Former all-rounder Shane Watson on Tuesday backed the Indian pace attack to dominate Australia in their own backyard, provided the visiting bowlers are rotated well during what is expected to be a gruelling tour. India’s series wins on each of their two pervious tours to Australia has added spice to the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will comprise five Tests starting on November 22 in Perth. “India’s pace attack will be where they predominantly win that series. They’ve got the firepower to be able to do it, but to be able to do it five Test matches in a row in Australia, they’ll have to rotate them as well,” Watson told the media during the launch of the International Masters League.
“There’s no question, even though (Ravichandran) Ashwin obviously is a ridiculously skilled bowler in all conditions, same with (Ravindra) Jadeja, but the assistance won’t be there as consistent as it is in other parts of the world.
“They’ll still be effective, but how effective they’ll be, that’ll be the test and that’ll be the challenge for the Aussie batters,” he added.
India’s wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21, to a large extent, were achieved owing to Cheteshwar Pujara’s stoic resistance with the bat, but Watson does not feel that his absence would make any impact on the visitors.
“When you talk about Pujara is (that) he just doesn’t make a mistake. Whereas you’ve seen so many of these incredible batters for India, top-order batters like (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, he has scored runs very quickly, but he hasn’t made a mistake,” he said.
“He hasn’t really given the opposition a chance to be able to get him out. If those type of batters do come out to Australia and play aggressively, put the bad balls away and put the pressure on the Aussie bowlers, then they can still have the same effect and they keep the game moving as well,” he added.
“With the calibre of batters that India have got and the skill they’ve got, there’s no reason why they can’t combine that, putting pressure on the bowlers, score quickly but also not make mistakes,” he said.
Watson said Australia will have to be at their “very best” to beat India.
“India have certainly got the team that has got the firepower, give Australia a huge challenge at home. The last time that they met in Australia, India played very, very well. They will have their confidence from that last tour,” he said.
“But just knowing the firepower that India do have with the bat and the ball and how they continue to come together, Australia are going to have to be at their very, very best to be able to win that series,” he said.
Smith should continue as opener
Watson backed senior batter Steve Smith to bounce back to form in the role of opener, having missed out in the last couple of Tests.
“Steve Smith made the call to be able to go and open, and I think he should stay there. Cameron Green came in and batted at No 4 and did a brilliant job. The hundred that he got in New Zealand for something very special. He’s the perfect No 4 candidate now with the future moving forward.
“Steve Smith, the reason why he didn’t do so well over the previous couple of Test matches is he was a little bit off with his technique. Just a little bit off to see him getting out a couple of ways, which I’ve never really seen him get out before.” Watson expects Australia’s “hard-bodied” bowlers to be able to manage the workload of playing five Tests and backed Steve Smith to continue as an opener.
“One thing that they’ve shown throughout their careers, especially the last four or five years, is how incredibly resilient they are. Once the bowlers like (Mitchell) Starc, (Josh) Hazlewood and (Pat) Cummins, once they get up and going, they are very resilient,” he said.
“They are very hard-bodied and Test-match fit bowlers, which is what every fast bowler’s dream. There’s no question that they’ll be managed whenever we go through a series of five Test matches, but that’ll be the challenge that India have as well,” he said.
‘India greatest in own conditions’
England’s 2019 World Cup winning skipper Eoin Morgan favoured India’s aggressive approach in Test cricket citing the famous win at Kanpur, saying doing so would ask a lot of questions of Australia.
“If they go to Australia and play in that manner, a big part of that series will lie in the balance will be the fitness of Nathan Lyon and how they play (him). If they take that mindset into playing Nathan Lyon like that, it asks a lot of questions of Australia,” he said.
Morgan said the current Indian team ranks as “one of the greatest in their own conditions”.
“They have to be considered one of the greatest in their own conditions. What makes them so good is their hunger and desire to want to win. Their attitude towards that they never take for granted,” he said.
“We come from countries that have huge advantages for the home side. But yet our records over the course of generations are nowhere near as good as Indians,” he added.
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