probably and the coach but having said that, he can quickly turn it around. But if they start pulling in Perth, I reckon it’ll be all over.”
Watch out for Virat Kohli vs Nathan Lyon
Kohli, who had a woeful series against New Zealand, failing even to cross the 100-run mark across six innings – has started practice at the WACA, and if there’s any opposition he would have liked to face, it’s Australia. Kohli has been a thorn in Australia’s eyes, having scored over 2000 runs against them from 25 Tests. And while the conditions would suit his style of batting – elegant and free-flowing – Julian believes Nathan Lyon will be smacking his lips to bowl to the former India captain.
“The thing with Virat Kohli is that I think he would rather bat in Australia. The way he batted against New Zealand in India, he was getting out to spinners. The nemesis for him would be Nathan Lyon. He’s got the wood over him, but he is going to enjoy the conditions. Yes, Perth will be quick and bouncy. Yes, he has played against Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Hazelwood but I get the feeling that if he starts well, he is going to have a really good series. But you’ve got to get on him early. You can’t let him ease into his batting,” he added.
