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Former Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his thoughts on the challenges facing team India as they strive for qualification in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final . Following an unprecedented 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand on home soil, Rohit Sharma‘s team is under significant pressure to register victory in four out of their five Test matches during the upcoming series in Australia.
BGT 2024-25: Series schedule against Australia
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 will see India clash with Australia in a five-match Test series, commencing in November 2024 and concluding in January 2025. Historically, India have performed admirably in Australia, winning their last two series on Australian turf in 2018-19 and 2020-21, both by a margin of 2-1.
The series opener is set to take place in Perth, a venue renowned for its fast and bouncy pitch conditions that often favor the home team. Following this, the second Test will be hosted at the Adelaide Oval, featuring a day-night format under lights, starting on December 6.
The action continues in Brisbane from December 14 to 18, before heading to Melbourne for the traditional Boxing Day Test from December 26 to 30. The final Test will take place in Sydney from January 3 to 7. The results of this series will be pivotal in determining India’s qualification for the WTC final, which is scheduled to occur in June 2025 in England.
Also READ: Here is Virat Kohli’s roadmap for a victorious return against Australia in BGT 2024-25
Gavaskar reflects on India’s whitewash against New Zealand
In a recent interview with India Today, Gavaskar analyzed the ramifications of India’s clean sweep against New Zealand, labeling it a significant low point in their cricketing history. This series loss raised pressing questions about the performance of the current players and the effectiveness of the team management. Gavaskar pointed out the technical deficiencies exhibited by the Indian batting lineup.
“It is a new low because of the way this Indian cricket team has been performing at home over the last so many years. Over the last so many years they have come back from behind. They’ve won matches against England and Australia, who have always been thought of as being even better and sterner opponents than what New Zealand could be. And that is the reason why, you know, this was totally unexpected, against Australia against England, one could have said, yeah, they’ve got, they’ve got the team, they’ve got the players. But against this New Zealand team, therefore, it was not expected that India would lose all three test matches,” said Gavaskar.
Prediction for the Border Gavaskar Trophy
Gavaskar initially predicted India would win the New Zealand series 3-1, but after their 3-0 loss at home, he revised his forecast. He now believes India will win the upcoming series against Australia 2-1. His outlook has become less optimistic following the recent performance against New Zealand.
“Before the New Zealand series, I had predicted that India would win 3-1. However, my outlook has changed. I now believe India will likely win 2-1 in Australia after their disappointing 3-0 loss at home,” Gavaskar concluded.
